The Company Car Supplement – Fuelling the company car debate
A company car represents a substantial employment benefit with significant tax implications and ongoing costs for both employers and employees. Understanding the true value and expense of company vehicles is essential for making informed decisions about this popular workplace perk.
Colborn’s Corner: Employment Law in 2005 – a case of over-regulation?
Employment law regulations may be discouraging business hiring, particularly among small enterprises concerned about tribunal risks. This article examines whether current workplace legislation prioritizes procedural compliance over fair treatment and if reducing red-tape could increase job opportunities.
Review: Evaluating Training
Peter Bramley’s “Evaluating Training” (2nd edition) is a comprehensive guide for training practitioners on building evaluation into every stage of training delivery. The book combines US and UK examples with practical techniques applicable to any organization size, emphasizing evaluation as a tool for continuous improvement rather than routine feedback collection.
Childcare vouchers rolled out
Employers can now offer eligible working parents up to £50 weekly in tax-free childcare vouchers through salary sacrifice schemes starting April 5. However, parents should carefully consider potential impacts on tax credits and future benefits like maternity pay and state pensions before enrolling.
Workers yearn for an afternoon nap
Nine out of ten UK workers desire an afternoon nap, with productivity dipping between 3pm and 4pm due to post-lunch fatigue. A Peninsula survey found 81% of employees attribute tiredness to overwork, while 10am to 11am emerges as the peak productivity window.
Eight out of ten employers agree to flexitime requests
Most employers are now granting flexible working requests, with 81% approving employee applications. The approval rate has increased significantly since 2003, driven by growing employee awareness of their right to request flexible hours and legislation requiring employers to consider such requests.
Guide throws light on workforce value
The Chartered Management Institute has launched a guide to help quoted businesses measure workforce value, as new reporting requirements take effect. While 90% of organizations claim to measure workforce value, only 20% find their data useful, highlighting the need for strategic, performance-focused metrics.
CBI Chief snubs I&C laws
The CBI has criticized new Information and Consultation regulations that took effect April 6, requiring companies with 150+ employees to inform and consult staff on major employment issues when requested by at least 10% of workers. The CBI chief dismissed the laws as irrelevant, arguing employers already follow such practices voluntarily.
Ignoring diversity costs UK Plc
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development warns that UK businesses are missing significant competitive advantages by failing to effectively manage diversity. Beyond legal compliance, proper diversity management helps organizations address skills shortages, retain talent, attract customers, and enhance profits, while poor implementation can damage employee motivation and performance.
Opinion: Making e-learning accessible
Organizations must make e-learning accessible to people with disabilities under the Disability Discrimination Act. Creating accessible e-learning requires understanding diverse disability types—visual, hearing, and dexterity impairments—and navigating technical challenges with screen readers and interactive multimedia content.
Deal to promote volunteer skills
Skills for Business and UK voluntary sector organisations have signed an agreement to promote skills development among paid employees and 11 million volunteers. The pact aims to boost employment practices and ensure volunteer skills development receives greater recognition.
Member wire #93 – Holding onto your staff?
Learn strategies for retaining key staff and preventing high-performing employees from leaving to start their own businesses. This HR Zone newswire covers retention tactics, payroll tips, and workforce management insights for employers.
How to: Hold onto key staff
One in five employees are contemplating starting their own business, with ambitious staff seeking greater challenges and decision-making involvement rather than higher salaries. Employers can retain key talent by offering performance-based compensation, meaningful roles, and involving staff in business decisions.
Call centres pay out
The tight labour market is pushing call centre salaries higher, with 90% of organisations expecting to award pay increases between 1.5% and 7% in the coming year. Starting salaries range from £8,000 to £18,000, while customer service representatives earn between £9,087 and £27,500 annually.
Payroll Tip: Tax and mobile phones
Mobile phones provided by employers are generally tax-exempt under Section 319 of the Income Tax Act, covering the device, rental, and call charges. However, exemptions don’t apply if the phone is offered as a salary alternative, provided via voucher, transferred to employee ownership, or if the employer reimburses employee-owned phone costs, each with different tax and NIC implications.
‘Ebay’ for wages set to come to UK
A German job auction website where workers bid against each other for contracts is launching in the UK in August. Union groups have criticized jobdumping.de for promoting “slave labour” through reverse bidding that drives wages down, with some tasks offered at rates below £3 per hour.
£38m boost for apprenticeships
The Learning and Skills Council is investing an additional £38 million into apprenticeships to increase recruitment to 175,000 trainees this year. The funding will support new apprentice places through employers and training providers, addressing reported waiting lists in the sector.
Feature: The coach route for learning and development
MWH, a global engineering consultancy, implemented an internal coaching programme to empower staff in managing their own development and shift organisational culture from directive instruction to employee initiative. Over 170 managers received two-day coaching training, supported by awareness campaigns and workshops to help staff embrace this new learning and development approach.
Trends: A workforce of drifters?
UK workforce attitudes toward employment are shifting dramatically, with workers increasingly “job drifting” across sectors and geographic areas rather than pursuing traditional career progression. This trend reflects changing priorities, as younger workers prioritize immediate lifestyle and personal goals over long-term stability and home ownership.
Vocational training is failing girls – EOC report
An Equal Opportunities Commission report reveals that girls from lower socio-economic backgrounds lack access to careers advice and training in non-traditional fields, limiting them to lower-paid work. While most young people express interest in non-traditional careers, only one-sixth receive guidance on cross-gender job sectors, contributing to persistent gender pay gaps and skills shortages.
