Are your employees aware of your sickness policy?
A survey of 500 businesses has revealed up to 1/4 do not routinely tell employees about any benefits of the sickness policy, leaving many employees unaware of any benefits to them if they fall ill. When asked to elaborate, eight per cent of businesses questioned had a policy in place but preferred to maintain secrecy […]
Unpaid interns ‘may be illegal’
Employers may be breaking the law by not paying as many as one in three interns the national minimum wage even though they qualify for it, according to the TUC. The union umbrella organisation warned that any intern who is not simply observing and shadowing paid employees but is instead undertaking work-related tasks with set […]
Want engaged employees? Engage with the wellbeing of your employees
In times of financial uncertainty it can be difficult to motivate a workforce, and even harder to motivate and engage with individual members of staff. For an employee, feeling that their boss cares about them is one important aspect of engagement. However, ‘showing you care’ in a genuine and effective way can prove difficult. Showing […]
Bonuses – a balancing act
How do you maintain your well-earned reputation as a competitive employer and, at the same time, comply with the new tougher public and regulatory expectations? It is no easy task striking a balance between legal requirements and commercial pressures when putting together an effective remuneration package. The answer is that remuneration should be aligned with […]
Snow pay: should you dock wages of snowed-in workers?
Although employers may have a legal right to withhold workers’ pay if they do not come into work because of the snow, such action could not only be challenged but could also hit morale. The legal lowdown stands as follows: staff members are legally obliged to get themselves to work and companies are entitled […]
Pre-budget report: have salary sacrifice canteens had their chips?
Salary sacrifice schemes have been popular in recent years, proving a godsend for working families by providing creches or childcare vouchers and hungry workers with workforce canteens provided by the schemes. However the pre budget report’s attack on salary sacrifice workplace canteens may hint at a sea change for tax status over salary sacrifice. Aside […]
Are they being served?
With HR’s attention well and truly focused on managing redundancies and pay cuts, has it taken its eye of the ball when it comes to employee engagement? HR certainly has its hands full at the moment. If it’s not calming the waters post redundancy it’s pacifying those who may have pay, benefits or training cuts. […]
Top tips on managing your company expenses
As political leaders scramble to introduce radical new measures for better governance over the MP expenses system, organisations also need to review their business expense processes, says Tim Hardcastle. Despite the fact we’re at the tail-end of a recession, businesses are still mismanaging their operational expenses, with expense spend up to 40% higher than it […]
Colborn’s Corner: Fraudulent expenses – it couldn’t happen here, could it?
The MPs expenses scandal has dominated our front pages for quite some time now. But what does it say to those of us in HR, apart from keeping a tight reign on the expenses policy? Quentin Colborn suggests there are many lessons to be learnt and we all have questions we have to ask ourselves. For the first […]
Ten top tips on rewarding in a recession
Mark Eaton outlines some of the simple steps you can take to ensure you are ready to keep rewarding in a recession. It’s realistic that employers need to be prudent and take some tough decisions in the current recession and ongoing economic uncertainty. Yet, there’s much employers can do to galvanise their people and use […]
HR Tip: Recovering relocation expenses
These questions are being answered by Learn HR, a market leader in the provision of HR and payroll training and nationally-recognised professional qualifications. Question: "Recently we recruited a man and paid a generous proportion of his relocation expenses, only to have him leave after six months to work for a nearby company. We suspect he used […]
HR tip: Employment end date – garden leave question
These questions are being answered by Learn HR, a market leader in the provision of HR and payroll training and nationally-recognised professional qualifications. Question: "When does employment actually end when we give people pay in lieu of notice or put them on garden leave?" HR tip: Garden leave means that you continue to employ and pay […]
School’s out for summer: Flexibility for parents
Alice Cooper might not have been so chuffed about school being out for summer if he’d had to juggle his busy rock touring schedule with a couple of bored kids. Matt Henkes looks at how two top firms are providing their staff with the necessary flexibility. The excitement that once accompanied the […]
Post holiday blues: A look at the EU annual leave table
Our holiday entitlement may be amongst the lowest in Europe, but luckily we're tough enough to take it. However, whether UK business is tough enough to take further increases in statutory annual leave is a question that remains unanswered. Matt Henkes reports. It probably won't come as a surprise to anyone that the UK currently […]
HR tip: Calculating pay-in-lieu of notice
These questions are being answered by Learn HR, a market leader in the provision of HR and payroll training and nationally-recognised professional qualifications. Question:"How is pay-in-lieu calculated?" HR tip:There is no designated formula as such because pay-in-lieu is a sum of money agreed by employer and departing employee due to the fact the latter is not […]
HR tip: Reducing company car standard
These questions are being answered by Learn HR, a market leader in the provision of HR and payroll training and nationally-recognised professional qualifications. Question:"As part of a move to reduce operating costs, we intend to lower the standard of the cars that we provide for certain employees. Is this safe?" HR tip:That depends upon what is […]
Cash versus non-cash rewards
Which approach is best in your organisation – a pay-based or gift-based reward system? Mike Morgan, MD of Peoplevalue, champions the case for a non-cash rewards scheme due to its "psychological and motivational value". Is it possible for an employee to demonstrate pride and achievement with a pay-based reward? Have you ever seen money displayed […]
Juggling not struggling
UK bosses are missing out on the huge benefits that flexible working can bring to their businesses, explains Kate Milner, WebEx Communications. From October 1 this year, the right to request flexible working hours is extended to carers of adults in the UK, reflecting the dramatic shift in working patterns that UK employees have […]
Unions going too far, warns CBI
The CBI has warned the government that it must resist calls from the TUC that would turn the clock back on improved workplace relations. According to key findings in the latest annual CBI-Pertemps Employment Trends Survey, published this week, employers are working with employees on the issues that matter to them. Flexible working is being […]
Flexible benefits: The self-service way
Implementing a flexible benefits system is for many HR departments the next stage in the rewards journey, Sandy Boyle, Human Resources Director at Mills & Reeve shares his experiences. HR Zone Q1: Why do you think Mills & Reeve is one of the best companies to work for?Boyle:The firm seeks to provide an environment which […]
