News: Senior execs lead by example in adopting social media tools
Senior executives use social media more frequently than any other more junior members of staff, including ‘Generation Y’, new research has revealed. A European survey, which involved talking to 2,700 professionals across the UK, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain and Sweden, found that 71% of senior executives use social tools at least once a […]
News: Male boards ‘appoint candidates in their own image’
The appointment of women to senior management positions is being held back by male-dominated boards who hire executives that are similar to themselves, a report has warned. According to research conducted by Cranfield University on behalf of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, potential candidates for board-level posts among FTSE 350 companies are generally hired […]
News: Female Network Rail staff to fight for equal pay
Network Rail bosses were accused today of treating women like “second class citizens” after research revealed that they were being paid on average £4,500 per year less than their male colleagues. The findings of the survey of more than 2,000 workers will result in some 34 female middle managers launching an initial claim for […]
Legal Insight: Positive discrimination – A trap for the well intentioned?
Recent publicity on the use of positive action in recruitment or promotion in tiebreak situations has left HR directors with a dilemma. Should positive action be used to improve diversity either in the organisation generally or to help women and members of ethnic minorities break through “glass ceilings” into management? Section 159 of the […]
How to manage a mixed age workforce
Two years ago, the number of people who were over 65 outstripped those who were under 16 for the first time. Moreover, the abolition of the Default Retirement Age now means that older workers are likely to stay in the workplace for longer – either through choice or economic necessity. Meanwhile, Generation Y-ers […]
HRD Video Vox Pops: How to engage an increasingly diverse workforce
At the CIPD's HRD learning and development conference in London Olympia last week, we asked a number of experts what their top tip for engaging an increasingly diverse workforce was. And here's what they told us:
Blog: Will pensions auto-enrolment hit the spot?
With pension auto enrolment due to come into effect towards the end of this year, businesses need to start planning now if they want to get themselves in order ahead of the big switch. If planned correctly the impact on resources for your business required to put the workplace pension scheme into place can be […]
News: Employers can force retirement in ‘public interest’, rules Supreme Court
Employers are within their rights to force employees to retire if they can prove that there is a public interest reason in doing so, according to a landmark legal ruling. The UK’s Supreme Court unanimously dismissed an appeal today by solicitor, Leslie Seldon, who was told to retire by Clarkson Wright & Jakes just after […]
Former press officer sues GCHQ for bullying amid “widespread” racism claims
A former senior press officer is suing GCHQ for allegedly having been a victim of “widespread” race discrimination and constructive dismissal after being victimised for making “public interest disclosures” as a whistleblower. Alfred Bacchus claims that his managers bullied him while he was a senior press officer at the government’s secretive spy base in Cheltenham, […]
Construction sector sets up industry-wide forum to boost inclusion
The construction industry has set up an industry-wide forum to try and improve diversity and boost its employment levels among women, ethnic minorities and disabled people. The Construction Industry Leadership Forum for Fairness, Inclusion and Respect was set up following recommendations by the Employment and Human Rights Commission, after two studies on diversity demonstrated the […]
Blog: How to help staff get in better financial shape
Saving more money is the one piece of advice personal financial experts are putting a lot of stock into, especially these days as the economy remains shaky. Likely there are many employees dutifully putting in their hours who are struggling to make ends meet as the cost of living continually rises. For this reason, it […]
Inequalities watchdog slammed over pay gap
The UK’s inequality watchdog has been slammed after admitting that it pays male workers more than females and white employees more than those from ethnic minority backgrounds. The situation came to light just over two years after the Equality and Human Rights Commission had vowed to stamp out pay discrimination among its own workers – […]
Does affirmative action in recruitment work?
Affirmative action in the jobs market, while illegal in the UK, has been key to helping cut US unemployment rates among African-Americans, research has revealed. According to a paper presented at the British Sociological Association’s annual conference in Leeds today, one in 12 black Britons is currently unemployed compared with just one in 16 over […]
Talking Point: Why are there still so few women in the workplace?
Once upon a time, real work was for men and women were expected to stay at home and look after the wellbeing of their families. If anything, they were regarded as the ‘silent reserve’ of the labour market. In the 21st century, however, policy makers and businesses no longer need the devastating impact of the […]
Jealous HR staff ‘bin CVs with pics of pretty rivals’
It appears that internet sensation Samantha Brick may have a point – research has revealed that women should beware of attaching photos of themselves to their CVs because jealous HR staff have a habit of binning them. Brick, a former TV presenter, who has widely been accused of being an internet troll – or someone […]
Blog: The diversity issue – Is being people-friendly the next eco-friendly?
What does diversity mean to you and your business? Or inclusivity and cohesion? A few zzzz lines in the company report, a policy destined for tumbleweed, an unreachable recruitment target, something largely negative under the umbrella of ‘compliance’ that must be reluctantly ticked? What would true diversity and total inclusivity look, feel, and sound […]
Ask the Expert: Are dads on paternity leave entitled to bank holidays?
The question One of our employees became a father on 22 December, 2011. He requested and took his two weeks of paternity leave, starting on the day that the baby was born and ending on 5 January, 2012. However, during those two weeks, there were three bank holidays. Has he lost these now […]
Talking Point: Do you really know how to get the best out of your older workers?
Of all the things that we aspire to during our career, being an ‘older worker’ probably isn’t one of them. Yet, as we age, this identity is thrust upon us and, with it, a range of stereotypes based on other people’s perceptions. As a 56-year old manager recently pointed out: “Suddenly all that people […]
Blog: Five tips on how best to recruit Generation Y
By 2020, the Millennial generation will account for 50 per cent of the working population and will represent the majority of the workforce. As Millennials consume information in different ways than their Gen X and Boomer counterparts, it’s no longer enough for companies to connect to potential employees via traditional communications channels such as newspapers […]
Ask the Expert: Do employers have to pay for post-natal time off?
The question A member of staff has just returned from maternity leave. She is still breast-feeding her child and needs to expel her milk at least twice a day. She works a 40-hour week, which is now being reduced by between 30 and 40 minutes each day due to this process. The employee […]