Member wire #73 – Stress in the 21st century
================================================================ HR Zone Members Newswire Issue 73 9 November 2004 http://www.hrzone.co.uk ================================================================ SITE HIGHLIGHTS ***** SITE HIGHLIGHTS ***** SITE HIGHLIGHTS 1. Editor’s Comment: Stress in the 21st century 2. HR Tip: Workplace relocation 3. Feature: Examining the right to time off for dependants 4. Bosses play scrooge this Christmas 5. Any Answers: recovering pay, disabled […]
The New HR Charter: Part 12 – What is HR strategy?
Who’s got an HR strategy? Probably the greatest myth in the HR world is the concept of HR strategy. Everyone says they have one but when you ask what it looks like it looks like everyone else’s. The same attempt to be an ‘employer of choice’, the same old competence framework, using the same ‘best […]
Women entrepreneurs on the rise
Thousands of women have made the bold step of going it alone over the last year; a move that has been applauded by Industry Minister Jacqui Smith.Speaking at the annual women’s business support network PROWESS conference today Smith said that over 130,000 women had become their own bosses since last year.This rise in female-led start-ups […]
Brown urges businesses to invest in skills
British people must become the best trained in the world to beat the challenge of global outsourcing, Chancellor Gordon Brown has warned business leaders.Speaking at the CBI Conference in Birmingham, Mr Brown committed to working with industry over the next year to “make Britain the best educated, trained and skilled workforce prepared for all challenges […]
NHS get minimum wage rate rise
A new improved NHS wage of £5.69 per hour was voted in my UNISON’s health members by three to one.UNISON, general secretary David Prentis said:“Thanks to this vote, the NHS is closer to the goal of achieving a modern pay and conditions system. It properly recognises and rewards the skills of the workforce, and offers […]
Migrant workers plug rural jobs gap
A Trades Union Congress (TUC) published report shows that since the accession of 10 new countries into the EU on 1 May workers from central and Eastern Europe are being recruited to work in food processing, hospitality and agriculture, industries that have traditionally experienced difficulties in filling vacancies in the past.Propping up rural and small […]
EOC calls for better maternity leave planning
The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) are backing calls for a ‘green light’ to ask women to indicate their return dates much earlier during maternity leave.The announcement was made at the CBI conference. Existing law is weighted towards the worker. Employers are entitled to write to their employee to ascertain plans for returning to work. However, […]
HR Tip: Workplace relocation
These questions are being answered by Learn HR, a market leader in the provision of HR and payroll training and nationally-recognised professional qualifications. Q: We are relocating our workshop and offices to a new site five miles away. Does this equate to a redundancy of staff? Can we force workers to move? A: If the contracts […]
Feature: Examining the right to time off for dependants
By Alison Wallace, head of employment practice, Steptoe & Johnson In this feature Alison Wallace looks at the legal framework surrounding the employment right to take time off for dependants. A recent appeal case could have major repercussions for working parents. The Employment Appeal Tribunal ruling in the South Central Trains Limited -v- Rodway case […]
Brown hints at corporation tax cuts
Gordon Brown has hinted that he may introduce cuts in corporation tax if they are needed to ensure that Britain does not lose investment to its competitors.The Chancellor told the CBI’s annual conference today: “We will continue to look with you at the business tax regime so that we persuade people that it is in […]
Job cuts protestors hit CBI conference
Civil service strikers have taken their protest to the CBI conference today; the move follows on from the one-day industrial stoppage held last Friday.On 5 November, 100,000 civil servants stayed away from work in protest against government plans to axe 100,000 civil and public service jobs.A huge range of services across the UK were hit […]
Car number plate ‘1 HR’ revs up for five-figure offer
HR car enthusiasts are in for a treat as unique car registration plate ‘1 HR’ goes up for grabs. In the latest league table of personal number plates by Newreg.com ‘1 HR’ is listed with a value tag of £68,995. An asking price that is even higher than the average public sector HR director salary […]
M&S HR Director makes exit
Troubled retailer Marks & Spencer has announced cuts to its board of directors including Jean Tomlin, Human Resources Director.Disappointing results were the trigger for the board reshuffle.Interim results for 2004/2005 show that pre-tax profits for the six months to 2 October fell to £292.7m, down from £325m a year ago. While UK sales were reported […]
Lack of time not cash hinders training
Time, not money, is holding back the skills levels of the British workforce, according to a study out today. John Weston, Chairman of learndirect, has today called on British businesses to make greater use of e-learning to provide greater efficiency in improving staff skills and enabling the UK to remain competitive in Europe and across […]
Poor customer service blamed on managers
More than three in five workers in customer facing sales and service roles believe that failing line management is one of the major causes of the UK’s culture of poor customer service and neglected sales opportunities.The findings from performance improvement specialist Prosell reveals that 10% of the nine million frontline workers in the UK consider […]
Offshoring a ‘survival issue’ says Digby Jones
On the opening day of the CBI’s conference, Director-General Digby Jones described offshoring as “part and parcel of doing business in the global economy,” and continued, “Make no mistake, this is a survival issue.Anyone who believes that firms have a great deal of choice are naive. Companies know if they don’t do it, somebody else […]
Bosses play scrooge this Christmas
Christmas cheer will be in short supply this season if findings from employment law firm, Peninsula are anything to go by.In their recent poll eight in ten employers said they wouldn’t be organising a festive bash for workers. Booze fuelled antics are putting 73% of respondents off with the majority saying that fights, arguments and […]
Government funds equality message
The Department of Trade and Industry are putting £1.4 million into a campaign designed to spread the word on equality.Deputy Women and Equality Minister Jacqui Smith has announced that 43 voluntary and community sector organisations will benefit from a £1.4 million cash boost to inform people of their rights under the new Employment Equality (Sexual […]
Editor’s Comment: Stress in the 21st century
By Annie Hayes, HRZone EditorWednesday marked National Stress Awareness Day, an annual event now in its seventh successive year – stress though is far from a cyclical event, it is ever-present in every-day life and seemingly in all walks of life; Editor’s Comment looks at the issues. We’ve all seen the cartoons of stressed managers […]
‘Embarrassed’ employers fall foul of DDA
Employers in the UK are too shy to investigate disabilities causing them to fall foul of regulations imposed under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA); according to employment law firm Withers LLP.The obligations of the DDA have been extended to businesses with fewer than 15 employees as of 1 October 2004. This means that if an […]
