The Couch?! gets stressed
“I suppose I’ve created an atmosphere where I’m a friend first and a boss second… probably an entertainer third,” David Brent (aka Ricky Gervais) once said. Is your boss as understanding and as chilled as David? Or can you place you and your colleagues among the following classic types. Find out as The Couch?! gets […]
Editor’s Comment: The folly of ‘presenteeism’
By Annie Hayes, HRZone EditorThe latest government attempt to cull soaring absence levels will see public sector workers’ pay docked if a medical certificate is not produced by the fifth day of absence; Editor’s Comment looks at the rise of ‘presenteeism’ and examines the dangers of dragging the genuinely sick into work. A google search […]
Mistletoe could lead to sexual harassment claims
Leave the mistletoe is amongst this year’s advice from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) who have joined forces to produce a party checklist for nervous employers.The checklist includes: Check the emergency exits Cater for dancing divas – tables and chairs could collapse if used for […]
Board X factor revealed
An extensive study has unveiled the required ‘x factor’ that makes a great board chair.A total of 215 Directors with Board positions on FTSE 100, FTSE 200, large private companies, private equity companies and public sector boards were interviewed by Board performance experts, The Change Partnership.Eighty-three per cent of respondents said that the quality of […]
CV liars catch bosses out
More than nine in ten people have admitted to lying on their CV in order to land a better job.The poll conducted by Portfolio Payroll, a recruitment business and employment law firm, Peninsula show that worryingly CV liars are getting away with it.Seven in ten employers say they still do not check candidate references, even […]
Fat cats lose out in final salary slash
Proposals to axe final salary schemes for civil servants and raise the retirement age from 60 to 65 have been met with anger from the unions.The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) say that proposals to axe the final salary scheme and replace it with an average salary scheme will cause ‘great uncertainty, suspicion and […]
Case Study: E-recruitment gets Nike on track
The Nike employer brand is extremely powerful in attracting potential talent to the business making the process of handling applications and supporting the resourcing process effectively and efficiently critical to business success; implementing e-recruitment was identified as the way to solve this businesses hiring problems. The issueNike currently receives around 800 CVs each month. It […]
Tax credits change to help pay for nannies
Financial support of up to £210 a week to help pay for nannies will be available through the tax credits system from next April.Children’s minister Margaret Hodge announced at the annual Sure Start Conference that, under a new Childcare Approval Scheme, families on incomes of up to £59,000 will be eligible for working tax credit […]
Chippy chipper Powergen winner
Powergen believes that it has found “Britain’s most energetic boss” as the result of a nationwide search. Chip shop owner Ken MacKenzie runs All-ways Fryday fish & chip shop and its sister shop The Halfway Fish Bar in Poole, Dorset. Powergen says that manageress Caroline Scott “nominated Ken for the award because of his infectious […]
HRZone competition: Christmas party clangers
Policing the office Christmas party isn’t an easy job for HR. We’re sure you’ve got some stories to share with us so in the spirit of yuletide cheer we’re offering a bottle of champagne to the most amusing office party tale.Whether it was a ‘Bridget-Jones’ karaoke nightmare, a ten-to-two romance with a colleague or telling […]
HR face soaring absence at DWP
The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) the largest employer in central government with over 25% of civil servants has the worst public sector record for absence, bar the Prison Service.A report by the National Audit Office (NAO) shows that on any given day 5% of the Department’s staff can be absent. In 2003-04, the […]
More employers must train warns TUC
The TUC is calling on government to target the 40% of employers who do not offer training to their staff. The Paid Time off to Learn report highlights the crucial role a new national training programme will play in encouraging employers to offer training to their employees. However, it warns that the 40% of employers […]
Language barriers trigger workplace deaths
Migrant workers, many with a limited grasp of the English language have died this year because health and safety training material has only been delivered in English.In reaction to these findings the Health and Safety Executive and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) have published a leaflet ‘Your health, your safety: A guide for workers’ in […]
Feature: Party protocol for revellers
By Barry Rees of People Programmes Ltd The Christmas Party season is upon us and workplaces across the UK will be preparing for their seasonal celebrations; Barry Rees looks at the issues bosses should consider when preparing to party. As a nation we seem to work and party harder than ever before and for many […]
DWP consults on whistleblower code
The Department of Works and Pensions (DWP) today published the first consultation document on codes of practice for The Pensions Regulator. The Code, Reporting Breaches of the Law, “sets out guidance on the legal requirement for those involved in running pensions schemes to report breaches of the law to the Regulator and sets out standards […]
UK Plc needs more women at the top
Patricia Hewitt has said that ‘diversity is still not part of the plan’ for British businesses despite official statistics which show a significant growth in the number of female board appointments.The number of companies in the FTSE 100 with all male boards has remained relatively static (31 in 2004, 32 in 2003).The news is somewhat […]
Office politics gets HR in a twist
A UK/Norway comparative study shows that HR professionals in Britain are most troubled with office politics while colleagues in Scandinavia feel that empathy and listening skills are far more important.Influencing and political skills were chosen by 61% of UK HR professionals as the most important competency, compared to just 25% in Norway.HR leaders in Norway […]
Higgs fuels non-executive director pay rises
Changes to corporate governance rules have triggered a 38% rise in the fees paid to non-executive directors, according to pay consultancy Watson Wyatt.In its 2004 executive reward survey of 84 organisations, the firm found that just over a quarter of participants (26%) had reviewed their NED fees in the past year and increased them by […]
Senior management trust eroded
Trust in senior management is in sharp decline, particularly in the private sector with only a quarter of employees willing to place their trust in those at the top.These are the latest findings from a survey into employee attitudes from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) launched to coincide with the start of […]
Temps could put employers in the dock
Employing temporary workers over the seasonal period might help fix resourcing problems but could put businesses under threat of legal action.Problems can occur when businesses take on temps but fail to make them sign upto IT policies and procedures.A poll carried out by FAST Corporate Services shows that just under half of the business community […]
