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 10.30am on 3 March. Here’s a snapshot of the key payroll changes he’ll be discussing… Mandatory electronic paymentsOne of the biggest changes to affect larger employers (those with […]
How Did I Get Here? Sue Matthews, Coventry City Council
Sue Matthews, HR Manager for Coventry City Council, is this week’s star of HR Zone’s regular ‘How Did I Get Here?’ feature. As a new member, Sue says she’s looking forward to seeing who she knows on HR Zone. What’s your current job role?I am currently HR Manager for Coventry City Council’s Social Services & […]
Case law: Injury to feelings awards
A new Court of Appeal decision could open the floodgates to more “injury to feelings” awards in unfair dismissal cases.In June 2003 the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that compensation for unfair dismissal claims is limited to economic loss only and does not extend to damages for injury to feelings or pride in the case of […]
Case study: Creating a culture of needs-based learning at Panasonic
Two years after Panasonic UK over-hauled its training and development process, Development Manager Graham Borley says the results have been an improvement of quality and a 40% reduction in costs. In the second of two articles, Graham explains the benefits of starting over. Around two years ago Panasonic UK undertook an in-depth review of its […]
Workers choose ‘more responsibility’ over cash
Three out of four workers promoted over the last five years said getting more responsibilities was more important than a pay rise, according to new research.When asked what one change in their working lives they most wanted from a promotion, the Reed survey of over 3700 workers revealed that directors were the least likely to […]
Study highlights executive remuneration practices
HR plays a technical rather than strategic role in executive remuneration but this is likely to change, claims a recent report exploring executive remuneration practices in over 60 major public companies.The research by Hewitt Associates found that in most cases, HR partners with the decision-making body to design the pay packages, although in 13% of […]
How can you widen your recruitment selection pool to increase diversity within your organisation?
Increasing diversity whilst recruiting has been one of the hot topics in the UK employment marketplace for the last couple of years. The debate has often been driven by the public sector which has been the source of much best practice, whilst in the corporate sector, legal compliance has been the primary driver behind most […]
Billions wasted on under-valued employee benefits
Around £5 billion per year is being wasted on under-valued employee benefits that could be better paid as salary to younger members of staff, claims Adrian Humphreys of employee benefits administrator, WPA Protocol. His observation follows a recent NOP World survey of 100 HR Directors/Managers amongst the top 1500 UK companies, which showed the majority […]
HR Tip – A redundancy problem
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: Since making a woman an offer of employment we have announced some redundancies and therefore no longer need her. She is due to join us in two weeks time. How do we […]
New diversity guide and sample policy
Stonewall, the gay equality organisation, has produced a free 40-page ‘toolkit’ offering practical help and advice to employers on how to comply with the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations which came into force on 1 December 2003. The booklet, The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations: Guidelines for Employers, features best practice guidance developed by members […]
Community feature: Introducing…
Nichola Nair, European HR Strategic Programmes Manager for Xerox, is this week’s star of HR Zone’s regular ‘Introducing…’ feature. What’s your current job role?European HR Strategic Programmes Manager, Xerox Limited.What did you do before this job?I had an HR operations role. Describe your route into HR?I moved from a Programme Management role (first job) to […]
Employers failing to communicate full value of reward packages
Very few employers keep staff informed about their pension arrangements on an on-going basis, according to the CIPD’s annual reward survey. It found that 88% tell staff about pensions during their recruitment and induction process, with only 46% updating staff about their pension arrangements on an ongoing basis. Duncan Brown, Assistant Director-General for the CIPD […]
Empowering the workforce to innovate
Most businesses say they would love their employees to be more creative, contributing fresh ideas that make and save money for the company but is this just a management pipedream? John Carter, Management Innovation / Quality Manager at Toshiba Information Systems (TIU), examines how viable this really is, looks at techniques to encourage innovation and […]
Line managers increasingly take on HR tasks
With many employers having abandoned their old multi-tiered management structures for a flatter organisation, the burden of responsibility falls increasingly on the front-line manager. Yet HR professionals “have little confidence that the task will be done well, if at all,” claims a new report.However, most of the 62 named companies in the IRS survey said […]
Recent trends in reward management
There has been a large increase in the number of organisations who have carried out pay audits in the past year and an even greater proportion of employers plan to carry one out in 2004, according to new research.The CIPD’s annual reward survey of 500 organisations, to be launched at the CIPD’s reward conference tomorrow, […]
Case study: Starting from scratch at Panasonic
Two years ago Panasonic UK over-hauled its training and development process. Development Manager Graham Borley says the results have been a more motivated workforce and a 40% reduction in costs. In the first of two articles, Graham explains the reasons behind the review. Business commentators and senior managers are often heard to say that people […]
February’s themes on HR Zone
HR Zone will continue to publish a range of information on a variety of HR topics but we also plan to bring you a monthly focus on some of the key subjects you’ve told us you’re interested in.Throughout February HR Zone will be publishing news, features and case studies that focus on retention and reward. […]
‘Work rage’ – how can employers tackle it?
What practical steps can employers take to help eliminate any occurrence of work rage and what are the key legal points employers should consider as they shape relevant HR policies? Law firm Beachcroft Wansbroughs urges employers to take note of the following advice. New HSE statistics show that episodes of ‘work rage’ continue to afflict […]
New Bill to promote flexible employment for carers
British Gas has given its firm backing to the Carers (Equal Opportunities) Bill, Dr Hywel Francis MP’s Private Members’ Bill, which will place a duty on local authorities to tell carers about their rights and to promote carers’ opportunities to work, train and attend courses on life-long learning. Mark Clare, Managing Director of British Gas […]
Testing staff for drug taking
If you suspect one of your employees is taking drugs, and their work performance at work is deteriorating, is there anything you can do about it? Debbie Taylor of Mercia Group looks at the legislation that can assist businesses to take action against employees. When is it appropriate to test staff? In an environment with […]
