The BBC reports that an online database of workers accused of theft and dishonesty will go live later this month. The National Staff Dismissal Register is an initiative of Action Against Business Crime (AABC) - a partnership between the Home Office and the British Retail Consortium.

The BBC quotes the AABC's chief executive, Mike Schuck, as saying that all participating companies will be obliged to abide by the Data Protection Act and that workers named on the database will have the right to change their entries if they are inaccurate.

Continue reading "National Staff Dismissal Register imminent" »

The news that a Royal Mail employee was escorted off his employer’s premises by police for wearing the wrong type of shorts has reminded me of one my youthful misdemeanours – or was it a crime?

Continue reading "Below the belt: style police clamp down on dress crimes" »

Then the contingency is not altogether remote that sir has not weighed their emoluments sufficiently.

The 2008 salary survey (PDF format, 96.8K, external website) from Greycoats Placements - a recruitment agency specialising in high-calibre domestic staff - provides a fascinating insight into the rarely-discussed realm of just what a modern Bertie Wooster might have to pay his Jeeves.

Continue reading "Just can't get the staff?" »

Two new model policies added recently to XpertHR [subscription required] provide timely guidance on employee wellbeing.

Continue reading "How to put employee wellbeing on the agenda" »

Testimonials from ex-employees don't get much more glowing than those published yesterday on the unofficial Google Operating System blog. OK, they all look like they come from software developers and related trades, or "engineers" as Google likes to call them, but wow, what an amazing bunch of recommendations about a great place to work - from people who have left.

Many of the questions featured in our 10 most frequently visited FAQs during April relate to legislative changes that came into force on 6 April, including the amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 in relation to harassment and rights during maternity leave, and the new Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007. Meanwhile, the statutory retirement procedures are still a source of confusion, with subscribers viewing FAQs on the number of requests that can be made in connection to a proposed retirement date, and whether or not an employer can seek to retire an employee at a later date where it has previously granted a request for him or her to continue working indefinitely beyond retirement age.

Continue reading "This month’s top 10 HR questions" »

Nearly four decades on from the implementation of the Equal Pay Act 1970, the UK is making progress towards closing the gender pay gap. But the actual rate of progress is hotly debated, as our analysis of official data on progress towards pay equality in the UK reveals (subscription required).

Continue reading "Equal pay: Measuring the gender pay gap in 2008" »

Trade unions can have an important role to play in the employer-employee relationship, but how do you go about setting up an effective working arrangement?

Continue reading "A guide to working with trade unions" »

CELRE’s offices relocated from Kingston to Sutton over the weekend, joining the rest of the XpertHR Group. It's great to have added the salary survey and job pricing expertise of CELRE to the group as this expands the scope of what we can offer.

Continue reading "CELRE moves in with XpertHR" »

The US senate has approved legislation to prohibit employers from using genetic information to discriminate against individuals.

Continue reading "US senate approves genetic discrimination legislation" »

I've announced elsewhere this morning that the specialist salary and benefits survey company CELRE is now part of the XpertHR Group.

Established in 1968, CELRE provides salary and benefits surveys covering all main management and professional groups. It is also the leading provider of salary, earnings and fringe benefits data on IT staff working for the UK’s leading employers.

Continue reading "CELRE joins XpertHR Group" »

The IRS headline measure of pay awards is 3.5% in the three months to March 2008, but a preview of April pay deals reveals that they could be heading for a fall.

Continue reading "April pay awards are heading for a fall" »

Thanks to Emma at PJH law for the news that an Employment Tribunal has decided that baldness does not amount to a physical or mental impairment covered by the Disability Discrimination Act.

Phew, I'm glad that's been cleared up.

Teachers and lecturers striking over pay today are expected to be joined by 100,000 civil servants angry about the government's public sector pay policy.

Continue reading "A day of protest over public sector pay" »

Union Island is the latest innovation in the virtual world Second Life. This trade union project provides a virtual island community for trade unionists and activists, which will let activisits from around the world meet and work together.

The launch of the island is being marked with a virtual May Day - a day of training and networking, including a dance party with a live DJ from Second Life's club 'Fracture'.

Themed surgeries are also planned - in Union Island's virtual bar - where trade unionists can swap practical tips from around the world over a pint of virtual beer.

Speaking as a trade unionist myself, I have to say I am most disappointed about the prospect of virtual beer . . .