New HR Charter: Part 11b – Auditing HR
Anyone interested in organisational management cannot fail to have noticed that the world of accounting standards and conventional auditing practices has been thrown into complete disarray by the Enron, WorldCom and Parmalat scandals. Auditing HR: The shift from cost to valueHR people who do not know what the implications of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 […]
Case Study: Leadership Training – The Blended Approach
Brooks Automation, a leading equipment supplier to global semiconductor manufacturers, is training its managers worldwide in facilitative leadership skills, using a blended learning programme.The programme comprises an online learning module, a complementary classroom workshop and post-event workplace activities. Called Leadership and Teamwork, it shows how leaders can use facilitation skills to improve teamwork and meet […]
Acas Launches Free Consultation Training Guide
A free, web based good practice advice and training package for organisations wanting to know more about new information and consultation (I&C) regulations is available from Acas.The material – available at the Acas website – aims to help employers, employees and their representatives reach agreements under the regulations coming into force on 6 April 2005. […]
Young Favour Vocational Training Over Academia
Nearly two-thirds of young people feel that learning work skills is more important than getting a degree, according to a new survey. The report by SkillCity, which promotes vocational teaching, found that 61% of 16 to 24-year-olds favoured work skills over a degree, while half of those interviewed felt that learning work-based skills was the […]
Candidate ‘gazumping’ rife as labour market tightens
A huge 70% of firms expect to be affected by employee ‘gazumping’ in the future if the trend for candidates to be poached by more agile competitors continues according to a new report, but despite these findings the CIPD say that the jobs market is at a virtual standstill.A report by Brooklands Executives reveals that […]
Gastrozone – Harrogate: Feeling peckish?
Racking your brains for a suitable restaurant venue in Harrogate? Need a food lovers guide to the best culinary delights in Yorkshire?HRZone is pleased to introduce Gastrozone. Intended to be the best ever dining guide for the UK’s HR community, Gastrozone is a forum where you can share news, views, reviews and recommendations with other […]
Member wire #71 – Campaigners fired up for UK smoking ban
================================================================ HR Zone Members Newswire Issue 71 26 October 2004 http://www.hrzone.co.uk ================================================================ SITE HIGHLIGHTS ***** SITE HIGHLIGHTS ***** SITE HIGHLIGHTS 1. Editor’s Comment: Campaigners fired up for UK smoking ban 2. Feature: Getting online with the Home Computing Initiative 3. HR Tip: Holiday pay 4. HR & Payroll free qualifications up for grabs! 5. Any […]
HR Tip: Holiday pay
HRD & Payroll Solutions continues to bring HR Zone members a range of HR tips. This week’s tip looks at recovering holiday pay on termination of contract. Q: Can pay be deducted from final wages if an employee has taken more days holiday then their entitlement allows at the point when their contract comes to […]
Feature: Disability Discrimination Act: The New Regime
By Annabel MackayOn 1 October 2004 the Government introduced a raft of legislative changes that will keep employers busy over the coming months; although the new statutory disciplinary, dismissal and grievance procedures received a lot of press coverage, significant amendments were also made to the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (“the Act”). The small employer exemption […]
Pay settlements stall at 3%
Pay analysts, IRS report that average settlements continue to stand at 3%; a figure that has remained unchanged for the last 18 months since April 2003.This period of stability is unprecedented since April 1996 when pay settlements also hovered around the 3% mark until movement came about in September 1997.Half of all pay awards in […]
Poor paternity pay levels is a turn-off for dads
Fathers are unwilling to take their entitlement to two weeks paid paternity leave because the rate of statutory paternity pay is too low; reveals latest research.The research conducted by professional body the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and law firm Hammonds shows that despite British workers adopting more flexible working practices rates of […]
‘Investors in health’ award tabled
An ‘Investors in health’ award is being considered by ministers looking to encourage employers to promote healthy lifestyles.The award will be along the lines of the Investors in People Programme, which recognises best-practice in people-management.The Financial Times reports that the option is under consideration for the government’s public health white paper, which will highlight the […]
Weekend strike at Gatwick looms
A further two-day strike is set to cause havoc once again at Gatwick airport this Saturday and Sunday.The ongoing dispute concerns the failure to resolve concerns over changed working practices and the suspension of a senior shop steward.Ian McCoulough, T&G regional industrial organiser commented: “The longer this dispute has gone on the stronger the support […]
HR staff targeted in impending BBC job cuts
A shake-up of the BBC orchestrated by new Director-General, Mark Thompson looks set to axe a quarter of its 28,000 workforce in attempts to make the corporation leaner as it faces the renewal of its ten-year Royal Charter.BBC People, the human resources department is said to be in the spotlight for cost savings. The Times […]
Review: Information Strategy in Practice
Title: Information Strategy in PracticeAuthor: Elizabeth OrnaPublisher: Gower PublishingISBN: 0 566 085798Price £35.00 Reviewer: Stephen Joneswww.softbrands.comInformation Strategy in Practice by Elizabeth Orna is unsurprisingly a handbook on how to create an “information strategy.” There is also a subtext on changing information roles and responsibilities in organisations and that information management is everyone’s responsibility. An “information […]
Feature: Getting online with the Home Computing Initiative
By Sue Harley, director of learning at FuturemediaIn 1999, the government launched new guidelines to improve levels of computer literacy in the UK in a drive to get the whole nation online through the Home Computing Initiative (HCI); Sue Harley argues that every organisation in the UK regardless of size should consider implementing an HCI […]
Retailers warn of jobs slash if NMW goes up
Further National Minimum Wage (NMW) raises could hit retailers so severely that they would be forced to axe as many as 20,000 jobs.The warning comes amidst fears that further rate increases are on the cards. As of 1 October the adult rate rose to £4.85 while the youth rate hit £4.10 and a new rate […]
UK financial services ‘battered’ by redtape
The CBI called this morning for a moratorium on new regulation and warned that complacency in Brussels: “Could endanger the global status of UK financial services.”The business group claims that between 2004 and 2006, companies face the imposition of over 20 EU measures, resulting in regulation and consultation overload.CBI Deputy Director-General, John Cridland, said: “The […]
Civil servants vote to strike on Guy Fawkes night
Remember, remember, the 5th of November but not perhaps this time for the foiled plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament; members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) have voted by two to one for a one-day national civil service strike over government plans to axe over 100,000 jobs.The one day stoppage […]
TUC makes fresh call for an autumn bank holiday
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is urging the government to make this Monday one of three new bank holidays. The TUC say the government should bring the number of bank holidays into line with the rest of Europe who have an average 11 compared to the UK’s eight. Slovakia tops the league with the most […]
