CBI calls on government to address pension crisis
Employers’ group the CBI is due to unveil figures which highlights the level of pension commitment by employers and asks the government to correct the perception that UK Plc is the ‘villain’ of the pensions’ crisis.Digby Jones, Director-General of the CBI says that employer contributions rose by £19bn to £37bn between 1997 and 2003. He […]
Softworld feature: Selecting and implementing HR software
Paul Priddle, a SAKS Consulting Principal, is speaking at the forthcoming Softworld HR & Payroll event on ‘Selecting and implementing HR software for beneficial business change’. In a preview to the seminar, HR Zone quizzed Paul on planning processes, preparing a business case, key market trends and navigating the vendors. HR Zone: What is involved […]
Editor’s Comment: Can Royal Mail rise above the taunts?
By Annie Hayes, HRZone EditorRoyal Mail has been abused, criticised and cursed by the press for some time now – its high-profile attendance reward scheme has been ridiculed, it was laughed at for failing its own set of 15 performance targets and its deputy chairman’s severance package has been labelled as ‘obscene’; Editor’s Comment takes […]
Businesses unprepared for information and consultation regulations
The Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations will be implemented in six months time on 6 April 2005 but despite findings which show that HR and personnel professionals believe the new legislation will have either some or a lot of impact on their business nearly 90% of organisations are yet to address the issue.These are […]
Harsh new rules of procedure in Employment Tribunals
In a new series contributed by solicitors Bevans, James Taylor takes a look at the new procedural rules that are now in force at Employment Tribunals. New procedural rules are now in force at Employment Tribunals. Businesses facing claims, and those bringing them, will need to be aware of strict time limits. There will be […]
Review: Leadership the Sven-Goran Eriksson Way
Title: Leadership the Sven-Goran Eriksson Way Authors: Julian Birkinshaw and Stuart CrainerPublisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd Capstone Publishing Ltd ISBN: 184112589X Price: £9.99Reviewer: Desiree Cox, Praeceptor ConsultingThis book is a real treat amongst business books and is inspirational reading material. The authors have skilfully examined Eriksson’s leadership style comparing the successful application to football […]
Three-quarters of charities face skills shortfall
Seventy-five per cent of charities see staffing and skills shortages as a risk, while just half invest in training to deal with shortfalls, according to a new report.According to the latest Charity Finance Directors’ Group (CFDG) report the skills shortage is seen as worst at senior management level, with half of charities feeling this is […]
Scottish website rolls-out service to blind jobseekers
In a recent report the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) found that 92% of employers believe it would be ‘difficult or impossible’ to employ someone with a sight problem.Official statistics show that this kind of discrimination prevents three-quarters of blind and partially-sighted people from gaining employment.In a move that will help blind and […]
HR outsourcing market set to expand
The global market for HR business process outsourcing (BPO) is set to grown at 21% a year, reaching $7 billion in four years, say BPO analysts NelsonHall.NelsonHall founder John Willmott commented: “Until now, most global HR outsourcing deals have been single-process engagements, such as localised payroll services; pensions and benefit administration; and recruitment. “Now we […]
Feature: Intelligent recruiting
By Tim Bradley, managing director, Pecaso UKIf businesses believe that people are the jewel in an organisation’s crown, why are so many HR departments poorly prepared when it comes to recruitment? Rather than having watertight, failsafe resourcing processes in place too many organisations expect their HR departments to don hard hats and fire fight the […]
Marks & Spencer accused of bullying staff
Retailer, Marks & Spencer is planning a shift in working patterns for its 55,000 strong store-staff in order to combat customer complaints about poor service; the Transport & General Workers’ Union, however, claim that the changes are unacceptable and have accused the retailer of adopting ‘bullying’ tactics.The union said it had been contacted by a […]
HR Tip: Bad language in the workplace
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: One of our employees uses bad language fairly regularly. He doesn’t do it to abuse people so it is not harassment, but nevertheless some employees have complained. We have spoken to the […]
No smiles for the camera as Kodak shut factory
Kodak announced plans to axe 600 jobs in the UK and close its factory in Nottinghamshire yesterday; admitting that it was bowing out to consumer trends.Sales in digital photography are rising while film camera sales have witnessed a downward spiral. Forty million digital cameras were sold last year while film cameras came in second best […]
Workers in pensions gloom
Pensions worries are riding high according to latest findings from the Nationwide and despite slowing confidence in the property market most are pinning their hopes on bricks and mortar to plug the pensions shortfall.Four in every 10 (41%) people in the UK believe they will not have sufficient income for their retirement and a significant […]
Softworld Feature: E-HR at Devon County Council
John Thorndyke workforce planning and development manager at Devon County Council will be hosting a 9.00 breakfast briefing on Thursday 21 October at the forthcoming Softworld HR & Payroll event; read on for a preview taster of his experiences of streamlining learning and development through E-HR. How to manage the training and development needs of […]
UK job creation tops 20,000
Almost 23,000 jobs have been created across the 21 key UK industries in the past month, reports HRZONE’s sister site TrainingZONEThere was a rise in job creation within the energy sector with over 1000 jobs created compared to this time last year, according to the Mandis/Adecco Job Creation Index (JCI) for September. The hospitality sector […]
CIPD unveils new reward qualification
Professional body, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has launched a new advanced certificate in reward management in recognition of the growing specialised nature of reward within human resources management.The new qualification is applicable for professionals working in all sectors including public, private and not-for-profit.Charles Cotton, CIPD reward adviser commented: “Reward is becoming […]
Pay day hangovers trigger rising ‘sickies’
A new poll reveals that excess drinking is having an impact on rising absence figures.Eight out of ten respondents in a poll conducted by employment law firm Peninsula and Portfolio Payroll admit to pulling a ‘sickie’ on a Monday morning following a weekend of boozing.The problem was found to escalate following pay day with 80% […]
Women struggle to get into the boardroom
Just 3% of executive directors and 8% of non-executive directors are women says a report by Deloitte; but says women’s network Aurora women are getting more savvy and are dismissing complacent employers who may block their path to the top.The news comes despite findings that 70% of FTSE 350 companies have made changes to their […]
Call centre employment swells
Latest findings show that employment levels in UK call centres continues to rise.According to the survey by Incomes Data Services of 107 organisations employing around 92,000 call centre staff just over half of respondents (58%) report to a year long hiring drive with expectations of more recruitment in the coming year.Traditional perceptions of high-staff turnover […]
