Diversity training a ‘must’ say CIPD
Line managers need training on the business benefits of diversity, according to a new report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). The report, Driving Diversity Progress, states that organisations who do not take diversity seriously could face difficulties attracting the best candidates to fill vacancies, and risk damaging efforts to achieve their […]
The Couch?! gets even more grumpy
As requested by some rather grumpy women, this week The Couch?! salutes grumpy heroines. So, what makes you women out there grumpy? The females from The Couch?! team got their heads together and this is what they came up with:-Men, the youth of today, snotty shop assistants, PMT uncomfortable shoes, housework, domestic godessess, childbirth, supermarket […]
Feature: Wouldn’t it be Nice – the art of buying property in France
Dreaming of retiring in France? Attracted by the weather, the food, the lifestyle and cheap flights, many of us will have dreamt of buying a house across the Channel. William Power, partner at Bevans solicitors, takes a look at buying property in France. What happens if you find, like half a million other Britons, a […]
Employers in line for payroll giving grants
The Home Office has launched a new UK-wide grants programme to encourage employers to set up a Payroll Giving scheme. It will give employers with fewer than 500 staff a cash incentive of up to £500 and match the first £10 donated by each employee, every month, for a period of six months.The scheme enables […]
Skilled employees reap top pay rewards
Workers with better than average skills are being paid off by bosses desperate to keep them.Recruitment outfit, Kelly Services claim that skills shortages are putting the squeeze on wage pressure; a finding supported by recent figures released by the Office of National Statistics which show that the current state of the labour market is breeding […]
£170 per week for mums under Lib Dems
Charles Kennedy, Leader of the Liberal Democrats has announced a generous package for parents if his party scoop the top prize at the next election.The Liberal Democrat ‘Maternity Income Guarantee’ will mean all working mothers will be paid at least £4,420 for the 26 weeks of statutory maternity leave when they are starting a family. […]
Hewitt won’t change ‘fat cat’ rules
Patricia Hewitt has decided not to take further action to prevent “fat cat” pay awards for senior executives.Explaining the decision, Hewitt said that new rules were unnecessary, as rules already introduced, (the Directors’ Remuneration Report Regulations 2002), had already had “a positive impact.”This, said Hewitt, was underlined by a report, commissioned by the government and […]
Case Study: Betting on talent at William Hill
Betting giant, William Hill explain how a traffic light screening tool has cut recruitment administration by 50%, raising the quality of candidates while ensuring that getting the right people in place is no longer a game of chance. The challengeCandidate selection before the Automated Telephone Screening Interview (ATSI) system was a lucky dip.The proportion of […]
HR is the least ‘salary sensitive’ sector
HR are often more driven by challenges and opportunities than the promise of more money, claim recruitment outfit Angela Mortimer.Findings from the recruitment firm’s salary survey show that HR professionals are amongst the most discerning and least salary sensitive of all the sectors.The survey also claims that despite vacancies, there is little movement in the […]
HR stamp out internet abuse with web monitoring
Fifty-six per cent of HR professionals have purchased web monitoring software to help combat employee abuse of the internet.These are the findings of a survey by Softworld HR & Payroll.According to their research, a further 22% are considering the purchase of monitoring software.Interestingly however, concern about internet abuse does not seem to have stemmed organisations’ […]
Failings of the education system harm business
Current Government policies on education and training are doing nothing to plug the UK’s productivity gap, according to the Institute of Directors (IoD). In a speech to the Institute of Economic Affairs in Central London, director general of the IoD Miles Templeman, said that 25,000 pupils leave school with no GCSEs, contributing to 4.5 million […]
Politicians warned ‘immigration plugs skills gap’
Current political debate about immigration needs to take into account recruitment difficulties and skills shortages faced by employers, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has warned.The CIPD said its research showed high levels of recruitment from abroad, with employers using migrant labour to cover shortages of professional skills as well as filling low […]
Member wire #83 – Bricks and mortar trap workers
================================================================ HR Zone Members Newswire Issue 83 25 January 2005 http://www.hrzone.co.uk ================================================================ SITE HIGHLIGHTS **** SITE HIGHLIGHTS **** SITE HIGHLIGHTS **** 1. Editor’s Comment: Bricks and mortar trap workers 2. Focus On: HR Specialists – OH Manager SW Trains 3. The Couch?! Gets grumpy 4. Labour market buckles under weight of contradictions 5. Any Answers: […]
Opinion: Smile sheets can’t bring you true happiness
"We ask people scurrying for the door to take time to check boxes … then… flip through them hoping desperately for a few feel-good moments of positive feedback, and finding good rationalizations for any negative scores." – Godfrey Parkin asks what are you really measuring with that happy sheet? If the training organisation is […]
Pub chain kicks the smoking habit
The Trades Union Congress are backing an all-out smoking-ban by leading pub chain JD Weatherspoon; by May 2006 smokers will be outlawed in all of its 650 pubs.Brendan Barber, TUC General Secretary supports the move saying that a ‘threat to business’ is now a ‘bogus agrument’ for failure to ban smoking:“One of Britain’s biggest pub […]
Businesses back minimum wage hike
According to pay analysts IRS, businesses are right behind the October National Minimum Wage rate rise.Three months ago the adult wage rate increased to £4.85 an hour up from £3.60 in 1999.Nine in ten (94%) agree with the most recent increase, however, when asked at what level the minimum rate should be set, almost half […]
Payroll giving still not possible for most employees
Most companies still do not allow staff to contribute to charities through their salaries. According to the poll by YouGov for KPMG, 58% of the 11000 people in employment questioned said their employers do not offer a ‘payroll giving’ scheme through which they could make donations.KPMG points out that “Payroll giving schemes allow employees to […]
Payroll Tip: SSP and the percentage threshold scheme
These questions are being answered by Learn HR, a market leader in the provision of HR and payroll training and nationally-recognised professional qualifications. Payroll tip: The PTS is intended to help employers when there is an abnormally high level of sickness. Eligibility is determined in each tax month by comparing the total amount of SSP actually […]
Short-termism doesn’t pay off
UK companies are risking future growth plans by focusing on short-term staff instead of longer term contracts or hiring permanent employees.This is the claim from a Reading based IT recruitment firm, GCS Recruitment Services.Kevin Logan, head of business development at the firm said: “Although the economic outlook has been steadily improving, many companies are still […]
Focus On: HR Specialists – Barbara Davenport, OH Manager SW Trains
Barbara Davenport, Head of Occupational Health at South West Trains explains the ins and outs of her job including the responsibility to ensure consistency of fitness standards for safety critical employees across the regions and how she changed hearing-safety standards by challenging an ancient law. Career historyPerforming first aid for factory workers injured after handling […]
