Employment tribunal cases double
Employment tribunal cases have increased by 50% in five years, according to a survey by the EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation.Last year alone the number of cases handled on behalf of its 6000 members increased by 3% to 2206 cases, compared with 1450 cases handled by EEF in 1998 when membership was at the same level. […]
Update your occupational road risk policies
Three in four employers think recent legislation banning the use of handheld mobile phones while driving does not go far enough, according to a new survey. Three-quarters of health and safety professionals who took part in the Croner Web poll thought that other potentially distracting activities such as eating and drinking, smoking and listening to […]
Thousands of civil service jobs axed
Thousands of civil service jobs are to be axed by 2008 as a result of cuts in budget and the merger of Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise, the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, announced today. The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) is having to cut 40,000 staff posts and redeploy 10,000 posts over the next […]
So what does the 2004 Budget mean for HR?
Despite announcements to axe civil servants jobs, ways to help people into work along with reforms to reduce regulatory burden were key themes to emerge in today’s Budget.Chancellor Gordon Brown announced a range of initiatives aimed at helping people into work, including pilots providing help for lone parents seeking employment and help for people on […]
Budget report: At-a-glance
AccountingWEB, HR Zone’s sister community site, is on hand to guide you through Brown’s maze – examining the impact of new measures on small and medium-size businesses and drawing together all the budget announcements and analysis. See https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/budget for more information.Below is an at-a-glance summary of the measures contained within the Budget Report. A full […]
70% of firms fail to measure business impact of training
More than two-thirds of organisations have no formal measurement practices to assess the impact of training on their business performance, according to a new study.The survey of training managers by IT Training and e-learning providers’ network Global Learning Alliance, found that just 30% of companies measured the impact of training on business performance.It also found […]
What are the key strategic HR tasks?
So we all know that the strategic contributions of an HR professional help to drive the success of an organisation but which tasks are HR called upon most to contribute to organisational bottom-line success?A Society for Human Resource Management survey, based on the responses of 267 randomly selected HR professionals from the SHRM membership, revealed […]
New three tier minimum wage is “discriminatory to young people”
Patricia Hewitt, Trade and Industry Secretary has announced that 16 and 17 year-olds will, for the first time, be brought under the protection of the National Minimum Wage from 1 October 2004, with a new £3 minimum hourly rate.The Government has also accepted recommendations from the Low Pay Commission to increase the National Minimum Wage […]
Managers raise major concerns about ‘Accounting for People’
Organisations will face major challenges in meeting Government-backed recommendations on human capital management reporting if the findings of a new survey are anything to go by.While most of the 200 UK board directors, senior finance managers and other managers surveyed said they are comfortable with basic HR metrics, few are focusing on broader performance issues, […]
Aligning reward strategies to business performance
For reward systems to operate effectively and deliver value in any organisation, their design should reflect and support organisational goals and underpin the overall business and people strategies. So what do you need to consider when developing a reward strategy? Mark Edelsten, European Partner, Mercer Human Resource Consulting offers advice. Concept of a reward strategyThe […]
Industry experts gather at Softworld to discuss key HR issues
Aligning HR and business strategy, outsourcing ROI based HR processes and successful human capital management, were amongst the key issues affecting HR and payroll professionals to emerge from the Softworld HR & Payroll event, which took place from 3-4 March 2004 at the Grand Hall, Olympia, London. Over 2000 HR and payroll professionals attended the […]
Salaries and job security rising in importance
Salaries and job security have overtaken effective leadership and ‘a good relationship with the boss’ as key priorities for employees in the last 12 months, according to a new survey by Capital Incentives & Motivation Ltd.While ‘being treated fairly’ and ‘having good relationships with colleagues’ remain top priorities among the 1990 respondents who took part, […]
Case study: Implementing a new payroll system at Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council
In the first of a two-part case study feature, Gareth Caple, Payroll Manager and appointed Project Manager for the e-HR/Payroll implementation at Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council tells HR Zone members about his experiences of selecting a new system and what was involved in the extensive procurement process. Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council […]
New coalition challenges employers to offer flexible working
A new coalition of organisations is challenging employers to unlock the potential of family friendly policies for their employees and their bottom line.The Parents’ and Carers’ Coalition, co-ordinated by the EOC, has set out the case for more action to support parents, carers and paid care workers and is calling on all the political parties […]
HR grows but still lacks time for “strategic” activities
More HR departments have grown in size and influence over the past five years, according to new research published today. More than half of the 118 organisations in the IRS survey reported that the number of staff in their HR departments had increased over the past five years. This is due to increased workload (57%), […]
When is misconduct gross misconduct?
Firing an employee can be one of the toughest business decisions you have to make, so you do not want to make it worse by getting it wrong and opening yourself up to a tribunal claim. With many employers unsure of the procedures to be followed when effecting a fair dismissal, Nick Hine from Thomas […]
Businesses unprepared for human capital measurement
Businesses are unprepared for human capital measurement yet they need better measures to unleash performance gains and keep shareholders happy. The Taking Measures report by Penna Board Partnership, says that 82% business leaders, surveyed from 200 UK companies, now acknowledge that HCM is fundamental to the success of the business. Further, 80% of business leaders […]
HR Tip – A promotion that failed
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 promoted a man to a team leader position a few weeks ago, but it just is not working out. What can we do? Can we fire him? A: You are dealing […]
HR is struggling to adopt strategic approach to performance management
New research suggests that performance management in the UK is still concentrated at an individual level, despite industry claims that personal appraisals are driven by organisational objectives. The survey, conducted by PeopleSoft, found that 83% of HR departments claim performance management is linked to organisational objectives, yet only 1% actually use targets governed by the […]
Speakers from public sector share HRIS experiences at Softworld
Visitors to the Softworld HR & Payroll event (3-4 March 2004, Grand Hall, Olympia, London) can hear how two government organisations have successfully implemented HR and payroll systems across the board. Following a Welsh theme, this year’s educational programme features case study presentations from both The National Assembly for Wales and Rhondda Cynon Taff County […]
