Blog: Is regulation really to blame for hiring caution?
I have looked with surprise at the debate around changing the unfair dismissal qualification period from one year to two. Is the unfair dismissal qualifying period really what drives small businesses away from employing people? Fear of employment law (which is used by many to sell employment law insurance) does not seem to tie in with […]
Biggest drop in household income for 35 years will see child poverty leap, says study
A 7% drop in average real incomes over the next three years combined with the Coalition Government’s decision to peg welfare payments to consumer rather than retail price inflation will result in absolute and relative child poverty jumping by 23% and 24% respectively within a decade. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the Government’s […]
Blog: Agency worker regulations and how legitimately to avoid them
As an HR type, I’ve used agency temps plenty of times. The main attraction of agency workers is the flexibility for employers, particularly in the current economic climate. They form a key part of the ‘flexible workforce’ which means that employers don’t have to commit to employing anyone, just in case the business goes […]
Pay rises on the cards in 2012 for a third of UK firms
One third of organisations in the UK plan to up staff pay next year, according to a study by Incomes Data Services (IDS). More than half of employers are making the same settlement as last year and only 13%are planning a lower settlement, the survey suggested. The cost of living will play a key […]
Case Study: Speedy Services has ‘Big Ideas’ for boosting staff engagement
A ‘Big Ideas’ initiative combined with a complementary scheme to reward innovation has resulted in staff engagement and productivity leaping at Speedy Services. The Merseyside-based company, which provides equipment and support services to the construction, manufacturing, industrial, rail and other related industries, introduced its ‘Big Ideas’ programme towards the end of 2008. The move […]
Blog: It’s not just about the money
Retaining your best workers during an economic downturn can make the difference between success and failure for any company. When pay is squeezed and standards of living seem threatened, people naturally focus more on salary and benefits and less on job satisfaction. In a recent survey by the Institute of Administrative Management, more than […]
Vince Cable wages war on spiralling executive pay
Vince Cable has published a discussion document proposing changes to company laws and regulations in a bid to control spiralling executive pay and stop “rewards for failure”. At the Liberal Democrat conference in Birmingham today, the Business Secretary said that, although the renumeration of chief executives at the UK’s largest public companies had risen fourfold […]
Agency Worker Regs lead to cut-price perm contracts, claim temps
Temps at a Jaguar Land Rover plant claim a recruitment agency is bullying them into signing permanent contracts to avoid paying an extra £200 per week under the forthcoming Agency Worker Regulations. According to the Liverpool Daily Post, Nottingham-based Staffline provides 686 workers for a DHL operation that supplies parts for the Land Rover Evoque […]
PCS calls off Fujitsu strike, but Unite goes ahead
The Public and Commercial Services union has called off today’s scheduled strike action after settling pay differences with government IT outsourcing supplier Fujitsu, although parallel action by Unite members is still set to go ahead. The PCS action would have affected a range of high-profile Fujitsu public sector clients including Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs, the […]
Age discrimination awards three times higher than average, warns expert
Employers must be particularly careful to guard against age discrimination claims as average awards last year were three times higher than any other, experts have warned. The ‘Employment Tribunals and Employment Appeal Tribunals Statistics 2010-11’ report published by the Ministry of Justice and Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service revealed that the average age discrimination […]
Does performance-related pay provide value for money?
While the average new hire’s salary is 3% down on 18 months ago, pay packages for FTSE 350 bosses have soared 700% since 2002 – despite company share prices spectacularly failing to correspond. A report by The High Pay Commission revealed that most of the jump in directors’ renumeration came in the form of annual […]
Goldman Sachs takes away bankers’ two-year old pay rise
Goldman Sachs is taking the unusual step of cutting the salaries of hundreds of its London bankers by invoking a contractual clause to phase out former pay increases by the end of the year. The move follows a previous announcement by the New York-based investment bank’s that it plans to cut about 1,000 staff across […]
‘Take pay cut and unpaid leave or lose your job’, council workers warned
Thousands of council workers could be forced to take a pay cut, a reduction in sickness benefit and a week’s unpaid leave as part of radical plans in Rochdale to minimise job losses. The changes to the pay and conditions of the local authority’s 7,000 town hall workers are part of an attempt to slash […]
Book Review: The Carrot Principle by Adrian Gostick & Chester Elton
Title: The Carrot PrincipleAuthor: Adrian Gostick & Chester Elton Don’t be a carrotphobe I don’t know about you but I certainly can’t remember any of the reasons I’ve received pay rises in the past. I’ve certainly not kept any of the documentation for prosperity. Neither I’m sure would they have inspired nor motivated me for […]
Bonuses and allowances compensate council bosses for pay cuts
Local authority bosses were compensated for promised pay cuts last year by having their bonuses and allowances boosted instead. The move came despite calls by Eric Pickles, the Communities and Local Government Secretary, for town hall chiefs to take a 10% wage reduction. An analysis of accounts published by 128 of the largest council’s […]
Pay awards to remain flat until end of year
High unemployment and the high cost of commodities such as oil mean that pay rates will stay at current levels until the end of the year. According to an analysis of 99 awards by pay specialists XpertHR, the median pay increase across the economy was only 2% in the three months to the end of […]
Graduates focus on money, not idealism
Contrary to conventional wisdom, salary and other financial considerations are now top of the list for graduates when making their career choice, with idealism apparently having gone out of the window with the recession. According to a study undertaken by talent management consultancy Hay Group, a huge 93% of university leavers now see base pay […]
Average public sector pay rise: zero percent!
While most public sector workers are having to endure ongoing pay freezes, their private sector peers are getting average 3% boosts – and only six out of every 100 such staff are getting no pay rises at all. The findings come from the latest look at British pay from researchers Incomes Data Services. It […]
Sports Direct pays out biggest employee share windfall in history
Sport Direct’s 2,200 permanent staff will receive a share bonus averaging £44,000 each after the sports retailer hit its profit targets for the second year in a row. The chain, which was founded and is still controlled by Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, reported underlying profits of £200.4 million for the year to 24 April, […]
Difference in earnings between public and private sector widens in poor job market
Although public sector workers are now paid an average of 7.8% more than their private sector counterparts, the number of people finding work in either area has slowed to a 22-month low. According to the Office for National Statistics, by April 2010 the difference in average earnings between public and private sector staff has widened […]