Feature: Changing attitudes towards work
By Sophie Dawson and David Tong, Mercer Human Resource Consulting Flexible working and promoting a healthy work-life balance are issues that have found themselves perpetually on the HR agenda. A vast amount of research has been published in this area, best practice manuals have been written, and politicians, academics and business leaders alike espouse the […]
Feature: When employee benefits affect your business
By Tim Bradley, managing director, Pecaso UK Work/life balance is one of the hot topics of the moment, with reports appearing left, right and centre of Britons’ lack of ‘R’ and ‘R’. Employers have reacted to this with a range of benefits, from duvet-days to flexi-time. However, whilst employees may well have gotten used to […]
Online Disability Act Guide
The British Retail Consortium and the Disability Rights Commission have launched a guide to help retailers comply with part III of the Disability Discrimination Act. Part III of the Act, which coming into force on 1 October 2004, means that anyone providing goods or services has to make reasonable adjustments to their premises or the […]
HR Tip: Wage deductions for parking fines
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 have just paid the parking fine of a company car driver and now wish to deduct it from his wages. Can we? A: You may do this only if you have written […]
Welcome to The Leadership Economy
“The knowledge economy has not served us well, and not delivered real, sustainable value for our stakeholders, our companies, and our world,” David Taylor, author of the best selling book The Naked Leader, invites you to move into the next business age… Over the last 20 years we have spent billions of global currencies on […]
Meet the Revenue and learn about PAYE e-filing
The Inland Revenue may be losing marketing and communications director Ian Schoolar, but his legacy lives on in “meet the customer” briefings at Softworld to explain how to file PAYE returns online.At Softworld HR & Payroll, running alongside the Accounting & Finance event at Birmingham’s NEC on 20 October, Revenue business adviser Marie Gibbs will […]
IT Recruitment Set to Double
Demand for IT skills is riding high with more than half of IT managers expecting to recruit this year.In a survey of 500 IT professionals, 56% of managers said they expected to take on more staff in 2004 – double last year’s figure of 28%.Further signs of buoyancy were shown in the large number of […]
Case study: campaign for learning
With over seven million adults in the UK identified as having poor literacy and numeracy levels, promoting the benefits of life long learning has never been so important. The charity ‘Campaign for Learning’ is dedicated to doing just that. Originally launched in 1997, it aims to stimulate learning that will sustain people for life. Campaign […]
The Way I See It… In Praise of Praise
Michael Massey of EQLS is in favour of that old-fashioned motivator – telling people they have done a good job. Praise is a great motivator. Like small children we blossom and grow when we are praised or given encouragement. Praise punctures self-doubt and releases enthusiasm. If there is no praise or recognition there is no […]
Softworld announces speakers
The Quo Group, PA Consulting Group, Inland Revenue and GEE Publishing are among the line up at this year’s Softworld event, held at the NEC Birmingham on 20-21 October.Over 40 exhibitors will be at the Softworld HR & Payroll event including leading players, Frontier Software Plc, Northgate HR, Sage (UK), Snowdrop Systems and KCS.Softworld Accounting […]
SMEs can halt decline by adopting a longer-term view
The task of building and maintaining a sustainable business model could never be described as a walkover. Get it wrong, and you could be staring down the loaded barrel of corporate failure. Get it right and you will earn the respect and loyalty of those who matter most to your business: your customers, your employees […]
HR Tip: Homosexual discrimination
HRD & Payroll Solutions continues to bring HR Zone members a range of HR tips. This week’s tip looks at homosexual discrimination. Q: One of my employees complains that his colleagues make jokes and comments about him being homosexual. He assures me that he is not. Indeed I have met his wife and children. However […]
The New HR Charter: Part 8 – Politically correct yes – but is HR more effective?
It is some years since I last had an operational HR role and managed an HR team but very recently I found myself back in just such a position, nominally and temporarily, while I was working for one of my HR clients. I have to admit that the experience opened my eyes to the new […]
Domestic violence costs employers
Time off work due to injuries caused by domestic violence is costing employers £2.7 billion a year; according to a new report.The research conducted by Professor Sylvia Walby of the University of Leeds was commissioned by the government.The cost of domestic violence estimates the cost of human and social suffering to be £17 billion. The […]
SMEs say ‘no’ to more bank holidays
A new survey has revealed that over 90% of businesses believe that a new bank holiday will have a negative impact on productivity.The news comes on the back of fresh calls by the Trades Union Congress to bring the number of bank holidays in line with the rest of Europe who currently average 11 days […]
Top work whinges revealed
The first UK ‘whinge report’ was published today revealing that workers long for a ‘pat on the back’ in recognition of a job well done.The research of almost 1600 managers in the UK was conducted by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and Adecco. Managers advise bosses to: 1. Say thanks: 40% of managers feel exploited […]
Prison staff join the striking queue
Staff working in the prison service including electricians, cooks and maintenance workers are the latest group to threaten strike action over pay. In recent weeks the country has witnessed similar threats from British Airways (BA) and the fire service.In each case pay won the day. BA staff secured an 8.5% pay rise over three years […]
Banker claims £7.5 million for sex discrimination
Stephanie Villalba, a former Merrill Lynch banker is suing for £7.5m in damages for unfair dismissal, sex discrimination and unequal pay.Villalba claims that the bank is ‘institutionally sexist’ and accuses her former boss, Ausaf Abba for forcing her to act as a stewardess for male colleagues on a corporate jet.The £300,000 a year banker will […]
Heads will roll at BA
BA chief executive, Rod Eddington has launched an investigation into last week’s chaos at Heathrow airport and vows to take ‘appropriate action’.Almost 100 British Airways (BA) flights were cancelled and 10,000 passengers disrupted last week. The airline apologised to customers and said staff shortages were to blame. A claim that the unions refute.Brendan Gold of […]
Businesses exposed to fraud
Employers rank fraud as a top business concern, according to research from accountants and business advisers MacIntyre Hudson.The survey of owner-managed businesses show that 38% see fraud at the single biggest threat to the security of their business, compared to 36% citing burglary. Just over a quarter of respondents fear employee fraud saying it is […]
