Pay Awards fall to 3.1%
Falling headline inflation and slowing economic growth have finally fed through to a drop in settlement levels, according to independent pay analysts Industrial Relations Services. Latest figures from the IRS databank show that pay awards across the whole economy dipped to 3.1% in the three months to April 2001, down 0.2 percentage points from March’s […]
The value in developing customer service
How can we motivate our people and increase the cash flow and improve profit per employee? This article from Brian Birkby looks at the impact that developing customer service can have on achieving these aims. Does your organisation give ‘lip service’ or real service? Is customer service training something ‘done to’ the employees for better […]
Minister: Local action is essential to prevent skills shortages
Skills shortages need to be tackled at a local level if the needs of employers are to be met, Adult Skills Minister John Healey announced today.New research from the Department for Education and Skills reveals a complex pattern of skills shortages and one that demands stronger local analysis and action.The report, Skills, Local Areas and […]
Government proposes changes to tribunal system
New proposals to radically reform employment tribunals were announced on Friday by the DTI Employment Relations Minister Alan Johnson.Key proposals include: organisations which do not have dispute resolution procedures in place – or do not use them when workplace disagreements arise – to have arrangements for managing such disagreements a new, charging regime for use […]
Organisational Solutions that don’t work
The following feature is contributed by Mike Westwood of training organisation Ambit. This is the second of four feature articles and this one urges managers to involve people in any change processes.Something’s wrongYou recognise that things aren’t right in your organisation. The evidence is there – maybe dwindling market share or rising costs or drop […]
Will your battle tactics win in the War for Talent?
FTdynamo present organisations taking a different approach in attracting and retaining talent as skills shortages increase.Despite a continuing catalogue of lay-offs and downsizing, particularly in the high-tech and telecoms sector (the UK’s troubled Marconi group has recently announced new global cuts of 4,000 jobs), corporate interest in the so-called “war for talent” – how to […]
Chief Inspector of Schools recruitment starts in September
Education and Skills Secretary Estelle Morris today announced that the recruitment process for a new Chief Inspector of Schools will begin in September. Mike Tomlinson, the current Chief Inspector has agreed to continue in post until the end of April 2002.The recruitment process for Mr Tomlinson’s replacement will start in September. It will be run […]
Government Funding for Work/Life Balance Projects
A football club, an airline, a prison, police forces, schools and charities are among the 93 companies to benefit from the £10.5 million Challenge Fund Watford FC will be over the moon, Easyjet will be on cloud nine while police and prison services will be unlocking the potential of their staff. They’re among the winners […]
Working together gives competitive edge – Rita Donaghy
Acas’s Annual Report, published yesterday, highlights the added value that its conciliation service gives to the national economy. Of the 105,304 complaints made to employment tribunals and passed to Acas for possible resolution during 2000/01 only 29% reached a tribunal hearing – saving business a great deal of time and money. And 90% of all […]
EU approves training funding for Midlands
A £9 million Government funded training grant for car workers at MG Rover yesterday received approval from the European Commission.Education and Skills Secretary, Estelle Morris welcomed the announcement:“This is excellent news. The money is key to the Government’s commitment to supporting work-based training, not only at MG Rover, but in the automotive sector across the […]
New foundation degree promotion begins
A national advertising campaign to encourage take-up of the new foundation degree – a work-based degree qualification backed by industry – was launched yesterday by Lifelong Learning and Higher Education Minister Margaret Hodge.National newspaper and local radio advertisements will encourage potential students and employers to sign up for the new two year foundation degree using […]
A Latin Lesson for Managers?
There is something about the saying ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do’ that springs to mind when reading the latest weekly feature from FTdynamoThe UK’s Channel Four TV station recently broadcast a remarkable program on the building of the Colosseum in Rome. Sometimes dubbed the eighth wonder of the world, the Colosseum was […]
Team working and senior management
The following feature is contributed by Mike Westwood of training organisation Ambit. This is the first of four features and examines how some senior managers react to teamwork requests.Talk toughPeople in business talk tough. They use words like: compete, penetrate, beat, fight and plan. These verbs could come from a briefing for a military campaign. […]
Minister welcomes latest employment figures
Minister for Work at the Department for Work and Pensions Nick Brown today welcomed the latest Labour Market Statistics, which show strong growth in jobs, high levels of vacancies and a continuing downward trend in unemployment. Employment has reached a new record of 28.18 million, while ILO unemployment has dropped below 5.0 per cent for […]
Performance Appraisals across the pond
Sister-site AccountingWEB.com based in the United States and serving the US accounting community recently held an online workshop on the subject of Performance Appraisals. Introduced by our AccountingWEB.com editor Gail Perry, the workshop was hosted by the AAA. For more detail read on….PERFORMANCE APPRAISALSThursday, July 12, 2001The Association of Accounting Administration hosted the third of […]
DTI Minister reserves seat for personnel managers in boardroom
Addressing the CIPD/JSB’s annual employment law conference yesterday, Alan Johnson, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Employment Relations Minister, calls for people management issues to be given greater priority in the boardroom. Johnson says, “We need to see managers at all levels putting people first and get people issues into the boardroom. It is critical […]
Low Earners to be taxed as ‘Higher Paid’
New Labour has backed itself into an absurd corner over low pay and ‘benefits in kind’ rules, according to a top regional accountant. If they take home the company car or van that they use for their work, many of those relying on the recently announced rate of National Minimum Wage will cross the ‘benefits […]
Opra’s 5th Annual Report
The fifth Annual Report of the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority (Opra) was published yesterday.In 2000/2001, Opra received more than 43,000 enquiries; opened 10,000 new cases; and brought over 12,000 cases to a satisfactory conclusion, including some carried across from previous years.In April 2000, Opra’s two largest categories of case became civil offences – late payment […]
Morris announces over £1 million for new Union Learning Fund projects
A raft of new projects to boost learning at work got the go-ahead from Education and Skills Secretary Estelle Morris yesterday.Lorry drivers, who will be offered flexible learning which reflects their shift patterns, and bakers who need to brush up on their basic skills are just two groups of workers who will benefit from the […]
Limit unapproved share option NIC liabilities warn accountants
Unwary employers who granted Unapproved Share Options to their employees after 6th April 1999 are liable for National Insurance Contributions on the increasing value of the options, warns Clive Gawthorpe, a partner at the Manchester office of national accountancy group Hacker Young. The increase in the value of the options will be calculated from the […]
