UK unprepared to deal with ageing workforce
The failure of senior executives to recognise the widespread implications of an ageing workforce mean that UK organisations are “woefully underprepared” to deal with the impact on their business. Despite the impending abolition of the Default Retirement Age (DRA) and the fact that a third of UK workers will be aged over 50 by 2020, […]
The pension journey: auto-enrolment is just the beginning
Auto-enrolment is a powerful remedy for employers struggling to sign up employees to their pension schemes, but it should only be the start of the relationship, according to speakers at AXA’s first Future of Workplace Savings roadshow. Pension decision-makers from leading employers were given tips from the experts on how to deal with the enrolment […]
Making your business a lean, mean, people machine
In shaky economic times organisations naturally look for ways to stabilise and recently there’s been a strong resurgence in ‘lean’ business management. But, argues Alethea McIntosh, principal consultant at Berkshire Consultancy, the ultimate success of this efficiency-driven model depends not on standardising process but in understanding people, and more specifically diversity. In business, ‘technical’ issues […]
What impact will abolishing the compulsory retirement age have?
"What you have to know about this session is that I am me and I am not going to change". That was the opening line of a coaching session I recently undertook. I was sitting in front of a Swiss-German senior vice president with whom I had spent the previous two and a half days […]
The new retirement age – implications for employers and employees
A radical shake up of the state pensions announced by the coalition government will involve an acceleration of the plans to raise the retirement age in order to help reduce the budget deficit and a plan to scrap the default retirement age of 65 from 1 October 2011. These controversial announcements have received some mixed […]
Not enough jobs suitable for lone parents
A dearth of ‘family friendly jobs’ could throw the coalition government’s plans to get more single parents back to work into disarray, according to research. In its emergency budget, the government said that 100,000 lone parents whose youngest child was aged five – rather than the former age of 10 – would be required to […]
Older workforce will present new health challenges for employers
Occupational health professionals have warned that employers could face challenges in managing the needs of the more than 50% of workers who either do not expect to retire or are unsure when they can afford to do so. An online poll among 1,478 UK workers undertaken by ICM Research on behalf of Baring Asset Management […]
Equal pay for women in HR 107 years away
The average female manager in the UK faces a wait of 57 years for their salary to be on a par with male counterparts, while equal pay for women HR bosses is a mind-blowing 107 years away. These are the findings of the ‘2010 National Management Salary Survey’ undertaken among 43,000 managers in 200 organisations […]
HR must not fall for the ‘delusion of gender’
HR professionals need to be careful of indulging in ‘neurosexism’, after revelations that widely accepted differences between male and female abilities are not hard-wired into their brains from birth but are the result of cultural assumptions. Cordelia Fine, a researcher at Melbourne University, argues in her book entitled ‘Delusions of Gender’, which is due to […]
Antisocial hours still need equal pay
A ruling that female workers at an NHS Trust in Merseyside are entitled to the same level of payment for working antisocial hours as men could open the way to similar claims elsewhere. The women, who were employed by St Helen’s and Knowsley NHS Trust in roles ranging from healthcare assistants, domestic supervisors and receptionists, […]
Millennial training methods
Who are these ‘millennials’ and how can they be motivated when it comes to training? David Chan gives some insight into the new kids on the block. The millennial generation is broadly defined as those individuals born after 1985, who have grown up with the web and mobile communications. The impact of technology is not […]
April ‘too soon’ for retirement age scrapping
The CBI has warned that the coalition government’s proposals to phase out the Default Retirement Age from April next year are too swift and will make workforce planning “next to impossible”. The government’s consultation document, which was released today, suggests that the DRA should be officially scrapped on 1 October 2011. It also proposes that […]
Coalition plans will lead to more older workers
Age UK has called on the coalition government to do more to tackle age discrimination if it is to push through proposed benefit reforms likely to boost the number of older workers returning to the jobs market. The charity estimates that plans to transfer Incapacity Benefit claimants onto Employment Support Allowance could increase the […]
Working mums ‘resented’ in workplace
A huge nine out of 10 working women believe that female colleagues with children receive better treatment than them and resent the flexible hours and time off mothers have, indicating that HR professionals need to do more to level the playing field. Moreover, a third of working women without offspring think that working mothers use […]
Out of date policies putting businesses at risk
Too many companies are failing to revise internal procedures in order to comply with new equality and anti-bribery legislation, leaving them open to potential prosecution, lawyers have warned. According to a survey of more than 100 HR directors undertaken by law firm Pannone, just under two thirds of respondents still routinely use pre-employment health questionnaires […]
Ask the expert: Default retirement age
This week the experts, Adam Partington and Esther Smith advise on how to deal with retiring workers. The question: Default retirement age We have a default retirement age of 65 and follow the usual procedures of writing to staff approaching retirement. The organisation has to date accepted every request for staff to remain […]
The battle for the boardroom isn’t just about gender
With recent news suggesting a reshuffle in the top 100 jobs after a report that there were more men at the top than women, thought leadership strategist Mindy Gibbins-Klein shares her view about the challenges some people face when trying to reach the boardroom, and how they can be overcome. I was shocked when I […]
1/3 of 2010 retirees will fall below the poverty line
An insurance provider has called on the government to take action on pensions after research revealed that nearly a third of all people planning to retire in 2010 will end up living below the poverty line. According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, a single person in the UK needs to earn at least £13,900 each […]
Most want end of DRA – but don’t have other plans
While almost two thirds of adults would like to see the default retirement age abolished, few are sure what the right age for quitting work should be and most are failing to plan for the future. According to a survey undertaken among 1,011 people by Age UK, which was formed out of the merger of […]
Take action on ‘blatant racism’ in best paid professions
A charity has called on HR professionals to do more to tackle institutionalised racism in their workplaces in order to encourage more members of the UK’s ethnic minorities to apply for prestige jobs. A report, which is due to be published tomorrow, has revealed that more than a quarter of people from ethnic minority groups […]