Legal challenge to civil service redundancy scheme changes
The Public and Commercial Services union is to mount a legal challenge over changes to the civil service redundancy compensation scheme this week after its members voted overwhelmingly to reject them. The union will take the matter to the High Court and has already called on the coalition government to reopen negotiations in a bid […]
Healthcare unions hit out at two year pay freeze proposals
Health service unions have rejected “divisive” proposals to introduce a two-year freeze on increments for all staff in England from April in return for an “extremely limited” guarantee of no compulsory redundancies. The British Medical Association joined The Royal College of Nursing and Unison in throwing out suggestions made by the NHS Employers body that […]
Socially acceptable – enforcing social media policies in the workplace
Consumer services such as Facebook and personal devices such as netbooks, the iPad and the iPhone are increasingly being used within businesses, eroding the line between business and leisure communications. In fact this convergence of business and leisure activity has led social commentators to coin the term, ‘bleisure’, to describe this shift in working patterns. […]
Employment law leniency won’t help employment stability, says CIPD
Coalition government plans to make it easier for employers to sack staff in their first two years of employment without facing unfair dismissal claims will do little to create hoped-for jobs but may destabilise the labour market, an HR body has warned. Under Prime Minister David Cameron’s new so-called ‘employers’ charter’, workers will also have […]
CIPD outlook for 2011 grim
Continuing job losses and falls in average earnings mean that 2011 is likely to prove another difficult year for HR professionals, with a ‘jobs-light’ recovery the best that can be hoped for, according to an HR body. In its annual employment Barometer report for the year ahead, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) […]
Season’s Greetings: Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year
Wishing all of you and your families a wonderful Christmas, peaceful New Year and a stress-free return to work! Thank you for your support and participation in 2010 – enjoy the festive period with our best wishes on behalf of all of the HRzone.co.uk team. The very best, Charlie Duff, Editor.
UK hangover costs £620 million
Staff pulling ‘sickies’ due to almighty hangovers after the Christmas party will cost the UK economy £620 million this festive season, with many planning to get more drunk than usual after a stressful year. According to a survey of 6,000 UK workers undertaken by hotel chain Travelodge, just under two thirds of workers will be […]
Good relations with MD helps retain talent
Personnel in small-to-medium enterprises in Scotland and the North of England are the least likely to change employers because their managing directors treat them more as friends than colleagues, according to a study. A survey undertaken among 250 MDs and owner/managers by Illuma Research on behalf of Manpower’s talent and careers management consultancy Right Management […]
Take the pain out of training seasonal staff
The customers that pack your stores during the festive period don’t know – or care – whether a member of staff is seasonal or permanent. They just know that the employee represents your business. And that means, as well as compelling product range and product availability, customers expect prompt answers to any queries they have […]
Season of Goodwill? A very HR Christmas
The festive season is upon us, or as employment lawyers like to think of it, the litigation season. It is time to send HR’s annual email explaining that there will be no office party this year/there will be a cheaper one than usual and that no-one must smoke, drink too much, tell any jokes, or […]
Happy workers have a sense of shared purpose
Business strategy must be based on a shared sense of purpose between employers and workers in order to boost staff engagement, job satisfaction and organisational performance. According to a survey undertaken among more than 2,000 employees by YouGov on behalf of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), 84% of those working in organisations […]
Charity and retail workers ‘not party animals’
While recruitment and marketing staff enjoy a good Christmas party more than any other group of workers, back office personnel in the retail sector are the most likely to make their excuses and not turn up at all. According to a survey among 2,500 UK office staff across eight industries undertaken by serviced office provider […]
Santa is coming to town – the HR nightmare before Christmas
Annabel Kaye provides this tongue-in-cheek memo for employees from an employer brave enough to risk a Christmas party. Dear employees: We are organising the annual Christmas party, and a Mr Klaus has agreed to be our entertainer. After last year’s party (by the way, congratulations on the baby, Miss Smith) we thought it would […]
Social media may aid unofficial industrial action
The ability for workers to communicate more rapidly using tools such as social media could lead to increased levels of difficult-to-manage unofficial industrial action, the conciliation service Acas has warned. Such technology is changing the way that staff are able to organise and means that demonstrations and flash mobs can be arranged at the push […]
Sainsbury’s cares for carers
Sainsbury’s claims to be the first UK retailer to work with carers’ organisations in order to develop flexible working policies targeted at staff with caring responsibilities. The supermarket chain has joined the Leadership Group of membership body Employers for Carers, which is chaired by BT and supported with expertise from charity Carers UK. Sainsbury’s intends […]
Dealing with strikes: Manager advice on video
This is a sneak peek at a new learning resource from Video Arts, highlighting issues relating to behaviour, communication, support, consultation and disciplinary action. "Any manager who is caught in the middle of a strike will find the experience incredibly challenging," said Martin Addison, managing director of Video Arts. "It's vital that you know […]
Christmas temp labour shortage
Although growing numbers of employers are looking to take on temps in favour of permanent staff over the next 12 months, high levels of demand for temporary labour are creating shortages in the run-up to Christmas despite rising unemployment levels. According to a survey among 600 employers undertaken by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), […]
Ask the expert: Restrictions on taking annual leave?
This time the experts, Esther Smith and Martin Brewer give their advice on what restrictions can be placed on employees taking annual leave. The question: Annual leave restrictions? Is it possible for us to specify in our contracts that the employee can only take as much holiday as they have accrued? I know that […]
Redundancy consultation may be scrapped
UK workers may lose the right to be consulted over redundancies following an appeal by the US Government to clarify EU law. The EU Court of Appeal has asked the European Court of Justice to rule whether employers need to consult with staff before or after deciding to make them redundant, following an appeal by the […]
CIPD Conference 2010: Chris Grayling seeks HR support for government scheme
Government minister Chris Grayling asked the HR community to ‘give the long-term unemployed a chance’ by working with the government on their back to work scheme when he addressed them at the CIPD conference. The MP issued the plea to the assembled human resource practitioners at the CIPD annual conference’s closing session for business […]