Boosting the bottom line with childcare policies
Interview – Mark Reardon, CEO Corporate Childcare Solutions Group Improving the deal for parents was the central focus of the recent Pre-Budget Report, in this feature Mark Reardon looks at how working parents can get rich pickings from existing benefits including childcare vouchers.Childcare policiesThe Chief Executive wants to cut costs, employees hanker after increased spending […]
Legal focus: Case law round-up
Alison Wallace, head of employment practice at Steptoe & Johnson presents a quarterly round-up of employment law case rulings including an occurrence whereby a prison officer who had to recover the bodies of prisoners who had committed suicide suffered a stress-related illness for which his employer was held liable. Sex discriminationBrumfitt v Ministry of DefenceMiss […]
Proctor & Gamble axe 6,000 jobs in Gillette merger
The P&G engagement with razor giant Gillette will see as many as 6,000 jobs slashed.The face of brands including Pampers, Crest, Tide and Head and Shoulders hopes to ramp up sales in developing markets like China and Eastern Europe following the merger with Gillette.The price paid for this new union, however, is a reduction in […]
Unions face extinction
This is the warning from The Work Foundation’s British Unions: Resurgence or Perdition by David Metcalf, Professor of Industrial Relations and Deputy Director of the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics.According to Metcalf employers and Government are also playing a part in their downfall by refusing to ‘contemplate a real partnership […]
Fashion quandary hits UK plc as ‘suit’ bows out
The decline of the business suit has left staff unsure about standards of dress.Research conducted by IRS Employment Review claims that bosses are clamping down on what ‘not’ to wear as dress standards become more casual.According to IRS, more than two-thirds (67%) of dress code policies now have the force of the employment contract behind […]
How Aesop’s fable can help explain the UK savings gap
Everyone knows Aesop’s fable of the ant and the grasshopper: the ant worked hard all summer to provide for the winter ahead; the grasshopper did not and paid the price. A paper by PricewaterhouseCoopers partner John Hawksworth suggests that this fable, combined with insights from recent developments in behavioural economics, can help to explain why […]
Editor’s Comment: ‘Fat’ attacks UK plc
By Annie Hayes, HRZone EditorThe obesity epidemic is putting the brakes on UK productivity as many more workers fall foul to fat-related illnesses; Editor’s Comment examines the issues. At this time of year we are inundated with diet plans all promising to help us shed those extra Christmas pounds while reality TV shows like ‘Fat […]
Softworld HR & Payroll – Exhibitor list
The Softworld HR and payroll show is back this Spring. The two-day event will be held on 2-3 March 2005 at London’s Grand Hall, Olympia.See Softworld for further details including event highlights.Below is a list of the HR and payroll providers exhibiting at the HR & Payroll Softworld event. Next to each is the stand […]
Softworld HR & Payroll preview – Educational programme
Softworld HR & Payroll will be taking place on 2-3 March 2005 Grand Hall, Olympia. As sponsors of the event, HR Zone will be publishing a range of updates and news from the event before, during and after it takes place. Take a look at the breakfast briefings and masterclasses available at Softworld HR & […]
Pay deals break 3% barrier
For 22 months pay deals across the UK have remained unchanged at 3% but for the first time pay analysts IRS report that of 24 wage deals the median settlement is 3.4%.A range of between 2.25% to 5% has been revealed.The number of pay deals worth just 3% or less has also fallen in further […]
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’ […]
