Be flexible in sweltering workplaces, TUC urges employers
As UK workers find themselves at the peak of a heatwave, the TUC is urging employers to be flexible in these hot temperatures. It is recommending that employers relax dress codes, allow workers to take more breaks and encourage more shift rotation, in addition to taking obvious steps to reduce the temperature, with fans or […]
Warning – Data Protection scam
This is a warning to all companies of a scam relating to the Data Protection Act. We were nearly caught out by it.If you receive a letter from the Data Processing Protection Corporation claiming that their records indicate that your business is not registered under the Data Protection Act and wanting a fee of £95, […]
Basic pay increasingly depends on company performance
Almost half of companies say company performance is the most important factor when setting basic pay increases – up from 42% last year – according to consultants Watson Wyatt.Individual performance is now considered less important, as only a fifth of the 100 leading UK companies surveyed ranked it as the most important factor, compared with […]
Firms urged to reduce stress
An NHS hospital may face court action after being accused of failing to protect doctors and nurses from stress at work.West Dorset Hospitals NHS Trust is required to assess and reduce stress levels among its staff, after being issued with an “enforcement notice” by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). If it fails to do […]
£1 million compensation for bullied broker
A City worker has won £1 million in compensation from his former employer, the broking firm Cantor Fitzgerald.A High Court judge awarded the compensation to Steven Horkulak, who quit his job in June 2000 because he had been subjected to “foul and abusive” bullying by his boss, Lee Amaitis. Mr Amaitis allegedly told Mr Horkulak […]
Fat cat pay rises 23% and average earnings 3.2%
Boardroom wages have risen seven times faster than average earnings, according to a recent survey by the Guardian.Executive directors at the UK’s top 100 companies received an average pay increase of 23%, yet average earnings rose by just 3.2%, the research showed. The average pay for FTSE-100 chief executives is now £1,677,685. A total of […]
Companies lack clear performance management strategies
Fewer than half of employers have a clear strategy for performance management, according to new research.Although nine out of 10 employers believe that performance management is a major organisational issue, responses from 49 HR departments across the private and public sectors reveal that only a quarter involve HR in the goal-setting process – with the […]
Senior posts are hard to fill
Recruiting the right employees at senior level is proving difficult for employers, according to the latest figures from the Recruitment Confidence Index (RCI).Out of those firms expecting to recruit to the board and other senior posts over the next six months, around three in five anticipate difficulties, according to this quarter’s research which draws on […]
Job-seekers hunt for homeworking opportunities
<img src="/files/siftmedia-photolib/mobilcom.jpg" border=0 alt="Mobile communications photo – courtesy Ericsson" UK job-seekers are more likely to choose a job offering a homeworking option than their European neighbours, say the latest findings.The option to homework was cited as an important consideration for future work by over half of the UK respondents in the Epson survey of 750 […]
Race to outsource puts companies at risk
Outsourcing HR and payroll has increasingly become the cost-cutting option of choice on the board room agenda but outsourcing activities can put the long-term health of a company at risk if not managed correctly, warn SAKS Consulting. They say that companies often overlook the importance of assessing the suitability of strategic outsourcing options. “Successfully managing […]
Extension of Working Time Directive
From tomorrow (1 August), the EU Working Time Directive will be extended to those sectors previously excluded from working time measures. The Working Time (Amendment) Regulations 2003 extend protection to cover non-mobile workers in road, sea, inland waterways and lake transport, workers in the railway and offshore sectors, and workers in aviation transport. Junior doctors […]
Getting the best value out of employee benefits
Providing benefits can be costly and a challenge for employers to administer. Often the payback is less than satisfying, as employees typically underestimate the value of their benefits, and see them as peripheral to their reward package. So, it makes good business sense for companies to periodically review their benefits strategy and how it’s delivered, […]
Shift to performance-linked share plans
The UK’s largest companies are moving away from the use of share options as the sole form of share based pay for executive directors, according to research by consultants Watson Wyatt. Only 28% of new executive share plans put to shareholders for approval by FTSE-350 companies have been option plans, compared with 46% in the […]
Stress is leading cause of long-term absence
Stress is still the most common cause of long-term sickness absence among non-manual workers, according to the latest CIPD survey on absence which found that almost 60% of public sector organisations cite stress as the leading cause of long-term sickness absence – more than double the number of the private sector. The survey of 1300 […]
ACAS guidance on equality regulations
Acas has drafted good practice guidance to help employers deal with the new employment equality legislation. Two sets of regulations are coming into force in December: the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 and the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 which outlaw discrimination in employment and vocational training on the grounds of sexual […]
Work-life balance – the challenge for line managers and HR
The role of line managers and HR is particularly crucial when developing and sustaining a work-life balance culture. In this feature, Claire McCartney, Researcher at Roffey Park, offers guidance on effective work-life balance practices and highlights examples of different initiatives that have been implemented in organisations.The issue of work-life balance, rarely discussed as an organisational […]
Managers express caution about homeworking
Managers and professionals are more likely to work from home yet management attitudes can prevent other employees from being able to adopt the same flexible working option, according to new research. Responses from 54 HR departments across the private and public sectors, revealed that while one third of employers allow office-based employees to work from […]
Firms rethink pension arrangements
Fewer than half of the UK’s largest companies retain final salary schemes that are open to new members, compared with nearly two-thirds a year ago, according to new research.A study of the latest FTSE 350 annual reports, by Mercer Human Resource Consulting found that many companies now offer a combination of both final salary and […]
Community feature: Introducing…
In this popular feature, we take a closer look at the working lives of some of HR Zone’s 18,000 membership. This week, Sandra Walsh, of consultancy HR Delivers, shares some of her experiences of working in HR. What’s your current job role? I have established and work in my own HR Consultancy.What did you do […]
Employers face greater risks of race claims
New regulations which give wider rights to employees in race discrimination cases have now come into effect.The Race Relations Act 1976 (Amendment) Regulations 2003 implement the EC Race Directive 2000/43. The main changes are that they introduce a new definition of indirect race discrimination, a statutory definition of racial harassment and change the onus of […]
