Graduates hit the salary jackpot
Starting salaries for graduates are predicted to rise by 4.8% to an average of £22,000 in 2005, the biggest predicted increase for five years.First-jobbers will also have the pick of vacancies after two successive years witnessed a fall in the number of openings; in 2002 and 2003 employers cut their recruitment by 6.5% and 3.5% […]
Employees value on-the-job training above all else
Employees rate on-the-job learning more highly than more formalised training and qualifications, according to new research.A study by the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) in conjunction with the University of Leicester found that 90% of employees said they had picked up their skills on the job.Over half of employees felt that learning by […]
Blair rules out increase in top tax rate
Tony Blair appeared to rule out any increase in the top rate of income tax when he appeared before a committee of MPs yesterday.Labour MP Barry Sheerman asked the prime minister whether he agreed with the view of former speechwriter Peter Hyman, who had called for a top rate of 50% for the wealthy.Blair replied: […]
CBI spread fear of ‘redundancy’ reform
Employers’ organisation the CBI are said to be ‘appalled’ at the EU’s proposals to reform redundancy laws which may mean that companies can only dismiss staff when bankrupt.The European Commission sets out its social policy agenda for the next five years today.Of all the 33 initiatives tabled, the CBI say that the ‘redundancy’ proposals are […]
HR must act to meet OFR
HR professionals at quoted companies must rise to meet the challenge of the impending Operating and Financial Review (OFR).This is the warning from business advisers, Watson Wyatt.The OFR is a new Companies Act requirement for companies to produce a forward-looking analysis of their business, including information about people management. The regulations are expected to apply […]
Business snubs equal pay audits
The majority of businesses reject the need to conduct equal pay audits believing their pay systems are non-discriminatory.These are the findings from research conducted by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).According to their study 62% of small businesses including those implementing new pay structures deny the need for an assessment of pay.The problem […]
Managers face ‘knowledge gap’ on bullying
A UK-wide survey among managers has revealed that bullying is not seen as a key issue in today’s workplace – with only 17% of respondents claiming that it is a problem to be addressed.However, the research, by Leicester based PTP Training and Marketing Ltd, also highlighted a significant lack of knowledge among managers regarding company […]
Feature: Childcare vouchers and salary sacrifice explained
By Sandra Beale of SJ Beale HR ConsultIn an effort to reduce the costs of childcare for working parents or legal guardians the Chancellor has announced that as of 5 April 2005 employers can provide childcare vouchers up to a value of £50 per week free from tax and national insurance contributions; HR Consultant Sandra […]
SMEs battle with HR red tape
Small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) are spending more and more time on HR issues with over 90% buckling under the pressure of further red tape.Peninsula employment law firm has revealed that bosses are spending an average ten hours a week addressing red tape issues, a figure that has climbed from nine hours back in […]
Payroll Tip: Holiday pay for shift workers
These questions are being answered by Learn HR, a market leader in the provision of HR and payroll training and nationally-recognised professional qualifications. Q: How should holiday pay be calculated for shift workers whose earnings vary because they are paid premium rates for work performed at different times of the day? A: The calculation of holiday […]
Opinion: Exploding the myths of outsourcing
Outsourcing as a business strategy has grown rapidly in recent years – and nowhere is this more the case than in the discipline of human resources; Sam Colquhoun of North East HR specialists Right Hand Human Resources (RHHR) looks at some of the issues involved. Let’s begin by exploding a couple of myths about outsourcing […]
‘Cash bonus planning’: Draft regulations published
Avoidance of tax and national insurance contributions by means of employment-related securities continues to be “rife”, the Inland Revenue has said.The avoidance disclosure rules introduced in Finance Act 2004 have revealed “ever more complex and contrived” schemes, which the Revenue considers to be part of a “systematic attack” on the rules that tax employment-related securities […]
Review: Managing change across corporate cultures
Title: Managing Change Across Corporate CulturesAuthors: Fons Trompenaars and Peter Prud’hommePublisher: Capstone ISBN: 1-84112-578-4Price: £14.99Reviewed by: Sharon Cooper, HR Director EMEA, IPC Information SystemsTrompenaars is one of the foremost writers in the field of cross-cultural management and his co-author in this book is Peter Prud’homme who has been published extensively on business culture.“Managing Change Across […]
Feature: HRZone talks ‘pensions’ with Legal and General
Adrian Boulding is Legal and General’s Pensions Strategy Director; Annie Hayes spoke to him about policy, solving the pensions’ crisis and what HR can do to educate workers about saving for the future. How did it happen?Few will have missed October’s revelations. British workers face a pensions’ shortfall of £57 billion a year. I asked […]
Cupid’s arrow hits UK plc
Finding love at work is on the increase.This is the claim from employment law firm, Peninsula who found that almost eight in ten workers admitted to having had a workplace romance whilst a huge six in ten said they met their partner at work.The survey revealed that: 79% of all employees interviewed admitted to having […]
IT demand leaves public sector short
Public services could face greater IT skills shortages as evidence shows the City has overtaken the public sector to become the UK’s biggest employer of IT contractors. Research by recruitment specialist Giant Group plc, shows that 21.2% of IT contractors (19.9% six months ago) now work in financial services compared to 20.5% in the public […]
‘Null’ points for Switzerland in Euro managers pay chart
Pay research by Watson Wyatt shows that managers in Switzerland can expect the lowest pay rise this year while those in Greece will celebrate with top rewards.Watson Wyatt’s global 50 remuneration planning report shows that salary increases for Greek managers are projected to rise by 5% this year but by just 2% for managers in […]
CBI slams government ‘pension for all’
Employers’ organisation the CBI have warned that the UK cannot afford a flat rate citizens’ pension; one of the current government proposals designed to plug the UK’s yawning pensions gap.The proposed citizens’ pension would be much higher than the current basic state pension, paid to everyone regardless of their National Insurance contribution history and would […]
Editor’s Comment: The Darwinism of Trade Unions
By Annie Hayes, HRZone EditorThe Thatcher administration triumphed in its destruction of the power of the trade unions and for almost a generation it looked like the light had finally gone out but the tables it would seem have turned and the unions are rising from the ashes; Editor’s Comment looks at why they refuse […]
The Couch?! searches for Britain’s worst ‘boss’ idol
This week The Couch?! searches for Britain’s worst ‘boss idol’. How do you become an inspirational leader like David Brent? What makes a good ‘bad boss’? How do you make an employee cringe when you speak? Does it come naturally or can you learn how to be the worst ‘boss idol’? Is it essential to […]
