News: Half of HR departments will be restructured in next few years

Nearly half of all organisations intend to restructure their HR departments over the next few years in a bid to cater more effectively to the changing needs of the business. According to professional services firm Tower Watson’s HR service delivery survey conducted among HR and HR/IT executives working at 628 organisations across the world, just […]

The HRZone Interview: Best Companies’ Wayne Clarke on engagement

Wayne Clarke is managing partner at workplace engagement specialists, Best Companies, the firm behind the prestigious Sunday Times ‘Best Companies to Work For’ annual listing of high-performing organisations. It has identified eight key factors that are critical to be an employer that staff rate highly. They comprise:   How employees feel about their leaders How […]

News: Few employers exploit youth digital skills worth £6.7bn

Even though the UK’s unemployed youth have underexploited digital skills estimated to be worth about £6.7 billion, less than a quarter of employers plan to take them on despite a lack of in-house expertise. According to a survey undertaken by mobile phone operator O2, although organisations expect to generate about a fifth of their revenues […]

News: Tesco faces £200k fine for illegal working by foreign students

Tesco faces a fine of up to £200,000 after immigration officials found foreign students to be working illegally at one of its warehouses. According to the Daily Telegraph, UK Border Agency officials arrested 20 students of nearly a dozen nationalities at the site in Croydon, South London last month for alleged breaches of their visa […]

News: British workers “among the worst idlers in the world”, claim Tory MPs

The UK’s “poor productivity” is down to the fact that British workers are “among the worst idlers in the world”, a group of Tory MPs has claimed. The five MPs, who are joint authors of a book that is out next month entitled ‘Britannia Unchained’, attest that the country “rewards laziness”, bails out the reckless […]

News: Govt evaluates creation of German-style “mini jobs”

The creation of German-style “mini jobs”, which enable workers to earn up to E400 per month tax-free, is being explored by the Treasury in a bid to reduce long-term employment. But according to one German think-tank, the flexible contract system, which was introduced 10 years ago, should be treated with scepticism as it has only […]

News: Strikes to become “increasingly routine” over year ahead

Although industrial action at the end of last year represented an “acute high water mark”, strikes are becoming “increasingly routine”, which means that employers must implement robust contingency plans, a legal expert has warned. According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, almost 1.4 million days were lost to labour disputes last year, four […]

News: End of “Olympics effect” could see unemployment leap by year end

Although unemployment has fallen to its lowest level in almost a year due to the “Olympics effect”, the end of demand for temporary labour could see joblessness jump 0.3% by the close of the year. According to data released by the Office for National Statistics, the UK’s unemployment rate stood at 8% for the three […]

News: Employers face “make-or-break” in next 12 months

If the economy fails to pick up over the next year, employers will face a “make or break moment” as many are forced to axe skilled labour, sending unemployment levels soaring. According to the Labour Market Outlook survey of more than 1,000 employers conducted by YouGov on behalf of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and […]

Blog: Training needs analysis – How to choose the right option

You’ve conducted a Training Needs Analysis (TNA) and the results are in: training is indeed required to make sure your organisation forges ahead successfully. It’s generally accepted these days that some degree of employee training is an important part of any successful organisation.   Training can reduce the skills gaps identified in TNA and improve […]

How to administer pay cuts in times of austerity

Last week, Reuters reported that the Spanish royal family, surrounded by high unemployment and scenes of public workers striking, had offered to take a pay cut. The move is intended to reduce the €8.3 million annual cost to Spanish taxpayers of keeping them by some €100,000.   Leading the way is the Spanish King, Juan […]

Blog: Babies in the office – Will it work?

The BBC series ‘Babies in the Office’ has been an interesting insight into the prospect of parents bringing their babies and toddlers right into their workspace.  As an experiment the program is brilliant, but for me the long term potential of this concept seems limited.     I suppose that they chose a call centre […]

News: Govt launches 3-step mental health plan to save employers £10bn

Ministers have called on employers to take three steps to boost the mental health of their workers in a bid to save the UK economy £30 billion per year in lost productivity. Mental ill health such as depression and anxiety costs UK business more than £1,000 per employee each year, mainly in lost production as […]

News: Border Agency strike on eve of Games called off

Industrial action by Border Agency staff has been called off at the eleventh hour following union claims that the Home Office now intends to create 1,100 new jobs. The move came only an hour before the government was due to launch a high court challenge against a planned one-day strike by members of the Public […]

News: Number of women on FTSE 100 boards leaps by a third

The number of women with a seat on the board of FTSE 100 companies has leapt by a third over the last year following the introduction of voluntary targets, according to the government. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills revealed that females now hold 16.7% of all board positions in such organisations, up from […]

Retention matters: How to support adoptive parents

The Prime Minister set out plans to create a “fairer and faster” adoption process recently in a bid to help more people adopt. But because the aim is to introduce the changes “as soon as possible,” employers must to be ready to deal with a potential rise in the number of adoptive parents wanting to […]

News: Home Office strike threatens to hit Olympics

The government has condemned a planned strike by immigration officials over job cuts and pay that threatens to disrupt services during the Olympics.   In a ballot by the Public and Commercial Services union among its 15,700 Home Office members, which include most workers from the UK Border Agency, Identity and Passport Service and Criminal […]

News: UK Border Agency ‘cut too many staff, too quickly’

The UK Border Agency cut too many staff too quickly and so is now having to hire extra people and increase overtime to cover its workload, the government’s spending watchdog said today. More than 1,000 employees, who handle immigration at key entry points to the UK such as Heathrow airport, were axed last year over […]

News: NHS “pay cartel” proposes staff pay cuts and longer hours

Thousands of NHS staff in the South West of England could face the sack unless they agree to take pay cuts and work longer hours under a new money-saving scheme. A document leaked to the Sunday Times showed that NHS managers from 19 Trusts in the region have joined forces to form what is being […]

News: Start-up scheme targeted at redundant public sector workers

Public sector employees facing redundancy are being encouraged to start their own business with the help of a new government-backed initiative. The Ready for Business scheme, funded with £15 million from the Regional Growth Fund and £1 million from Barclays, is targeting areas "disproportionately affected by the downturn in the economy".   It is offering […]