Firms struggling to reward top performers
The most common objective for reward strategies globally is to reward and retain the high performers but UK companies are facing the biggest challenges in delivering on this objective, according to a new survey.In total, around three quarters of the 1300 respondents in the UK, in continental Europe and globally agreed that rewarding and retaining […]
Childcare tax breaks anticipated in pre-budget report
Tax breaks on childcare voucher schemes are likely to be among the measures announced by the Chancellor today in his pre-budget report.Although 40% of employees have dependent children, currently only one in ten employers help their staff with childcare, according to a report by Daycare Trust, the childcare charity. However, three-quarters of parents say that […]
Time off for religious holidays
Managers could now face staff requests for time off to mark non-Christian religious festivals under the new Employment Equality (Religion and Belief) Regulations 2003.Just one in 10 employers currently operates a formal policy for granting additional time off for non-Christian religious festivals, while less than two in 10 employers operate informal arrangements for staff to […]
How Did I Get Here? Keith Hanlon, Quantum Business Media
Keith Hanlon, HR Manager for Quantum Business Media, describes his HR career to date, having previously been the Employee Relations Manager for Earls Court Olympia. What’s your current job role?HR Manager for Quantum Business Media, a business to business publishing, event and exhibition organising company which has grown at an incredible rate. On joining the […]
HR to step up measurement of ROI
HR departments believe that they will need to become increasingly sophisticated in using employee engagement metrics to quantify the Return on Investment (ROI) of HR investment, according to a new survey.Nearly a quarter of HR professionals at 1300 of the world’s largest companies expect to implement new employee engagement measurement tools in the next three […]
Consultation on employment tribunal regulations
A public consultation and draft regulations have been issued on the the revised Employment Tribunals Rules. The changes, aimed at improving the efficiency and consistency of the tribunal process, implement provisions of the Employment Act 2002 and recommendations of the Employment Tribunal System Taskforce, with focus on resolving disputes through conciliation in the first instance.The […]
Organisations failing to calculate turnover costs
The majority of organisations are not attempting to calculate staff turnover costs, according to new research. Only 12% of the respondents to the CIPD Labour Turnover survey were able to provide approximation of the costs (9% in Ireland) and even these estimates are much lower that those calculated by expert consultants in the field.The survey […]
Businesses to get help with Employers’ Liability Insurance
The Government has set out an agenda for action to help business deal with the costs of Employers’ Liability Compulsory Insurance.The report lays out specific proposals that the Government is committed to as part of the longer-term agenda. These include: Leading a step-change in vocational rehabilitation, with the publication of a new “Framework for Vocational […]
‘Corporate killing’ bill by end December
According to the Centre for Corporate Accountability, the Home Office has committed itself to publishing a draft bill on corporate killing by the end of December 2003 – even though there was no mention of legal reform in the Queen’s speech. Reform of the law is a Labour Party manifesto commitment.Companies can under the current […]
HR Tip – disabled workers
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: A woman with only one arm has applied for our vacancy for a payroll clerk. We are concerned that she will not be able to operate the computer keyboard efficiently or quickly […]
Employee Assistance Programme case study
The East London and The City Mental Health NHS Trust covers the City of London and the London Boroughs of Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Newham and, for forensic service only – Barking and Havering. It has a range of services for children and young people, adults, older people with mental health difficulties, forensic psychiatry and substance […]
Draft Disability Bill published
The draft Disability Bill, mentioned in last week’s Queen’s Speech, was published today.The draft Bill contains measures which would: introduce a legal duty on public bodies to promote disability equality – similar to the duty to promote race equality – which will place a requirement on public bodies to produce clear policies and action plans […]
Data protection code issued on workers’ health
The Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas, has today issued a draft of the fourth, and final, part of his Employment Practices Data Protection Code – Information About Workers’ Health – for a three month period of public consultation. The Code aims to give employers clear and practical guidance about how to comply with data protection law […]
Employers get staff to pay for Christmas celebrations
Organisations across the UK are failing to reward their staff at Christmas, but employees are creating their own festive cheer, according to a new survey.The research conducted amongst 2400 managers by the Chartered Management Institute, reveals that despite expectations, almost 80% of organisations no longer give a Christmas bonus and more than half require staff […]
Employment Bill to promote a “no surprises” culture at work
The Employment Relations Bill was introduced in the House of Commons yesterday. The Bill, announced in the Queen’s Speech last week, is the result of an evidence-based review of the Employment Relations Act 1999, which ended yesterday with the publication of the Government’s conclusionsThe Bill would implement the TUC/CBI framework agreement on Information and Consultation, […]
How Did I Get Here? James Brooks, ServiRail Limited
James Brooks (known as Jim), HR Manager for the “Times 100 Fastest Growing Company”, ServiRail Limited, describes his HR career to date. What’s your current job role?HR Manager for the “Times 100 Fastest Growing Company”, ServiRail Limited. I commenced as HR Consultant and was asked to take the role permanently in August. It is a […]
Front line managers are key to business success
Well-trained, effective frontline managers are the bedrock of business success, according to new research. In a study that interviewed 1000 employees, the CIPD found that front line managers (FLM) – defined as those with first line responsibility for a work group of 10-25 people – had a huge impact on over-all organisational performance. The CIPD […]
How Did I Get Here? Andrew Mayo, London Business School
Andrew Mayo, a frequent speaker and writer on HR issues, has a professorship in Human Capital Management and his roles have included Director of People Development for the ICL Group. Here he describes his HR career to date. What's your current job role?My current job role is Varied Portfolio Manager! I have five main strands […]
Tips for a stress free office Christmas party
Pauline Penbry, Employment Services Manager for First Assist, highlights the problems associated with the office Christmas party and offers advice on how to make sure the seasonal festivities go off without a hitch. Christmas is coming and along with it come the parties, the conga, and the drunken encounters with the photocopier. This is the […]
Number of tribunal awards up by a quarter
Last year saw a sharp increase – 57% – in the number of awards made by tribunals in cases involving dismissal on grounds of pregnancy, according to new research. The findings, published in the journal Equal Opportunities Review, also revealed that in 2002 employment tribunals awarded compensation totalling £6.41 million in cases of unlawful discrimination […]
