Call for smoother transitions into retirement
According to Work and Pensions Secretary Andrew Smith, people should be allowed a gradual downshifting from work into retirement. “Many people resent the sheer cliff edge between work and retirement – that on Friday they are deemed to be valuable members of the workforce but the following Monday they are shuffled off into retirement.“We need […]
HR Zone Any Answers Digest #10 – Training attendance, non-smokers, whistleblowing, hours…
================================================================= HRZONE Any Answers Digest – Issue 10 Tuesday 25 June 2002 http://www.hrzone.co.uk/anyanswers/=================================================================********** THIS WEEK’S TOPICS ***** THIS WEEK’S TOPICS ********** Encouraging training attendance… Hiring non-smokers… Whistleblowing by any other name… Part-time hours… online performance management systems… Language tests… Learning incentives********** THIS WEEK’S TOPICS ***** THIS WEEK’S TOPICS ********** Editorial=========The World Cup draws to a […]
UK workers lack security
The UK is right down at the foot of the job security league, according to a new TUC report looking at the globalisation debate published ahead of this week’s G8 summit.Figures from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development show that UK workers are some of the most concerned about their job security but the […]
Feeling in control is essential for working lives – research
Achieving a balance between our working lives and our home and personal lives is something many people are constantly striving for. Work is not just paid employment, carers (e.g. parents) and housewives and husbands are also workers, searching for a sense of balance.The Wellbeing 2002 research by Boots The Chemists showed that of the 5 […]
Call for better national childcare strategy
The GMB, Britain’s General Union and Daycare Trust today call on the government and employers to provide childcare for all children, as a new survey shows that 6 out of 7 children under the age of 8 do not have access to childcare. Daycare Trust research shows that in areas where childcare is available, parents […]
Fathers are working harder
On top of this week’s news about fathers feeling guilty about not seeing their children, there are new indications of the amount of work they are putting in. New figures from the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) reveal that the average number of hours dads spend at work is on the increase. Commenting on the figures, […]
Just say Thank You!
According to new research from youatwork, employees don’t want to be fobbed off with fancy job titles, flexible working, bonding days and beers with the boss. No, they just want to be thanked for their work!More than two thirds (68%) of workers questioned said that benefits such as new job titles, the opportunity to work […]
Pensions: what is to be done?
Accordsing to the TUC’s latest report, ‘Prospects for pensions’, Britain’s pensions crisis will not be overcome unless employers make compulsory contributions to occupational pensions, and workers join the company scheme as a condition of employment. The report accuses employers of giving-in to a ‘herd mentality’ in shutting down final salary pension schemes. And calls on […]
Consultation on equality and parental leave
The Department of Trade and Industry have posted the following consultation papers on their website:Department of Trade and Industry, Employment & Equality: The DTI Race Equality Scheme. The consultation closes on 20 September 2002The DTI Race Equality Scheme: Published for consultation, the Scheme sets out how the Department intends to meet its statutory obligations to […]
Fathers feel guilty for working late, but carry on doing it
According to research by Dr Christine Cousins of the University of Hertfordshire Business School on flexible working and its impact on family life, fathers who work long hours feel guilty about the time spent away from their families but not guilty enough to do anything about it.Eighty six per cent of all fathers who work […]
Managers ‘fail to deal with stress’
According to research commissioned by the Industrial Society Learning and Development, employees are unimpressed with their managers’ handling of stress.Over 850 full- and part-time workers were interviewed in the survey and asked to rate their immediate bosses’ management abilities. While 59% rated their general line management skills positively, only two in five employeesfelt they were […]
HR staff swamped by admin
According to research carried out by Metrica Research Limited for Northgate IS (HR Division), HR staff spend half of their time on administration. A fifth of large companies also said that HR staff spent 40% or more of their time on recruitment. In smaller companies the proportion was around one day a week.Half of large […]
Bonus Payments
We are a large training provider and are currently researching various systems for paying bonus payments to staff. Does anyone in a similar environment have any examples of schemes that have worked, or not? Alison Lones
Employees prepared to strike over pensions
According to the report published by Amicus, fears for the safety of occupational pension schemes are creating new mood of militancy in British workplaces. 90% of union representatives questioned said that they and their colleagues will strike if their employer attempts to change their pension scheme or reduce their contributions just to save money.99% employees […]
Diversity recognised as boost to performance
Resarch funded by the Cabinet Office and Barclays Bank, and conducted by the Schneider-Ross consultancy suggests that leading organisations now regard the development of diversity as an important contributor to their overall business success. One hundred and forty leading organisations from both the private and public sectors were questioned, and across both groups a large […]
HR Zone Any Answers Digest #9 – HR and knowledge management, promoting appraisals, return to work interviews…
================================================================= HRZONE Any Answers Digest – Issue 9 Tuesday 11 June 2002 http://www.hrzone.co.uk/anyanswers/=================================================================********** THIS WEEK’S TOPICS ***** THIS WEEK’S TOPICS ********** HR and Knowledge Management… Overcoming negative views of appraisals… Holiday entitlement for part-timers… Return to work interviews… Assessment tests for recruitment… ********** THIS WEEK’S TOPICS ***** THIS WEEK’S TOPICS ********** Editorial=========Any Answers continues to […]
More funding for work-life balance
Employment Relations Minister, Alan Johnson, today announced almost 5m for 233 companies employing more than 830,000 people throughout the country, to improve work-life balance.In this round from the Work-Life balance Challenge Fund, 91 private, 109 public and 33 voluntary organisations will each receive a share of the £4.8 million funding which provides free work-life balance […]
Teleworking on the rise
According to the Office of National Statistics, there are now 2.2 people working from home in the UK. That’s 7.4% of the workforce, and a rise of over 65% in the last four years. This increase can be attributed to improvements in ICT.Around two thirds of teleworkers are men. The statisticians attribute this to the […]
References count!
References may seem to be a formality sometimes, but according to research by IRS Employment Review, people who think they have landed a plum job “subject to references” may be in for a nasty shock. Six out of ten employers have changed their minds at least once as a result of receiving a bad reference.What […]
HR fails to link loyalty with profit
Despite the fact that staff loyalty is proven to improve business performance – via reduced costs from attrition; improved productivity from knowledge of a company and its products; and corresponding reduction of management time spent on HR issues – only 74% of UK HR managers believe thatemployee loyalty leads to business profit, according to an […]
