HR priorities for the next 12 months
While recruitment, retention and employee absence continue to be the most widely cited priorities of the past year, organisational restructuring has emerged for the first time as the most challenging task facing HR practitioners – with many citing the successful conclusion of large-scale restructuring programmes as their proudest achievement. The IRS HR Prospects Survey of […]
Terms and Conditions for use of this website
If you use the HRZone.co.uk website (the “Website”) you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions.1. Definitions In these terms and conditions, “we” and “us” means HRZone.co.uk, which is a trading name of HR Zone Limited (company number 04009889), whose registered office is 5th Floor, 100 Victoria Street, Bristol BS1 6HZ. 2. Access […]
Sweating the small stuff: tackling stress at source
If organisations want their people to be innovative, creative and enthusiastic, they have to put their antennae up and find out exactly what it is about work that is getting people down, warns Paul Roberts, healthcare consultant at IHC. It’s hard to get away from the subject of workplace stress these days and recent estimates […]
Training Trends 2004: Predictions of Increased Demand
Training and HR professionals are predicting increased demand across many fields of learning and development in the coming year.Respondents to Training Zone’s ‘Training Trends 2004’, of whom 72% were in management positions, picked out coaching and mentoring as the main growth area, with 77% saying their organisation planned to increase its use in the coming […]
HR Tip – Informal warnings
HRD & Payroll Solutions continues to bring HR Zone members a range of HR tips. This week’s tip looks at informal warnings. Q: When I give an employee an informal warning, do they need to be accompanied? And should I confirm the warning in writing? A: The employee has no legal entitlement to be accompanied […]
The New HR Charter – a series that raises the bar for HR professionals
Paul Kearns is an outspoken critic of HR practices that cannot clearly demonstrate the value they add to organisations. In a brand new series for HR Zone, Paul sets out a provisional Charter for a new era of HRM. A Charter against which you can gauge your own HR function. This is meant to launch […]
‘Corporate killing’ company car chaos
New laws could see bosses charged with corporate manslaughter if cars bought by employees using a cash allowance are unfit for business use, warn employment law experts.In an attempt to slash tax bills, many employers give employees a cash amount to pay for a car themselves, but Russell Brown at Manchester law firm Glaisyers, warns […]
How Did I Get Here? Paul Kearns, PWL
Paul Kearns entered the HR profession in 1978 working in industrial relations and then moved through training and development into generalist HR work. Since 1991 he has been running the PWL consultancy – specialising in HR measurement, HR strategy, evaluation and performance measurement and management. He has published 6 books to date on employee performance […]
Training Trends 2004: Attitudes to training
Organisations’ attitudes to training and development are getting better, but there is still room for improvement, according to the Training Trends 2004 survey.The survey of Training Zone and HR Zone members found that while 72% described their organisation’s attitude to training as generally positive, almost half went on to say that their company’s good intentions […]
Eight in ten failing to manage work-related stress
With reports today that heavy workloads are to blame for stress, a survey has found that nearly eight in ten employers could be contributing to ‘Burn-out Britain’ by failing to manage the main factors identified by the HSE known to cause stress at work.79% of health and safety professionals polled by Croner have not taken […]
PMI – health or wealth damage?
Paul Avis of Employ-Mend suggests that there are alternatives to insured schemes as such benefits may now be going the way of final salary schemes: too expensive to maintain. Private medical insurance (PMI) is an increasingly expensive benefit to maintain. Whilst few within the industry would disagree with this, it is the level of likely […]
Court of Appeal considers ‘rolled-up’ holiday pay
The Court of Appeal has considered the thorny issue of ‘rolled-up’ holiday pay.According to barrister Daniel Barnett, Laws LJ held in the conjoined appeals of Clarke v Staddon and Caulfield v Marshalls Clay Products that ‘rolled-up’ holiday pay complies with the EU Working Time Directive. He examined the policy behind the Directive and relied heavily […]
Revised draft code on racial equality in employment
The Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) is now consulting on its revised statutory Code of Practice on Racial Equality in Employment. It is now 20 years since the current statutory code of practice came into force. Since then, there have been a number of amendments to the Race Relations Act 1976, as well as new […]
Employees search for more ‘meaning’ in their work
A lack of ‘meaning’ in the workplace is having a damaging effect on morale and staff retention rates, according to a new research report.Roffey Park’s report ‘In Search of Meaning in the Workplace’ reveals that 70% of employees are looking for more ‘meaning’ in their work. “The search for meaning appears to be part of […]
UK workers regain career confidence
Workers in the UK are feeling increasingly secure in their jobs, according to a global survey of 9,785 employees which has identified UK employees as among the most confident in the world.When asked how they view the possibility of being laid off from their job in the coming year, 21% of a representative group of […]
Pregnant nursery worker wins sex discrimination case
A trainee nursery nurse who was sacked when she became pregnant has today won her sex discrimination case against her former employer. The Birmingham tribunal awarded her £7,473 compensation. Rebecca Mountford, from Stourport-on-Severn, started work at the Jack and Jill Nursery in Bromsgrove as a trainee nursery nurse in January 2003. She was sacked in […]
Planning to recruit accession country workers?
A survey of 101 HR professionals reveals that 39% are planning to recruit from accession countries to fill a skills shortage after 1 May 2004.EU enlargement: a reservoir of talent? by recruitment communications firm Barkers, found that the majority believe recruits will only stay for between 18 and 24 months – indicating recruitment may be […]
Could your organisation be Employer of the Year?
Has your organisation introduced ‘granny leave’ or initiatives to encourage more men to work flexibly?The Working Families Employer of the Year Awards 2004, launched today, are designed to reward innovation and creative thinking in work-life balance and spread the word on best practice. Perhaps you could apply for the Family Friendly Award, Scottish Employer of […]
HR Tip – Extended holidays
HRD & Payroll Solutions continues to bring HR Zone members a range of HR tips. This week’s tip looks at extended holidays. Q: We have agreed to allow two employees to take extended unpaid holidays, one to visit relatives in Pakistan and the other to tour the States. We have asked them to sign a […]
Reward managers have best paid HR jobs
Reward managers have the best paid jobs in the personnel profession, earning 12% more than the average salary for the profession, according to a new survey. The survey of personnel professionals by Croner Reward and the CIPD, based on 7825 HR jobs in over 1500 organisations from the public, private and voluntary sectors, also highlights […]
