Analysis: Holiday pay for long-term sick ruling could prove “costly”
A landmark case over holiday pay for the long-term sick could not only prove costly for employers but also raises as many questions as it answers, according to legal experts. Yesterday, the Court of Appeal ruled that Janet Larner, a part-time clerical worker at NHS Leeds, was entitled to paid leave for the financial […]
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: Sick days cost UK employers £89m per year
Although sick days cost UK employers £89 million per year, the average number being taken has been on the decline for the last five years. According to a survey of 343 organisations by XpertHR, every member of staff took around 6.4 days due to illness in 2011, in a move that cost their employer £618 […]
Blog: Are employers offering fathers enough support?
Research shows many fathers are dissatisfied with the amount of time they spend at work and the amount of time they spend with their children. Some 54% of fathers with children under one feel they are not devoting enough time to them, while 42% of fathers feel they are not able to spend enough time […]
Ask the Expert: Can we recruit a leader if a team member is off sick?
The question Is it okay to recruit for a team leader from within a team if a member of the team is off sick? They are not on long-term sick leave, just recovering from an operation. What is the legal position here? Legal verdict Esther Smith, partner at Thomas Eggar As […]
News: Olympics troops sleep on chairs, while civilians get luxury cruise liner
While thousands of civilian workers will be housed in luxury cruise liners during the Olympics, military personnel drafted in following the G4S staffing debacle are sleeping on chairs and camp beds in makeshift accommodation. Photographs of Royal Navy troops from HMS Northumberland, which were published on Twitter by ‘CombatCameraman’ and have since gone viral, show […]
Blog: Four ways to cope with a busy workload
In the final part of our ‘Health Life Balance’ series, we will look at how to create a healthy mental attitude for a busy work life. It’s important to get the job done, but you don’t want to burn the candle at both ends and end up so stressed that you are no longer productive. Here are […]
Blog: Three reasons staff lie to get time off work
Recognise This! – Responsible managers and HR Pros must dig deeper to understand the real reasons behind employees embellishing reasons to miss work. Is it ever okay to lie to get vacation days you want? Of course, the obvious answer is, “No.” But giving the obvious answer and moving on is the lazy way […]
Putting the Games plan into practice
“The Olympics is a big morale booster for the country this year,” believes Phoebe Leet, head of HR for UK and Ireland at IT network giant, Cisco. And as a technology partner for the Games, the vendor has naturally had the event on its mind for some time. As a result, it has already […]
Let the Games commence – But make sure you plan for them
Love them or loathe them, with the Olympics bang on our doorstep, the Games can’t be ignored. Travel disruption and staffing issues will all play havoc with normal working days, particularly for those organisations and workers in and around the capital and other Olympic venues. Demand for holiday leave and increased absenteeism will affect […]
Blog: Debunking 5 employee performance myths
Deciphering the myths of employee performance: Myth 1: A Mission Statement is Enough Employee performance touches every part of the organisation. However, simply creating a new company vision every three to four years and setting board level objectives of increasing sales or market share is not enough. Such goals have no relevance to […]
Talking Point: What’s happened to business ethics?
It seems that every time you open a newspaper at the moment, there’s a new business scandal. The fall-out from Barclays Libor-rigging fine continues to be an ongoing story. The scandal has already claimed the scalps of the bank’s chairman and chief executive – and who knows how many more may follow? Barclay’s leadership […]
Legal Insight: Playing the Games within the letter of the law
With only a few months to go to the start of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and amid widespread predictions that London could come to a complete standstill, employers need to start planning now to ensure that they can cope with the many issues that will undoubtedly arise. Transport Inevitably, the Games will cause […]
Case Study: Medtronic introduces global well-being scheme to cut absenteeism
Medtronic introduced a global well-being programme last year in a bid to help its employees deal with damaging health issues ranging from obesity and stress to smoking. As a manufacturer of pacemakers, defibrillators and other medical equipment, the vendor knows the value of good health and has long been committed to improving the wellbeing of […]
News: One million UK workers drugged up at work
Nearly one million UK employees have illegal drugs in their system at any given point in time, with the number testing positive having jumped by a huge 43% over the last five years. According to a report entitled ‘High Society: Drug Prevalence in the UK workplace’, which is based on the results of drug tests […]
Ask the Expert: Can changes to employment terms be imposed without discussion?
The question My husband works for the NHS and has been told that, as from the middle of next month, he has to work one evening a week on top of his daytime duties (he is being paid for the extra hours). Apart from the fact that this situation is creating all sorts of […]
Blog: Dealing with summer absences
Thoughts are now beginning to turn to summer holidays: for many employees a chance for much deserved and needed rest and recuperation. It would be easy to think the summer, with blue skies and warmer temperatures, might be an easier time for business. Yet unfortunately the figures show otherwise, and many organisations can expect […]
News: Northumbrian Water wins award for health and well-being initiative
Northumbrian Water has won a prestigious accolade after introducing an holistic wellbeing initiative that helped to cut its sickness absence rates by 3.1% between 2010 and 2011. The provider of water and sewage services to customers in the North East of England received charity Business in the Community’s Workwell Award last night after seeing absence […]
Dealing with the stress factor
Once upon a time, musculoskeletal problems such as bad backs brought on by physical labour were the main cause of long-term sickness absence. But not any more. According to the latest survey from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, stress is now – for the first time ever – the most common cause of […]
Expert voice: reaping the value of soft benefits
It’s a basic fact of human nature that we all like to feel valued and nurtured. But with tight budgets making it increasingly difficult to reward staff with big pay rises, organisations are, in many instances, looking at offering so-called soft benefits instead. And office perks such as sporting activities, gym membership and in-house […]
