Pay predictors point to 2005 wage boost
Pay analysts, IRS are predicting an end to wage stagnation which has seen settlements stagnate at 3% for 20 successive rolling quarters.IRS Pay and Benefits editor, Sheila Attwood said: “With the majority of employers still using the RPI measure of inflation to benchmark pay awards, some rise in wage settlements in the first half of […]
CBI lobbies to boost basic skills
The head of the CBI is calling for a new-year assault on the failings of the education system, which, he says, are leaving thousands of people unemployable.In his 2005 New Year message, Digby Jones said that too many youngsters faced exclusion from work because they could not read, write or add up properly.The CBI leader […]
Feature: Effective IT Training
Ayaz Rathore, Director of Communications at R-Com Consulting Limited looks at how IT training methods are changing and questions which is the most effective way to learn. In the past technical education has focused on one-size fits all. Major software companies have chosen to develop instructor-led courses in a single country that are then translated […]
Review: Breaking the Mould
Title: Breaking the MouldAuthor: Peter A HunterPublisher: Librario Publishing LtdISBN: 1904440436Price: £15.99 Reviewer: Dr. Colin Thompson`Breaking the Mould` is a revolutionary Performance improvement process that creates a lasting cultural change from the bottom up.The book explains the `Traditional Consulting` solutions are all driven from the top down. A solution is bought in and is then […]
Additional New Year holiday gets HR vote
Polled businesses and HR professionals have given their support to calls for an additional bank holiday in January to kick-start employee motivation in the New Year.Over two thirds say that an extra bank holiday in January would enhance the productivity and morale of their employees.British workers are currently entitled to four weeks paid holiday per […]
TUC put pensions in 2005 spotlight
Brendan Barber, General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has delivered his New Year’s message to union members calling for the pensions’ crisis to be addressed through compulsory saving with employers and employees and a guaranteed state retirement provision.In his message, Barber called for pensions’ action, reminding members that it is an issue of […]
Firms fail to formalise IT professional development
More than 80% of UK employers consider it important to develop their IT staff’s professional skills, but only 9% run a professional development scheme, according to a new survey.The survey of 183 UK organisations by the British Computer Society and InfoBasis Limited, also found that 40% of employers considered having an externally-accredited professional development scheme […]
Editor’s Comment: 2004 the HR Year in Review
By Annie Hayes, HRZone EditorThe year has been dominated by a number of key issues, notably the first national civil-service strike for more than a decade, record employment, the unveiling of our pensions crisis and the declaration by the CIPD President to HRZone that the HR function needs to discard its ‘woolly and cuddly image’; […]
Christmas cheer for extracts from CSA forms
Regular AccountingWEB (sister site) Any Answers contributor and TaxZone member Phil Rees has sent us the following risqué extracts from entries on Child Support Agency forms.The following are all replies that women have put on Child Support Agency forms in the section for listing father’s details. These are genuine excerpts from the forms (names removed).1. […]
The Couch?! grooves to the ‘iPod shuffle’
For HR professionals who love their music, the release of the latest version of Apple’s iPod must have come as a great joy. Now you can have your entire record collection with you wherever you go.One of the great delights of the iPod is the ability to select “shuffle” and it will play tracks from […]
Jail for director who spent the company’s money
A company director who used the company’s money to renovate his family home has been sent to prison for 12 months.Stephen Lee Bowers, aged 55, was also ordered to pay £252,977 under a confiscation order.The Inland Revenue said Manchester Crown Court heard that Bowers, director of Offerton Sand & Gravel Ltd of Stockport, near Manchester, […]
Scrooge bosses forced to pay out
More than £2.4million has been recovered over the past six months from firms refusing to pay the minimum wage, the Government has announced. Recent cases included four doormen in East Kilbride who shared £26,000 in back pay and a holiday firm in the West Country which paid £177,000 in wage arrears to 41 workers. Employers […]
HR Zone Briefing #222 – Absence debate kicks off
================================================================ HR Briefing Issue 222 23 December 2004 http://www.hrzone.co.uk ================================================================ SITE HIGHLIGHTS **** SITE HIGHLIGHTS **** SITE HIGHLIGHTS **** 1. Feature: Boosting the bottom-line with childcare policies 2. Feature: Talent Management – just another HR fad? 3. Payroll Tip: Entertainment and gifts 4. Entrepreneurs to kick-start 2005 by going-it-alone 5. Any Answers – absence, maternity […]
Feature: Employment law 2005
Alison Wallace, head of employment practice at Steptoe & Johnson solicitors examines the raft of employment legislation planned for implementation in 2005 and takes a reflective look back at 2004. Christmas Quiz Can a verbal warning be given without a disciplinary hearing? Can you still dismiss an employee instantly? Can an employee be discriminated against […]
Top Oracle executive awarded £100k over sexist ‘boys club’
Karen Carlucci, former employee of Oracle Corporation has been awarded £100,000 by an Employment Tribunal after she sued for sexual discrimination and unfair dismissal.The Times reports that Carlucci, 38, resigned from her post following her return from maternity leave when she was given a job well below her abilities.According to the paper, Carlucci earned an […]
ET turns back on £7.5m sex bias claim
Stephanie Villalba, a former Merrill Lynch banker has lost the biggest sexual discrimination claim in Britain, of £7.5 million against her former employers; the bank’s HR department has, however, been given a hand-slapping by the courts.The £300,000 a year banker who could earn upto a million annually claimed that she was the victim of persistent […]
Employers urged to sign up for disability standard
With nearly 50 organisations already on board, the Employers’ Forum on Disability is urging UK business and public sector organisations to sign up to the Disability Standard benchmarking process before the March 2005 deadline passes. The Disability Standard shows organisations where they need to take action, signposts legal requirements and provides best practice solutions through […]
Regions celebrate employment hike
Bath has witnessed the biggest percentage drop in unemployment of all parliamentary constituencies in the UK; Bournemouth follows closely behind.New figures show that between November 2004 and May 1997 the unemployment tally fell by 75.4% in Bath while in Bournemouth the figure is 73.9%.Following these top spots are: Mid Ulster – 73.8% Salisbury – 72.6% […]
Feature: Talent Management – just another HR fad?
By Michael Moran, Chief Executive of Fairplace Consulting plcTalent management is the latest buzz word in the HR field but is it just another empty HR fad? Michael Moran cuts the jargon and examines the issues. Deciphering HR language and concepts can be a minefield. We’ve all been bombarded with terms including business partners, business […]
Dyslexic staff ‘suffer in silence’
A new report by the TUC highlights the problems faced by the 2.9 million UK workers with dyslexia. The ‘Dyslexia in the Workplace’ report warns that managers who do not appreciate the link between dyslexia and common performance problems can often judge dyslexic employees unfairly. It also reveals that many people with dyslexia are unaware […]
