News: Sickness absence down, presenteeism and mental illness up
Although average employee absence levels have dropped by as much as a day, job insecurity has led to a rise in presenteeism and mental health problems such as anxiety and depression. According to a survey conducted among 667 employers by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and health insurance provider Simplyhealth, staff absence levels […]
News: Chancellor’s shares-for-employment-rights scheme ‘open to abuse’
The Chancellor’s plans to enable staff to sell employment rights in exchange for company shares could be open to abuse by unscrupulous employers, experts have warned. George Osborne in his Conservative party conference speech today said that, as of April next year, employees who are given company shares worth between £2,000 and £50,000 will no […]
Ask the Expert: What to do about a serious staff/manager rift?
The question Within the business, we have an employee and a line manager whose working relationship has completely broken down. The line manager has been with us for 20 years and has an unblemished record. The employee has been in post for three months, but has had no previous employment issues and her references […]
Blog: Five reasons for bullying – or being bullied
Bullying or allegations of bullying at work is always stressful for the people involved. For employers who have to deal with claims and instances of bullying, the dynamic can prove destructive and costly in a myriad of ways. Not least the potential cost of employee complaints, as well as the loss of trust […]
News: Lack of HR support means 1/3 senior hires consider quitting in first 3 months
A failure by top managers to work closely enough with HR means that two out of five senior hires consider quitting in their first 90 days and are 50% less productive than they would otherwise be. According to a survey among 283 senior executives and 38 HR directors conducted by recruitment consultancy, Harvey Nash, a […]
Blog: Five ways to move on from a mistake
How did you react the last time you made a mistake at work? Did you hold your hands up and do your best to put the problem right – or did you berate yourself for being a failure but decide there was nothing you could do to rescue the situation? According to an article […]
Legal Insight: How to avoid employment tribunal claims
In an already difficult economy, employers face substantial costs in trying to deal with employee conflict and actual and threatened claims. Employment tribunal statistics for 2011-12 show that of the 186,300 claims brought last year, the vast majority were either settled or dismissed prior to the final hearing. Given that HR professionals and employment […]
Ask the Expert: How can we best handle a complex restructure?
The challenge Our company is restructuring several departments in order to create a combined service to boost efficiency and customer focus. The restructure will create vacancies, so there will be a position for everyone involved. Essentially, there are five teams. Two of the teams are staying as they are (A&B). A further two […]
News: Redundancies likely early next year if economy fails to improve, warns CIPD
Rising unit labour costs and falling productivity will only put more pressure on employers to either restrict pay rises and cut working hours or start making redundancies, the CIPD has warned. Figures published today by the Office for National Statistics revealed that the productivity of UK workers fell by 0.9% in the second quarter of […]
News: A third of UK workers endure bullying
A huge three out of five UK workers claim to have been bullied at some point by their boss, while 30% say they are experiencing such behaviour right now. According to a poll among 400 employees undertaken by online jobs board, CareerBuilder.co.uk, the two most common bullying techniques are to blame people for mistakes that […]
Blog: HR, it’s time to show bullies the exit
“As I opened the door, I saw her with her back turned and shoulders slumped. When she turned around, I could see that she had been crying. I felt bad but it made me realize that I am not the only one who gets verbally abused. The kicker was that she was a senior level […]
Legal Insight: Employment tribunal proposals – Beware the silent killers
The government recently announced proposals to streamline employment law and the employment tribunal system, which could roughly be split into three categories: flag waving, old wine in new bottles and silent killers. The proposals themselves stem from the view that there has been significant growth in the number of complex employment tribunal claims, which are […]
News: Staff at Dept for Culture, Media and Sport face post-Olympics cull
Despite successfully helping to stage the Olympic Games and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, civil servants at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have all been put at risk of redundancy. The department has been tasked with cutting its administration costs by 50%. As a result, its aim is to cut its workforce […]
Ask the Expert: Can staff change the goalposts over maternity leave?
The question I have a staff member who has taken all of her Ordinary Maternity Leave and is now into Additional Maternity Leave. Prior to the leave starting, she notified us that she wished to return during her AML (to come back in September), but would take an additional period of holiday so that […]
News: Employers believe ‘protected conversations’ will lead to bullying
A worrying two thirds of employers believe that the government’s ‘protected conversation’ proposals will lead to abuse, acting as a smokescreen for threats and bullying that would otherwise constitute a breach of contract. However, a mere 13% of those questioned in a survey undertaken by law firm Pannone said that they would refrain from taking […]
News: Call centre workers in East Anglia most likely to throw a sickie…
Although a third of UK workers admit to having pulled a sickie, a worrying 55% soldier on when ill due to anxiety over what their boss or colleagues will think. According to a survey conducted among 2,000 employees by insurance comparison website Confused.com, some 35% admitted lying to their manager over why they had missed […]
News: Govt rush to offload public sector jobs leads to hike in tribunal claims
The coalition government’s rush to offload public sector jobs onto the private sector led to a 37% hike in TUPE-related employment tribunal claims last year, according to lawyers. Cases relating to the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 have been the only form of employment dispute to increase significantly over the last two […]
News: TUC boss to receive six figure “golden goodbye”
Brendan Barber, current general secretary of the TUC, is expected to receive a six figure “golden goodbye” when he retires at the end of the year. According to the Daily Mail, he will be given the equivalent of a year’s salary, which amounts to more than £100,526 – around four times the average full-time UK […]
News: “Not realistic” to deploy troops as strike-breakers, say defence sources
Defence sources have dismissed reports that soldiers will be brought in to act as strike-breakers following a TUC vote to explore the practicalities of organising a general strike in protest at government spending cuts. In the past, members of the military have been brought in to provide cover when industrial action has taken place, the […]
News: HR ‘must find fresh ways of developing tomorrow’s leaders’
HR must avoid traditional “sheep-dip” management training approaches and instead find fresh ways to develop the new kind of leader required to thrive in today’s knowledge-based economy. According to a report published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, these leaders are necessary to build a positive workplace culture that is able to get […]
