Workers fear productivity hangover
Employees are showing a measured response to the news of impending 24-hour pub licensing laws; the survey by recruitment website Reed.co.uk shows that over half of the 8,440 respondents feel that extended opening hours will cut UK productivity.Alcohol abuse costs UK businesses 29 million lost working days a year equating to a total bill of […]
The numbers game
By Jamie Barber, consultant IntroNet When discussing the wider issues facing the HR industry with clients it’s likely that the topic of metrics will have cropped up at least in passing. As professional recruiters, you’ll already be familiar with the suite of performance indicators that measure recruiting effectiveness, but you may be less up-to-date with […]
Employers shy away from pensions
A new survey by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) shows that less than one in ten job adverts make any mention of pensions.The study was conducted over a two-week period last month. Job adverts were studied in print publications ranging from national broadsheets to local papers. Out of a total 1,519 adverts, only 101 mentioned […]
Eurostar to strike over pay and grading
Further bank holiday misery looms as Eurostar’s Waterloo and Ashford terminals announce a planned 24 hour strike on 28 August in a dispute over pay and grading.The news follows unrest by British Airways staff who are also set to strike over the bank holiday weekend. “Unequal and unfair pay have no place in any modern […]
Editor’s Comment: Working the reward schemes
By Annie Ward, HRZone EditorIn the last few weeks we have witnessed two major organisations, the Royal Mail and British Airways introduce attendance bonus schemes and, in recent years it has been recognised that people are the key source of competitive advantage, so it might not be surprising to see initiatives such as these in […]
Citizens Advice Bureaux calls upon HR skills
The Citizens Advice Bureaux, the independent problem-solving charity is launching a recruitment campaign to encourage volunteers with HR skills to help out.The Bureaux dealt with more than 560,000 employment problems in the year 2002-2003 with many relating to discrimination at work, dismissal and redundancy as well as terms and conditions.Over 20,000 volunteers signed up to […]
BBC paid criminal £40,000
Despite serving a 14-month prison sentence for violence, the BBC and Channel 4 paid James Raven £40,000 a year to conduct surveillance work.The corporation was criticized yesterday for its actions. James Raven, 44, was convicted on Thursday at Chester Crown Court. He was the ringleader of a masked gang who killed a drugs smuggler in […]
Case Study: Employee development hits the right chord
Linda Doe, founder of Psychology at Work looks at how her organisation managed to implement a successful change programme at the Scottish Executive while improving employee development. Have you ever been involved in a major change programme or the restructuring of an entire directorate? You will no doubt recognise or imagine some of the challenges […]
UK parliament accused of being ‘asleep on the job’
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is due to lash out at MPs today for failing to scrutinize European legislation, accusing the UK parliament of being ‘asleep on the job’.The CBI is calling for parliamentary reforms to increase national influence over the EU. In a call for further control, Director-General of the employers’ body, Digby-Jones […]
The Way I See It… Companies Must Wise up to Business Benefits of Training
Laura Kelly, International Marketing Manager of Thomson NETg explains why smart organisations build training into their strategic business plan. For any organisation that wants to get ahead and stay ahead, staff training and development should form part of a central business function – it is no coincidence that the world’s most successful companies invest heavily […]
Basic skills in decline
Schools minister David Miliband congratulated pupils today for a near 100% A-Level pass mark but says SHL; verbal and numerical reasoning skills are in decline.The experts in objective assessment show that in tests designed to assess the ability of candidates to deal with verbal and numerical information, graduate job seekers are scoring less well than […]
Finance sector fails to engage key players
Sixty-one per cent of HR directors working within the financial services industry describe their organisations as failing to develop key talent.TalentMax interviewed HR directors from 56 financial services organisations for the survey.The news comes despite almost half of respondents admitting to having a talent management programme in place with others planning to do so.Clear links […]
Employee or contractor? You decide
The line between contract worker and employee is a fine one. There has been considerable commentary in the HR press about the way organisations should treat their temporary workforce in order to mitigate the risks; so is HR taking notice? Contractors, temps and interims are being treated in the same way as permanent employees. A […]
E-blunders cause embarrassment
Communications dilemmas triggered by e-politics are causing concern for employees; says a new survey carried out for the Department of Trade and Industry.The findings show that nearly a quarter of employees have suffered crossed-wires with colleagues or clients because their use of humour in an email has been misinterpreted. While as many as two in […]
Absence goes sky-high at BA
In a last-ditch attempt to avert planned bank holiday strikes and in addition to the 8.5% pay rise offer; BA has thrown in a one-off payment of £1000 for workers who take less than 16 days sick leave between October 2004 and September 2006.The GMB and T&G unions have rejected the current pay offer in […]
A-grades get mixed response
As A-Level grades reach new heights this summer the ongoing standards row gets underway; as schools minister Dave Miliband applauds pupils for a job well done the Institute of Directors (IoD) has called for a change in direction.The overall pass rate for A-Levels this year was close to 100% with official figures coming in at […]
Top marks pose recruitment challenge
Rising grades for school leavers and students are proving a headache for recruiters; say the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).A-level results this summer are expected to excel expectations. The results are to be published this Thursday and are believed to show an improvement on last year’s results where 21.6% of entries were awarded […]
HR equals better pay
Landing a job in ‘HR’ over ‘Personnel’ could mean a 10 per cent pay difference; says a new survey by the Hay Group.The survey of 10,000 HR professionals in over 400 UK organisations also found that a strong correlation between industry sector, professional title and pay exists.Of 120 organisations that call their departments ‘Personnel’, 62 […]
Trouble hits HR in manufacturing
Low training budgets, high levels of collective redundancy and slow voluntary staff turnover is causing a headache for HR departments in the beleaguered sector, according to new research; while recent findings show that in a strange twist pay has increased. The survey of 365 UK organisations conducted by online information service, Consult GEE and the […]
CIPD Director General heads for Brazil
The Director General of the CIPD, Geoff Armstrong takes on the presidency of the World Federation of Personnel Management Association (WFPMA) this week following his recent election to the post.The Human Resources Management World Congress was held in Brazil yesterday. Personnel management themes for the 21st century formed the key topic of discussion at the […]
