Retirement age fix gets mixed response
Ministers will allow employers to set a retirement age at 65 while allowing employees the right to request to work beyond this age; the news has received a mixed response.Employers’ group the CBI has called the decision ‘sensible and pragmatic’ while the Employers Forum On Age (EFA) has lashed out at the government calling it […]
Case Study: HMV’s hiring is top of the pops
HMV, the UK’s specialist retailer of music, DVDs and games, is using a retail-specific psychometric assessment to help select candidates for its graduate training programme. Developed by PSL, the ‘three-in-one’ assessment comprises verbal and numerical reasoning tests and a personality questionnaire. It gives HMV an in-depth understanding of each candidate and it prompts interviewers to […]
Poor communication escalates pensions’ problems
Employers are failing to effectively communicate the value of pension schemes to employees making pensions’ problems worse.Research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) shows that one in five over-50s interviewed had little or no understanding of how their pension schemes worked. This rose to one in three respondents in the under-25 age […]
Staff suggestions equal cash rewards
Latest research from IRS Employment Review shows that staff suggestion schemes can be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds to employers.Successful schemes can produce rewards for bosses including higher sales, more efficient ways of working and lower costs.Greater staff involvement is a key goal of staff suggestion schemes for 96% of organisations while service improvements […]
Bosses show yuletide generosity
Most directors do not support trading on Christmas Day and the majority of them let their staff leave work early on Christmas Eve. According to a December survey by the Institute of Directors, 89% of its members were opposed to businesses and shops opening on Christmas Day and 93% of them allowed staff to go […]
Workplace porn not being stopped
Seventy per cent of companies have had to discipline employees over viewing pornography at work, according to a survey published today. The survey, conducted by PixAlert in conjunction with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, has also shown that more than 50% of senior managers were unaware of their “personal and civil liability for […]
Focus On: HR Specialists – Sandra Beale, HR & Training Consultant
After more than seven years in the public sector, Sandra Beale (MCIPD) decided she needed to be exposed to new challenges and different cultures and in a bold step she decided to go-it-alone carving a unique and successful career for herself as an interim manager and HR and Training consultant. Read on to find out […]
Seasonal workers in high demand
Retailers fear that customer service levels and the ability to restock shelves quickly will suffer this Christmas as a direct result of staff shortages but despite the findings only a fifth will consider training as an option for improving things.Deloitte’s Christmas retail survey shows that one in five retailers is concerned that they will be […]
Review: The Performance Coach – Seeking coaching excellence
Title: The Performance Coach – Seeking coaching excellenceAuthor: Dixon, Tony and Valentine, HazelPublisher: Gower Publishing LimitedISBN: 0 566 08513 5Price: £325.00Reviewer: Nigel HarrisAs you might expect for the price, this is a whole lot more than a book. It is a comprehensive training package enabling organisations to train up managers to become accredited performance coaches. […]
Pensions report: last chance for voluntarism
The Employer Task Force on Pensions today presented its report into occupational pension schemes, and warned that Britain is now in the “last chance saloon” of voluntary pensions contributions. Tackling the neglected subject of small business and pensions schemes, the report has said that it is introducing ” a new targeted financial incentive to encourage […]
Public sector reaps rewards of well-trained managers
Line managers in the public sector are being credited with boosting motivation and commitment among staff.A new survey suggests that public sector employees are more trusting, satisfied, committed and motivated than their counterparts in the private sector.The survey, from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found that motivation amongst public sector employees has […]
Pilots threaten strike action
Commercial pilots have reacted angrily to a decision that will see EU flying times adopted.The British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) says they are concerned that the new rules will put passengers at risk as a result of fatigue from longer hours and shorter rest periods.Referring to the decision by the European Council of Ministers as […]
General Motors axes jobs
Car manufacturer General Motors is set to slash jobs in its loss-making European division by 12,000.Workers in Germany will take the biggest hit with 10,000 jobs expected to go at the Opel plants.Two thousand further jobs cuts will come from GM’s plants in Antwerp, Belgium; Zaragoza, Spain; Trollhättan, Sweden and Ellesmere Port in the UK.Managerial […]
Creative industries must up-skill to meet global challenge
The UK’s creative and cultural industries face a looming global challenge that could threaten their future, according to a new report by Charles Leadbeater, an adviser on the government’s strategy on creative industries. In the report, ‘Britain’s Creativity Challenge’, Mr Leadbeater warns that complacency about the UK’s strengths could lead to under-investment as a time […]
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 […]
