Feature: Managing sickness absence
By Dr Gill MacLeod at Rood Lane Medical GroupWith sickness absence rates up in 2003 for the first time in five years and average cost per employee running at £475 equivalent to a national cost of £11.6 billion; absence management is one of the biggest issues facing companies and it is on everyone’s lips as […]
Civil service job cuts trigger strike vote
The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) is balloting for strike action against controversial government plans to axe over 100,000 civil and public service jobs.The biggest strike ballot in a generation would signal industrial action to be held on 5 November, if members vote to strike.290,000 members are being asked to cast their vote.Voters are […]
IoD welcomes new Director General
Miles Templeman joins the Institute of Directors (IoD) today with over 30 years business experience.The employers’ organisation representing 55,000 members welcomes Templeman today as the new Director General.Templeman commented: “I will seek to establish the IoD not only as the centre of excellence for good corporate governance in the UK, but also to broaden our […]
Pressure on boards to justify fat cat pay
Accountancy firm, KPMG has revealed that FTSE 100 chief executives were in receipt of an average pay packet of £1.5 million last year; a climb of 8% on the year before and 4% ahead of the average UK-wide increase of the same figure.According to the report, the findings highlight the yawning pay gap between boardroom […]
Surveyors and accountants lead the Christmas party revellers
Chartered surveyors and accountants are the wildest party goers according to research by Christmas party organiser West End Events.Antics including dancing on tables, and singing rugby songs were just some of the things that singled them out as the most spirited Christmas party revellers. Young workers in their 20s were found to head straight for […]
‘Red tape day’ launched
Today witnessed the first ‘red tape day’ in which new legislation was scheduled for introduction with a common commencement date.Under the system, new regulations will be implemented on just two days a year, 1 October and 6 April. Previously legislation has been introduced in an arbitrary fashion causing unaware businesses much confusion. Most business groups […]
Editor’s Comment: The changing face of conflict at work
By Annie Hayes, HRZone EditorThe new dispute regulations come into force today (1 October 2004) introducing a three-step disciplinary and grievance procedure for managing workplace disputes; Editor’s Comment looks at the role of ‘conflict’ at work, its place in the employment relationship and the new methods for managing it. Findings from the Chartered Institute of […]
Disability legislation extends to SMEs
Exemptions for small to medium sized businesses (SMEs) to the Disability Discrimination Act were removed today; many more businesses will now need to abide by the rules.As of 1 October 2004, organisations of any size will be expected to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to their premises as well as their employment, recruitment and dismissal procedures. FirstAssist, […]
Office clowns out of favour
Workers rank reliability as the ultimate quality in a co-worker; according to new research.The findings released by recruitment giant Manpower shows that nearly 40% of workers cite reliability at their most preferred characteristic for a colleague.Friendly co-workers who regularly offer to make tea, coffee and share sugary treats would surprisingly only be chosen by 1% […]
Bah humbug! Festive cheer gets lost on workers
Surprising findings from Portfolio Payroll and employment law firm, Peninsula show that employees would rather be at work then on holiday; a result which shows that workers in the UK are more tied to their desks then ever before.According to the poll of 2531 employees, 71% would rather work than have a lengthy Christmas break.Supporting […]
Online filing explained at Softworld
The Inland Revenue will be presenting an overview of online filing at the two-day Softworld HR & Payroll event.From next year employers with more than 250 employees will be obliged to file online with medium-sized employers (50-249 employees) required to submit returns online the following year.Smaller businesses, those with fewer then 50 employees are not […]
Poll predicts rise in e-learning
Nearly all organisations plan to increase their use of e-learning, according to a new poll.The survey of 150 HR and training professionals, from organisations including Xerox, Reuters, Sainsburys, Shell, O2, Deloitte, Nestle Purina and Marconi, found that 96% expected to increase e-learning as part of their organisations’ overall training delivery in the next 2-3 years.Of […]
Pay hikes stagnate at 3%
Average pay settlements remain unchanged at 3%; a trend that has seen no upwards revision for a year and a half.Pay analysts, Industrial Relations Services (IRS) report that one-third of all pay settlements awarded a 3% rise.Just over a quarter of those surveyed, however, said they made a pay award that outstripped inflation. While public […]
Western Europeans work longer
Latest research says that workers in Western Europe have to wait longer to claim their state pension then Eastern Europeans; the findings show that the average Eastern European worker can claim their state pension two-and-a-half-years earlier then workers in the West of Europe.For women, the difference is even greater, at five years. The study conducted […]
Untapped potential trapped by inflexible working patterns
Workplace potential is not being fully realised according to findings from a poll of 500 workers carried out by the The Survey Shop on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry.Over half, 54% of respondents said they wanted to be more productive but felt too overloaded with day-to-day tasks to ever be given the […]
Eurostar workers set to strike
Members of Britain’s biggest rail union, RMT working for the high speed passenger train service voted in favour of strike action yesterday by a convincing six to one.The dispute over pay and conditions includes issues such as staff travel benefits, family-friendly policies and a nine-day fortnight.Of 330 ballot papers sent out 204 were returned of […]
Employers in the dark on new dispute regulations
Awareness of the new law on employment disputes, which comes into force this week, is worryingly low according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). The Employment Act 2002 (Dispute Resolution) Regulations 2004 comes into effect on 1 October 2004 and will introduce a new three-step procedure which will have to be followed in the […]
Softworld feature: Employment law update
Stuart Chamberlain, Employment Law author at Gee Publishing will be hosting a free ’employment law update’ on Thursday 21 October between 12.45 – 13.00 at the forthcoming Softworld HR & Payroll event. Stuart’s seminar aims to provide attendees with a snap shot of current and forthcoming legislative developments in employment law together with recent case […]
Softworld feature: Payroll legislative changes
Adrian Hobbs, Payroll Author at Gee Publishing, will be speaking at the free Softworld HR & Payroll seminar ‘Review of recent & upcoming payroll legislative changes’ at 10.15am on Wednesday 20 October. Here’s a snapshot of the key payroll changes he’ll be discussing… Mandatory electronic paymentsMany large employers are storing up major problems for themselves […]
Retailers launch Christmas recruitment campaigns
Christmas has started even earlier this year with latest findings from employment law firm, Peninsula showing that 83% of retailers polled admitted to having started recruitment campaigns to cover the festive period. This is up from 69% of employers who said they were recruiting at the same point in time, last year.In worrying news, however, […]
