Could the recession be tarnishing your employer brand?
How can organisations ensure they maintain their employer brand in a recession? Tim Holden explains how to keep brand values visible throughout any change process, and how HR can ensure the brand is protected during a redundancy process. What is an employer brand? According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD), employer […]
Ten top tips on rewarding in a recession
Mark Eaton outlines some of the simple steps you can take to ensure you are ready to keep rewarding in a recession. It’s realistic that employers need to be prudent and take some tough decisions in the current recession and ongoing economic uncertainty. Yet, there’s much employers can do to galvanise their people and use […]
How to beat the recession by empowering your line managers
In a downturn organisations are faced with the challenge of cutting costs whilst ensuring staff remain productive and motivated. Phil Brown examines the benefits of drawing on the capabilities of your line managers as a means of weathering the economic storm. The role of line managers has been a hot topic in recent years in […]
HR in a recession: A change of focus
John Pope examines how HR professionals’ roles have changed since the downturn and how they must now adapt to the current climate. Business is a bit like gardening. To get good roses in summer, you have to prune in winter, root out diseased old stock, get rid of those which flower poorly or are no […]
Credit crunch leads to increase in county court judgments
County court judgments have risen by 500% over the past two years, signalling further corporate distress in the UK and a rise in company insolvencies. According to the latest Business Credit Index, published by the Credit Management Research Centre (CMRC) at Leeds University Business School, the early signs of financial stress in the corporate sector […]
Has Blair really been so bad?
It's the 10 year anniversary of Tony Blair's career as Prime Minister and every local radio station seems to have an opinion on it. Judging by their general attitude, he might as well have been biting the heads off kittens and kicking orphans in the street, but has his 'Reign of Terror' really been so […]
News in Brief: Britain’s most dangerous jobs revealed
Catch up on the week in HR including Britain’s most dangerous jobs revealed, UK workers lack job confidence, NHS makes further skills cuts, science skills threatened and much more. W/C 8/5/06 Britain’s most dangerous jobs revealedNurses, health workers, teachers, transport workers, security guards and even shop workers are affected by violence or threatening behaviour putting […]
News in Brief: Half of workers are constantly tired
Catch up on the week in HR including National Working at Home day celebrated, lawyers look to Sweden for ‘ageist’ warning, skills race raises roof on lawyers’ wages, employers failing to engage with Unions over training and women work longer hours than men. W/C 1/5/06National Working at Home Day celebratedFriday, 5 May 2006 marks national […]
News in Brief: Sack underperformers, says Microsoft CEO
Catch up on the week in HR including migrant workers ‘keep interest rates down’, profits squeeze forces factory job cuts, bosses ignore perils of the office romance and employees go ‘green’. W/C 24/4/06 Sack underperformers, says Microsoft CEOBritish bosses should aim to sack as many underperforming employees as possible, the Microsoft chief executive has urged. […]
News in Brief: Mid-market firms push people issues aside
Catch up on the week in HR including factory workers dominate shift working culture, NHS job cuts anger Unions and staff, one in seven may skip work to watch World Cup, BBC joins list of employers slashing final salary pensions, Nelson firm sunk by pensions crisis and much more. W/C 17/4/06Mid-market firms push people issues […]
News in Brief: Employment law triggered
Catch up on the week in HR including first raft of new employment legislation, last call for Pensions Commission, D-day for A-day, CIPD move Harrogate conference, pay rises sink to three year low and mums take an average six months maternity leave. W/C 3/4/06April sees introduction of new employment legislationApril 6 marked the first trigger […]
News in Brief: Motor-mouths lose out at interview
Catch up on the week in HR including why employers are turned off by chatter boxes, reaction to the government’s further education White Paper, PC industry leads fight to save HCI and job cuts at Learning and Skills Council sparks industrial unrest. W/C 27/3/06 Ministers turn to driving up skillsFurther education colleges must focus on […]
What’s the answer? Confidentiality – Controlling the office gossip
Pauline Martin gets legal guidance this week from Helen Badger, employment law expert at Browne Jacobson and Martin Brewer, a Partner with the employment team of Mills & Reeve on how to stop a gossip spreading the news. We have a member of staff who has worked for the company for over 15 years. She […]
Colborn’s Corner: Budgeting for success?
Gordon’s Brown’s recent budget contained a few surprises and doubtless the pundits will be pouring over the detail for some time, if only to come up with predictions as to when he changes job. But what impact does the budget have for HR and can we learn anything from an annual budgeting process? I suppose […]
News in Brief: The Week in HR – HR globe-trotters do it for career success
Catch up on the week in HR including UK rejects the unskilled, pensions reform debate hots up, HSBC face £5m gross misconduct claim from sacked gay banker, official launch greets age laws and why some HR professionals are prepared to catch that flight. W/C 6/3/06UK rejects the unskilledHighly trained workers will be able to migrate […]
Responsible business practice improves bottom line
Employees see a clear connection between responsible business practice and positive impact on the bottom line, according to new research sponsored by BUPA and carried out by Business in the Community in partnership with the CIPD and the Future Work Institute. The key messages from the report, ‘Responsibility: driving innovation, inspiring employees’ were: Employees […]
Childcare costs becoming prohibitive
The price of childcare has soared, according to a national survey of the cost of nurseries, childminders and after school clubs. The research was compiiled by the national childcare charity, Daycare Trust, and supported by Accor Childcare Vouchers. It suggests that there is only one childcare place for every seven children under eight in the […]
Government sets out voluntary code for pension fund investment
The Government today issued a revised set of principles of investment for pension funds, following consultation. It also issued its official response to the Myners review of institutional investment, which gives some updates on how the Government and other organisations are taking forward the recommendations of the review. The principles of investment were proposed by […]
Unions and business leaders agree thousands of jobs are at risk
Responding to figures showing an official recession in the manufacturing sector, Brendan Barber, TUC Deputy General Secretary, said, "Last week's interest rate cut was a welcome move but there is far more we could be doing to help our manufacturing sector. Britain gives less state aid to manufacturing than almost any other country in Europe. […]
EOC: Britain Stuck in a Rut
Britain still has to get to grips with the challenge of achieving equality between women and men said Julie Mellor, Chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), on the day the EOC publishes its annual report. Ms Mellor said: “The range of cases the EOC took last year shows just how deeply sex discrimination is […]
