Practical tips on the new discrimination regulations
At the beginning of December 2003, two sets of employment regulations come into force which could have a significant impact in your workplace. The first of these, The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003, become law on 1 December, with The Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 taking effect the following day. The regulations […]
Firms urged to review diversity policies
New regulations outlawing both direct and indirect discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation come into force on 1 December and on Religion or Belief on 2 December. The CIPD is urging employers to review their equality and diversity policies to include these issues, or they will be vulnerable if complaints are taken against them […]
HR calls for mandatory board level assessment
As corporate accountability becomes a critical issue globally, the majority of HR professionals believe that psychological assessment methods should become compulsory for board level recruitment, a new survey claims.According to research by SHL Group plc, 68% of HR professionals believe that objective personality assessment should be a compulsory element in selecting a new CEO. The […]
Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003
New Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations will come into force in the UK on 11 December 2003 and will revise the ways in which businesses communicate with their customers via e-mail. Russell Brown at Manchester law firm Glaisyers explains the effects on businesses. For many businesses, the use of e-mail has taken over from the […]
Mobile phone law: minimising the risks
Two-thirds of company car drivers have not had any guidance from their employers on the forthcoming ban on using mobile phones on the move, despite the majority of fleet managers claiming they are ‘actively discouraging’ their drivers from using them. With a couple of weeks until the ban comes into force, 97% of fleet managers […]
HR Tip – selection for redundancy
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: To save money our company abolished the position of receptionist. However they gave the receptionist the job of a payroll clerk who had much shorter service and dismissed the clerk. Surely that […]
The new mobile phone law
Employers should communicate a clear statement or policy on the use of mobile phones whilst driving – before the implementation of the Regulations on 1 December, warns Hilary Larter, Partner at Beachcroft Wansbroughs. Here she clarifies the definitions in the new legislation and offers guidance on what employers should be doing now. On 1 December […]
Training trends for blended learning
More than half of organisations use blended learning as part of their training strategy, according to a recent study.Training provider Balance Learning questioned 173 training and HR professionals, to produce Blended Learning: The Here And Now.Defined by respondents as a combination of complementary learning content, typically e-learning courses and face-to-face training, blended learning was used […]
Community feature: Introducing…
Karen Caddick, Head of HR at Channel 5, spills the beans on her career in HR to date. What’s your current job role?Head of HR, Channel Five.What did you do before this job?Head of Employee Relations & HR Policy, Barclays Bank.Describe your route into HR?Started doing Business Process Re-engineering and very quickly realised that change […]
Firms opt for short-term international assignments
A new survey of international business assignments has found that nearly 4 in 10 multinational companies have increased their use of short-term business assignments. The study, conducted by Mercer Human Resource Consulting of 35,000 employees in over 220 multinational companies, found that employers are increasingly opting for short-term placements, which are less costly than long-term […]
How to conduct a stress audit
Anna Shuttleworth, Head of Training at Right Corecare outlines the key steps organisations should take when implementing a stress audit. Stress audits enable employers to identify the pressure points within an organisation, pinpoint areas or individuals that may be experiencing stress and understand the underlying causes. An audit provides invaluable information to improve both the […]
Employers risk discriminating through aptitude tests
Employers could be unconsciously risking claims of discrimination through their careless use of aptitude tests during the recruitment process.Over half of HR professionals surveyed in a Croner poll use aptitude tests as part of their recruitment process. If companies do not adapt their tests to potential employees’ particular needs, they could be liable for compensation […]
Increase in management training spend
Firms are putting more value on – and cash into – management courses, a new report claims. Cambridge Online Learning’s (COL) 2003 Annual Training Survey showed a 100% increase in the awareness of the importance of management training. While COL said that management training was still suffering the effects of recession, of the 250 training […]
One in three firms plan to restructure
One in three employers expect to restructure their businesses over the next 12 months, research from the Recruitment Confidence Index (RCI) has found. As a consequence, many of those companies also expect the size of their workforce to reduce, and recruitment to slow down, or stop entirely.The RCI measures employers’ recruitment expectations and business confidence. […]
The vision for e-HR
Bruce Thew, President of Ceridian Centrefile, describes how he believes the ASP model for delivering HR software means much more than just a saving in IT resources. HR, along with other business systems, now has the technology to communicate on-line with all its customers. Line manager and employee self-service is the key to the e-HR […]
Women are more prepared to resign over job dissatisfaction
Female managers may have finally closed the pay gap but are more likely to resign than their male counterparts, according to research conducted by the Chartered Management Institute and Remuneration Economics.The National Management Salary Survey 2003, reveals that despite higher levels of pay, the turnover of management-level staff is still high.The findings released today show […]
New revised Code of Practice on equal pay
The Equal Opportunities Commission’s new revised Code of Practice on Equal Pay has received Parliamentary approval and will come into force on 1 December 2003. The Code, which explains employers’ obligations on equal pay, has been revised to take account of new law and recent equal pay case decisions. It provides practical guidance for employers […]
HR Tip – Custom and practice for leaving early
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: Our employees’ contracts require them to work until 5.00 pm but for some time they have been leaving at 4.30pm on Fridays. I want to put a stop to this but they […]
Increase in the number of women directors
Growing numbers of women are running Britain’s top businesses, according to a new report, by Cranfield School of Management’s Centre for Developing Women Business Leaders, which found the number of female directorships in the FTSE 100 has topped 100 for the first time.For the first time two companies, AstraZeneca and Marks and Spencer, have four […]
How Did I Get Here? Madeleine Tate, Independent consultant
Madeleine Tate, whose roles have included Head of Learning and Development and Human Capital Director, shares her experiences of working in HR to date. What’s your current job role?I work as an independent consultant, at senior management and board level. I work with a wide variety of sizes and types of company – from SMEs […]
