GDPR: your HR questions answered
With the GDPR deadline fast approaching, HRZone asked ADP Chief Privacy Officer, Cécile Georges, to answer some key HR-related questions about this new regulation. How does GDPR impact businesses? If your organisation does business in the EU or handles EU residents’ personal data, regardless of whether or not your business is located in the EU, then […]
Protecting HR from the rise of social engineering attacks
Let’s face it, life is a series of calculated and uncalculated risks. Some risks we know about and can choose how to deal with (e.g. mitigate), and others we remain blissfully ignorant of until the consequences hit us. Work is like that, too; there are situations and threats that we have learned how to effectively […]
A wake-up call to HR: GDPR is right around the corner
The Plainspeak Analyst is Katherine Jones, Partner and Director of Talent Research at Mercer, the world’s largest human resources consulting firm. Her job is to design and deliver insight research and services to Mercer’s global clients. She was previously VP, Human Capital Management Technology Research at Bersin by Deloitte. She has a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from Cornell University. […]
Employment tribunal fees unlawful, says Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has ruled that employment tribunal fees are unlawful. This has been a real shock decision that not many people were expecting. In this article we look at the main findings of the court and the impact on employers. The judgement and key points in summary: Employment Tribunal fees are unlawful because of […]
Stamping out sexism: why kicking high heels off office dress codes is still important
Recently, the high heels dress code row that started in the summer of 2016 came to an end. After months of ongoing debate and widespread public outcries from the female professional community, MPs shut down calls to end the presence of high heels on formal office dress codes for women. They ruled that businesses have the […]
How will data and analytics change the legal sector?
This article is based on an interview with Alyson Reeves, Director at PwC Consulting and an expert on change in the legal sector. The world is changing rapidly and every sector is undergoing disruption brought about by technological change. This is particularly disruptive in traditional sectors, such as legal. Data and analytics are affecting all […]
HR data and GDPR: what you need to know about consent (and why not to rely on it)
The upcoming General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) has significant implications for HR and has, understandably, grabbed the headlines recently. Predictions of hefty fines for employers abound. These are often attributed to the higher standard of consent for processing personal data that the legislation requires. It is true that with the new legislation, which comes into […]
Greatest extension of workers’ rights or a great big headache for SMEs?
Theresa May’s announcement today is being heralded in some quarters as the great expansion of workers’ rights. So does this mean it is unfriendly to SME businesses? We don’t think so – the one thing businesses do not like is uncertainty and we now know that the EU-based employment laws that we currently have are […]
Do recent legal decisions mean employers can discriminate on the basis of religious discrimination?
Have the recent Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) cases of C-157/15 Achbita, Centrum voor Gelijkheid van kansen en voor rascismebestrijding v. G4S Secure Solutions and C-188/15 Bougnaoui and Association de défense des droits de l’homme (ADDH) v. Micropole Univers opened the door for employers to discriminate against employees who wear religious dress? […]
What to consider when preparing your social media policy
A good social media policy should be clear and consistent, and give examples of acceptable and unacceptable conduct. The main aim of the policy is to help employees understand where the line is – and how to stay on the right side of it – and for managers to be able to identify and act appropriately in […]
Why every business needs a comprehensive social media policy
As well as individuals, most businesses now have their own social media presence, but these new channels bring their own potential problems. In this series, Social media policy & law: a guide for HR, we'll share some examples of employee misbehaviour, changes to law & organisational policy off the back of these incidents, and what […]
Employee misbehaviour and reputational damage on social media – what can businesses do?
As well as individuals, most businesses now have their own social media presence, but these new channels bring their own potential problems. In this series, Social media policy & law: a guide for HR, we'll share some examples of employee misbehaviour, changes to law & organisational policy off the back of these incidents, and what businesses can […]
Freedom of expression, or not – what are the risks of using social media at work?
As well as individuals, most businesses now have their own social media presence, but these new channels bring their own potential problems. In this series, Social media policy & law: a guide for HR, we'll share some examples of employee misbehaviour, changes to law & organisational policy off the back of these incidents, and what […]
Regulatory references: the new rules of recruitment for the financial sector
On 7 March 2017, the recruitment practices of banks and insurers are changing with the introduction of mandatory regulatory references. It is expected that these rules will be rolled out to all PRA and FCA authorised firms in due course, but no firm date has been set at the moment. The basic premise of regulatory […]
The changing face of HR legislation – are you keeping up to date?
Recent years have seen the role of the HR professional evolve. Job descriptions have expanded, remits changed and priorities shifted. But despite these changes, compliance with legislation has maintained a steadfast presence on any HR professional’s radar. With stricter legislation coming in, impacting employees and the businesses alike, it falls to the HR team to […]
The case for and against: should we get rid of unpaid internships?
There are plenty of contentious issues in HR and the workplace, and we think it's important to get a balanced discussion going on some of the bigger questions out there. In this series, we'll be asking HR experts and practitioners to give us opposing viewpoints on a key issue, and we welcome your input too! […]
Tackling bribery and corruption: where are the gaps for HR to fill?
In February this year, the Serious Fraud Office obtained its first successful conviction against a company under section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010. Sweett Group PLC pleaded guilty to a charge that it had failed to prevent an act of bribery by a subsidiary company that was intended to secure and retain a contract. […]
We can do this the easy way or the hard way…
Acas’ latest policy paper. ‘The road less travelled? Taking the informal route to conflict resolution’, encourages managers to use emotional intelligence to resolve problems at work before they get out of hand. But what challenges does the informal route present and are we equipped to come out the other side in one piece? Why is […]
Zero-hours contracts – friend or foe?
Zero-hours contracts have received a lot of attention in the press over the past couple of years. Generally speaking, ‘zero-hours’ means contracts where the employer doesn’t guarantee the individual any hours of work. We’ve also seen some high profile cases of businesses using (and ‘abusing’) zero-hours contracts. The criticism in some of these specific cases […]
How to deal with frequent short-term absences
Absence of any kind can cause headaches for employers. Even the odd single day off can have a significant impact; absence does not need to get to the ‘long-term’ stage before it becomes a problem. Short term absences can be a result of a number of different reasons, such as short term sickness absence, unauthorised […]
