News
This page contains the latest news and views from the world of HR Talent Management and Organisational Design.
If you would like to contribute articles or news items to our website please contact us at info@taltalent.com
In Just 60 Minutes
Climate change, the recession, capitalism, leadership, sustainability, and Corporate Social Responsibility.
Please join us to hear Jonathon Porritt argue a powerful case for future prosperity, equity and planet integrity.
Hosted by Richard Lyddon
Date of event: Thursday 29 October 2009, 4.00pm – 7.00pm
Data Protection
13th August 2009
It has been widely reported that UK corporate data theft cases have doubled in 2 years, between 2006 and 2008. It is very important to have clear policies in place which clarify the use/misuse of company data. The Information Security Awareness Forum and the British Computer Society have just published a Personal Data Guardianship Code in support of organisations wanting to operate best practice. The code is available at www.bcs.org/datacode .
Unemployment Rates
13th August 2009
Unemployment has jumped to 2.43 million in the three months to June, an increase of 220,000, and up 750,000 on the year as reported by the Office for National statistics. This also means that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits has increased by 24,900, to 1.58 million, 4.9% of the workforce. A government inquiry has been launched to investigate the discrepancy between the number of people unemployed and the number claiming benefits.
Only 5% of employess recognise the role of HR expertise in business survival
13th August 2009
It seems that HR still has some distance to go in getting accepted as a serious partner in business change and adaptation to markets.
According to the European Leadership Programme (ELP), pole, 27% of staff see HR as the least important skill for a CEO to help lead their organisation out of aneconomic downturn but 42% think their CEO needs more HR help from senior management.
The survey shows 32% employees think financial aptitude is the most important skill needed for business survival and 73% are confident their CEO has this in hand.
A third of respondents are confident their CEO has the right skill-set to lead their organisation out of recession unscathed but 45% are not confident
A third of respondents are confident their CEO has the right skill-set to lead their organisation out of recession unscathed but 45% are not confident the right changes to the business have been made.
Women In Business – Alpha Women Earn More
21st July 2009
A study has found that women who act like men in the workplace can earn up to £40,000 more over a lifetime than 'nicer' female colleagues.
Research findings published yesterday at the University of Essex showed that "alpha females" in the UK earn 4% more than their more passive colleagues, while neurotic women suffer from a 3% drop in salary.
The research also found that while personality traits are as important as intelligence in determining a woman's salary, they have no impact on men's earning potential.
Part Time Working Trends
20th July 2009
Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures have revealed that close to a million people are working part time because they cannot find full-time work. Between March and May 2009, 927,000 people were in this situation, up from 672,000 a year ago.
John Philpott, chief economist at the CIPD, said: “The 255,000 extra people who are now working part time because they cannot find a full-time job is a big increase on last year.” He went on the comment: “It is a temporary phenomenon relating to the recession and once the labour market is in better health, there will be a shift among part-time workers back into full-time work.
According to a survey of 2,900 people by the Keep Britain Working campaign, more than half the workforce felt positive about employers' response to the recession. It said 23 per cent believed their employers were doing everything they could to support staff through the recession. But 48 per cent believed their employers were actively exploiting the situation by imposing unnecessary pay cuts, reduced hours and redundancies.
National minimum wage increase
10th July 2009
The annual increase to the national minimum wage has finally been announced, delayed from February in order to take full account of economic data.
The Government has announced a small increase to the hourly rates of the national minimum wage, to take effect from 1 October 2009. These increases are in line with the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission (LPC):
- Standard adult rate (workers aged 22 and over): from £5.73 to £5.80
- Development rate (workers between 18 and 21): from £4.77 to £4.83
- Young workers rate (workers under 18): from £3.53 to £3.57
The LPC has also recommended that the full national minimum wage be extended to workers aged 21, and the Government is planning to implement this in October 2010. It is also considering the other recommendations that apprentices should be paid a national minimum wage and that enforcement measures be increased, including a list to "name and shame" those employers who flout the national minimum wage.
The Government has also confirmed that from 1 October 2009, tips, gratuities and other service charges cannot be used by employers to count towards payment of the national minimum wage.
Length of service criterion in redundancy matrix held lawful
10th July 2009
The Court of Appeal has held that applying length of service as a criterion in a redundancy exercise does not amount to age discrimination. In the recent case of Rolls Royce v Unite [2009] the Court of Appeal ruled that the use of length of service in a redundancy selection matrix was lawful. The Court found that, whilst a length of service criterion can constitute indirect discrimination, it will not breach the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 provided it can be objectively justified.
The credit crunch has prompted a massive surge in claims lodged by employees against their bosses as people face redundancy or problems at work over contracts or working hours.
The rise is adding to delays at the overworked Tribunals Service, already struggling with a deluge of thousands of equal pay cases.
Read the article in full in the Times Online Law section
Training budgets rally despite recession
10th July 2009
Most employers are maintaining training budgets or even increasing them despite the recession pressures they face, according to an Institute of Directors' (IoD) survey published this week.
The IoD poll of 937 directors found that 51% had maintained and 29% had increased their training spend over the six months to the end of May 2009. The remainder (20%) had cut their training budgets over the same period, and of these, 45% had cut them by 15% or less.
