Cleaning manager hangs himself at Heathrow over job security fears
The manager of a cleaning sub-contractor for the major airlines hung himself at Heathrow Airport over fears about the security of his job. Keith Stone, who was 50 years old, was found hanging from a de-icing vehicle at Terminal 5 in full view of passengers taking off and landing. According to the Sun, the father […]
Accountant jailed for stealing cash due to share disappointment
A company accountant has been jailed for theft after admitting that he stole tens of thousands of pounds from his employer when the shares he bought from the company did not provide the returns expected. According to the Norfolk Eastern Daily Press, Mark Hewitt, an accountant earning more than £65,000 per year, stole £80,000 in […]
Trends 2012: Employment tribunals
After being “positively outraged” at the way in which the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust behaved, an employment tribunal awarded compensation of £4.5 million in December to Polish-born consultant, Dr Eva Michalak. The record-breaking award was ordered after Dr Michalak was found to be the victim of prolonged sex and race discrimination at the hands […]
PM U-turns on plans to scrap 50p tax rate – till 2015 at least
At the same time as the Prime Minister is to drop plans to scrap the 50p rate of income tax, he has also promised to give company shareholders a binding vote on executive pay. According to the Daily Telegraph, David Cameron has come to the conclusion with Chancellor George Osborne that abolishing the tax for […]
Blog: Should banks cut executive pay?
Earlier this month, one of the UK’s most influential shareholder groups, the Association of British Insurers, sent a terse letter to each of the country’s five biggest banks: Barclays, HSBC, RBS, Lloyds and Standard Chartered. In the letter, the ABI warns the chairman of each company that it wants to see the end of the […]
Update: High Court bid to stop tube drivers’ strike on Boxing Day
The High Court will hear a legal bid to stop tube drivers from walking out for 24 hours on Boxing Day in a row over pay later today. London Underground claims that only 42% of Aslef ‘s members – the largest tube driver union – voted to go take industrial action and so it is […]
Blog: Doing the festive season on a shoestring
With the recession still in force, many organisations this year will be cost-saving by cutting back on the Christmas celebrations. Asking people to pay for the staff party, or even cancelling it altogether; not putting up a decorated tree; cutting back on Christmas bonuses; these are all difficult decisions facing cash-strapped companies at the moment. […]
Avoiding the hidden cost of Christmas perks
When it comes to indulging in the Christmas spirit, Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs is not generally known for its generosity. Indeed, since the 2010 Bribery Act came into force, there have been strict rules and regulations on gift giving, which could see overly-magnanimous companies landed with a hefty tax bill. This means that, […]
Pressure rises on banks for more pay transparency
Any large bank operating in the UK could be forced to disclose the pay packages of its eight highest-paid, non-board level executives in a bid to tackle “unacceptable” bonus levels in the City. The Coalition Government launched a consultation yesterday on the proposed new rules, which would come into force in 2012 in order to […]
Blog: The golden thread – aligning HR and business strategy
I once worked with an organisation that had introduced a Value Chain methodology. So far so good. But they had made the critical error of trying to pigeonhole HR into one of the ‘links’ in the chain, instead of realising that HR is a support function that, by definition, underpins everything that the company does. […]
Making Christmas incentives magic
For many employers knowing what to offer staff as a Christmas incentive can be tricky. Common benefits that are well-received include Christmas hampers, bottles of champagne, wine or chocolates. The popularity of hampers is certainly on the rise, particularly if they cater to a wide range of tastes. But rewards will inevitably have variable […]
Blog: Why there should be an end to end-of-year bonuses
Recognise This! – Bonuses are too often confused with compensation. In my reader just yesterday, I had several articles pop up on bonus compensation plans for the end of the year. At first, I was hopeful. Have organisations finally figured out that lump-sum end-of-year cash bonuses fail on multiple levels and so are turning […]
News Analysis: ‘Glimmers of hope’ for jobs market as incomes set to drop
While there are “glimmers of hope” that the jobs market may revive somewhat over the next year, real household incomes are in contrast expected to fall by 7.4% over the next 36 months. The Recruitment & Employment Confederation’s JobsOutlook report for November, which is based on a survey of 600 employers, revealed that, although employers […]
Appeal Court ruling on equal pay claims could open floodgates
A landmark Court of Appeal decision could now pave the way for a raft of equal pay claims by both private and public sector workers seeking to pursue compensation. Three appeal judges ruled yesterday that claims made by 174 former female employees of Birmingham City Council could be heard in the High Court as well […]
Round-up of Chancellor’s key Autumn Statement pronouncements
Public sector pay rises are to be capped at 1% for two years, the Chancellor announced today in his Autumn Statement. The cap will follow straight on from a two-year-long pay freeze for public sector workers and is only likely to inflame anger over the Coalition Government’s proposed changes to pensions. Among other things, the […]
Extra holiday or training offer acceptable alternative to pay rise, says study
For those employers that cannot afford to give workers a pay rise this year, an extra day’s holiday or a bit of further training might be a possible alternative. According to an online poll among 2,002 adults undertaken by ICM Research on behalf of the People 1st Training Company, which operates in the hospitality, […]
“Stratospheric” executive pay rises are ‘damaging British business’
“Stratospheric” pay increases that have seen the salaries of top executives at a number of FTSE companies soar by more than 4,000% over the last 30 years are undermining productivity and “damaging” trust in British business. According to a report published by the High Pay Commission following a year-long inquiry, such high growth rates compare […]
Blog: Using the London Olympics as a motivational tool
With less than a year to go before London hosts the largest sporting event in the world, businesses in the UK are now starting to consider ways in which to increase staff motivation during the 2012 Olympics. The recent release of an article from the Telegraph titled ‘Sickies to soar during Games’ not only reiterated […]
Blog: Rewards and recognition – tips for motivating staff on a small budget
Money is tight in today’s economy, but you shouldn’t be draining the bank account to get peak performance even when it’s plentiful. As I’ve written recently, pay-for-performance schemes can be demoralizing and demotivating and are likely to have unexpected consequences. Still, employees are not machines. They’re human beings and need to be motivated. However, some […]
Top exec incomes leap 50% while staff struggle with earnings squeeze
Although renumeration for top executives at large public companies jumped 50% in the last year to £2.7 million, pay deals for the rest of the workforce languished at about half current inflation rates of 5.2%. A report by Incomes Data Services indicated that the huge leap in earnings for directors of FTSE 100 companies meant […]