Next funding round open for work/life balance measures
Businesses are invited to bid for the fourth round of support from the Work / Life balance fund, if they want to introduce innovative working arrangements which benefit their business, their employees and their customers. The competition is open to all employers in England and Scotland in the private, public and voluntary sectors. The lucky […]
Managers confident on economy, but reluctant to invest in training
According to the Institute of Management’s latest Quarterly Management Trends survey, business confidence among UK managers has risen again over the least few months, flying in the face of predictions of recession. The Business Confidence Indicator is the percentage who express confidence in the econmomy for the coming year minus the number who don’t, and […]
Should public services disputes go to compulsory arbitration?
In the midst of ongoing rail stoppages, the Industrial Society is calling on the government to commission a review on the role of compulsory arbitration in disputes that hold up public services and damage the economy. The current rail strike affects one in five London commuters and is estimated to be costing £6.1 million per […]
Firms may be fined for failing to offer pension schemes
The CIPD is warning companies that those with more than four employees could face very large fines unless unless they offer their staff stakeholder pensions. Four months after stakeholder pensions became mandatory, many organisations may still be ignorant of their responsibilities. However, the CIPD are offering a guide through this increasingly complex area: “Pensions”, written […]
Employers wasting NHS resources by asking for sick notes too soon
Bosses are wasting valuable NHS time and resources by requesting sick notes beofre they are legally required, according to a new campaign, which is backed by a website, Managing Sickness Absence. The most common causes of sickness absence are minor complaints such as colds or headaches, which can be treated most effectively with self-medication. GPs […]
Jobseekers go online first
Twice as many skilled jobseekers start by looking online as did a year ago, according to new research from Reed. “The Quiet Revolution: Technology Transforming Recruitment” indicates that the rise in the use of the net has been greates among the most skilled candidates, doubling amongst AB jobseekers, from 18% a year ago to 37% […]
Stress a major drain on productivity
New NOP World research, commissioned by Investors in People to mark their tenth anniversary, has found that stress is a very significant factor in hampering business success. More than one in five employees see stress as the greatest negative factor affecting their productivity. However, only half as many bosses agreed. And relatively few employees saw […]
Workplace stress – how do you measure it?
This feature was provided by the Institute for Employment Studies In response to the growing demands to know how best to measure stress in the workplace, the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has commissioned the first ever major review of measures of workplace stressors (ie, measures of those aspects or characteristics of jobs, such as […]
Sex discrimination payment breaks records
Following on from the news that discrimination compensation payments rose again last year, a new case has dwarfed those awards with a massive £1.5 million payout. Julie Bower, formerly an analyst at Schroder Securities, claimed that she had unfair treatment and dismissal, and the Tribunal has ruled that this was in part because she is […]
Option of unpaid parental leave now available
Today the new rules regulations allowing for unpaid parental leave come into force. Initially only parents of children aged over five on December 15, 1999, were entitled to 13 weeks off for each child. Now it will apply to parents of younger children too, following the TUC’s success in a legal challenge.The TUC’s General Secretary […]
Job-seekers prepared to lie about interests, but more wary on work experience
According to new research, candidates are twice as likely to stretch the truth about their personal hobbies and interests than about their work experience. The survey, by Office Angels, shows job-seekers increasingly believing that facts that could possibly be checked might well be, so the majority avoid making false statements about work experience (60%) and […]
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Launching this month: Those of you who’ve expressed an interest in all things e-learning will be receiving a new newswire in your inbox shortly. E-LearningWire – our independent and authoritative newswire covering developments in all aspects of online learning in the UK and Western Europe – is now available free-of-charge to all members and will […]
Compensation awards for discrimination reach record levels
A survey by IRS Equal Opportunities Review has found that compensation payments in 2000 rose to nearly £4 million. The survey included all 316 discrimination cases where an award was made. These included one payment of £100,000 for Injury to Feelings, in the case Virdi v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (including £25,000 for […]
Workplace partnerships boost productivity and profitability
Hard on the heels of one very positive report by the Institute of Employment Studies on partnerships between enmployers and unions comes another from the TUC. “Partnership Works” suggests that when bosses and employees co-operate there are benefits across productivity, profitability, staff turnover and sickness absence.As well as highlighting the potential contribution of unions in […]
Group Training Exercise
I need to find the group training exercise which asks people to consider what items they would keep when their plane crashes in the desert.The purpose of the exercise is to show that “the sum of the whole is greater than its parts” by demonstrating through a relatively short exercise that we work better as […]
Executive pay-offs still inflating
In spite of the negative coverage given to large executive pay-offs in recent years, they continue to rise. A survey in Labour Research shows that at least 14 executives left with pay-offs of over a million pounds in the last accounting year. 75 exiting directors got over £100,000, and fourteen of the companies responsible made […]
Employers encouraged to join consulation on age legislation
The EFA (Employers’ Forum on Age) is encouraging employers to respond to the government’s consultation paper Towards Equality and Diversity on discrimination legislation. The first period of consultation is under way and will last 12 weeks, the second is likely to be later in 2002. The EFA will be holding workshops on the proposals, and […]
Long hours take toll on personal and working relationships
A new report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has thrown some light onto the lives of people who habitually work long hours. The survey report “Married to the job?” explores the impact of working long hours on relationships with family, friends and work colleagues. It is based on two research projects. […]
Recent employment law cases
This article was provided by Daniel Barnett for Lawzone. (a) ECJ Opinion on Maternity BenefitsThe Advocate General has provided his opinion in C-476/99 Lommers v Minister van Landbouw, Natuurbeheer en Visserij. At present, it is available in French, German and Dutch only.According to the Federation of European Employers, he has advised the ECJ that is […]
Data protection – interviewees to get right to see interview notes
The Office of the Information Commissioner has released a code for recruitment and selection procedures, subject to “final pre-publication checks”. It is the first of four codes which will cover the data protection responsibilities of employers. This initial section has attracted the criticism of the Institute of Directors, because it includes a requirement for companies […]
