News: Case for no-fault dismissals unproven, say experts
Experts from all areas of business have agreed that, while the benefits case for introducing compensated no-fault dismissal is unproven, there is a strong risk that it could damage employment relations. The coalition government’s request for evidence on the controversial measure, which was put forward by venture capitalist Adrian Beecroft earlier this year, is due […]
News: BA cabin crew sue for loss of travel discounts during strike
A number of cabin crew living outside of England are seeking compensation from British Airways for indirect racial discrimination over its withdrawal of travel concessions during strikes two years ago. According to the Guardian, the claims are being heard at an employment tribunal this week, where five air stewards are looking for redress of up […]
In a Nutshell: Five top tips for staying stress-free
Stress is now the leading cause of long-term sickness absence in the workplace. A survey published recently by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development and private health insurance company, Simplyhealth, revealed that nearly two-fifths of the 592 UK employers questioned had seen an increase in stress-related absence among their employees over the last year. […]
News: HMRC workers vote for strike action
More than half of HM Revenue & Customs staff polled have voted for industrial action in a dispute over jobs and privatisation, which is expected to affect a range of services from tax advice to call centre support. The Public and Commercial Services union, which represents 55,000 HMRC members, said in a statement that an […]
Blog: When laying off staff, remember – people are watching
“In the end, I want to know that the next paycheck is coming. Everything else is secondary.” I thought of that statement from an employee who was afraid that they could be laid off. When I read about Hewlett-Packard’s impending layoff of 27,000 plus employees, I had a flash back. The subtitle of this announcement […]
Talent Spot: Lisa Sarjeant, HR director at the CIPD
As HR director at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development – Europe’s largest chartered professional HR body – it’s no surprise that Lisa Sarjeant sits on the executive team and is instrumental in setting organisational strategy. While those HR professionals who are struggling to make their voices heard at the top table may envy […]
News: 60% of workers plan to watch Olympics – with or without consent
More than half of employers plan to enable their staff to work more flexibly during the Olympics – which is just as well as nearly three out of five employees intend to watch Games, with or without consent. According to the initial findings of a joint survey undertaken by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and […]
Blog: The disciplinary power of slapping someone’s legs with a wet fish
Disciplinary stages: 1 – verbal warning. 2 – written warning. 3 – a slap round the back of the legs with a wet fish. 4 – final written warning. Well, not really, but I’m sure I’m not the only one to have fantasised about having an additional, more impactful sanction somewhere along the line! […]
A typical HRD: Part 3 – Small-to-medium enterprises
Is there such a thing as a typical career path for someone wanting to become an HR director in a small-to-medium enterprise – or even a typical HR director profile in this space? HR professionals generally seem to fall into three categories: those who spend their careers in corporate, blue chip environments; those who prefer […]
News: Olympus whistleblower hearing gets under way
Former Olympus chief executive Michael Woodford is expected to seek up to $60 million in compensation this week from his former employer, after he blew the cover on a $1.7bn accounting scandal. The five-day hearing gets underway today at an employment tribunal in east London and will shed light on why Woodford was sacked after […]
Ask the Expert: What is the holiday situation for sick workers going through redundancy?
The question An employee of ours has been on long-term sick leave since May 2011 until the current time. We have just confirmed her redundancy. But she has now asked a holiday-related question about which I would like clarification. She did not take any holidays last year (the holiday year is from January […]
News: Unions call for urgent talks with HP to save UK jobs
Unions have called for urgent talks with high tech supplier HP in a bid to try and safeguard up to 1,600 jobs under threat at its UK operations. HP has confirmed plans to cut 8%, or the equivalent of 27,000 jobs, across the globe by the end of 2014. But Unite, which has about […]
News: Workplace disenchantment hits “crisis” levels
With disenchantment in the workplace hitting “crisis” levels, it is incumbent on HR professionals to find new ways to engage staff and compensate for below-inflation wage increases that are continuing to squeeze household incomes. According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s Labour Market Outlook survey of more than 1,000 employers, some 51% were […]
News: Govt regional pay plans risk breach with Whitehall
Leaked government plans to introduce regional pay rates for civil servants are threatening to push already strained relations between the two to breaking point. The move comes only weeks after the Prime Minister’s director of strategy, Steve Hilton, who left Downing Street last week, advised him to "road test" swingeing cuts to Whitehall in a […]
Blog: Does social learning really work?
Have you ever been reluctant to seek assistance from someone inside your organisation, perhaps afraid of losing face because you need help? High performers communicate with their colleagues In a series of experiments, MIT Professor Tom Allen1 found that people are more likely to look outside their own organisation for ideas, while at the […]
News: Union requests clarification on whether HP to cut 30,000 jobs
The Public and Commercial Services Union has written to IT supplier HP "demanding immediate discussions" in light of press reports it plans to shed as many as 30,000 positions globally. The union said it wants to determine "what impact this will have on our members who work for HP in the UK". These "latest cuts" […]
Blog: 10 recommendations for boosting employee engagement
How do you improve the engagement culture within your organisation? Employee engagement is big business these days. A recent internet search I carried out highlighted 5,370,000 results on Google and 2,005 books on Amazon. (By the time you read this, those numbers will probably have increased!) There are also a multitude of surveys that […]
News: Unions ballot bus drivers for strike over Olympics bonus
Unions are balloting bus drivers on whether to take strike action over demands for a £500 bonus payment for working during the Olympics because of an expected hike in passenger numbers. Unite has sent out ballot papers to its 20,000 members, after off-duty drivers protested yesterday outside Transport for London’s head office. The union […]
News: 120 public servants sacked after snooping for personal data
At least 120 public servants have reportedly been fired over the last couple of years for illegally accessing personal data held in a confidential Department for Work and Pensions‘ database while at work. This is the claim made by an IT news site that says the staff were sacked for “abusing their access rights to […]
News: Employment situation ‘at worst for two decades’, warns CIPD
A small drop in joblessness driven by a rise in underemployed part-time workers combined with stagnant pay growth, means that the underlying employment situation is ‘worse than at any point in at least the past two decades”. According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, UK unemployment fell by 45,000 to 2.63 million in […]
