Redundancy is biggest headache for HR
Managing redundancy tops this year’s list of HR concerns, with fair processes of dismissal and assistance in calculating redundancy payments causing the most headaches, according to Croner Consulting, who said that one in ten calls to their helpline were related to redundancy issues. The average compensation award is £5917, but in some cases has been […]
Bonuses are back and the fat cats get fatter
With December the traditional month for end of year bonuses, one stereotype that appears to be true is that senior managers benefit most.Of the three quarters of British employers that operate bonus schemes, management is still the most likely to benefit, only 38% use them across the entire workforce, according to a survey of 365 […]
Sunday premiums may breach discrimination law
Employers who pay wage premiums to staff working on a Sunday could be acting in breach of the new religious discrimination laws. Alan Lewis, head of employment law at Manchester based law firm, George Davies, said that Sunday is recognised as the Christian Sabbath day and for that reason an incentive is usually offered to […]
Seasonal HR and payroll issues
Seasonal working is an issue that impacts on both HR and payroll departments. For some businesses, Christmas can see an increase of up to 60% in staffing numbers for as little as 6-8 weeks. At other times of the year, extra employees may be required for leisure activities in the summer or for seasonal agricultural […]
Employing young workers
New regulations have come into force that affect young people in the period between school leaving age and legal adulthood at the age of 18. Employment law specialist Nichola Upperton-Evans, a partner at Rowe Cohen, offers guidelines to employers trying to navigate the shifting sands of adolescents' employment legislation. Many industries and sectors have come […]
Employee engagement
Bill Quirke, Managing Director of Synopsis Communication Consulting, argues that leaders need to build stronger relationships with their employees to establish a firm foundation of trust. In a world of turbulence and uncertainty, the job of leaders setting the direction and taking people with them is challenging. With tough markets, uncertain demand and increasing competition, […]
HR Tip – what should I do about workplace affairs?
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 in my department is having an affair with a married man who works in another department. I and one or two of my staff thoroughly disapprove of this. What can […]
Chancellor pledges £190m to Employer Training Pilots
The number of Employer Training Pilots is to be increased by a third after Chancellor Gordon Brown announced a £190m boost for the scheme.ETPs will launch in a further six local Learning and Skills Council areas, bringing the total to 18. The six areas have yet to be anounced.The pilots, launched in 2002, aim to […]
Government announces employer-supported childcare reforms
The Government has today announced, in the Pre-Budget report, that the tax and National Insurance treatment of employer-supported childcare will be reformed from April 2005, with draft legislation expected in January 2004.Chancellor, Gordon Brown said: “For every employee whatever their income level, employers will be able – as long as the offer is made to […]
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 […]
