The graduate recruitment market is expected to begin a slow process of recovery in 2010, but the average graduate starting salary will remain frozen at £25,000 (external website) per year for a second consecutive year. This is according to the winter survey 2010 from the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) (external website).

Continue reading "Graduate starting salaries to be frozen for second year running in 2010, says AGR" »

Employers, particularly those that have had to make redundancies as a result of the recession, need to be aware of the signs of work-related stress in their staff. Redundancy survivors may have to work longer hours to cover the work previously carried out by redundant ex-colleagues, while at the same time facing the threat of redundancy themselves.

Continue reading "Guidance on work-related stress" »

There is a very interesting and, for many people, unusual UK HR and recruitment event taking place in London on 18 and 19 of February. The event is TRU London and what makes it unusual is that it is an unconference. It's not the first - that took place in London last November, but it is the biggest in the UK so far.

In the words of the organisers, "An unconference is an event that has no fixed structure and only two rules, no power point and no presentations."

So, besides the format, what else makes TRU London so eye-catching?

Well, here are a few for starters:

• The format is less about lectures and more about facilitated discussion
• That means participants are expected to interact with discussions
• The event is split into different streams or 'tracks' providing attendees with a broad range of topics to dip in to
• Track leaders, as they are called at TRU London, are experts in their area so can facilitate a high level conversation around their topic
• Social media and social networks provide the communication channels for the event
• Unconferences attract a far greater audience online than at the event thanks to the live coverage on Twitter, Facebook and blogs.
• The event will be unpredictable - taking thinking in different directions
• It is rare to attend events where HR, recruitment and social media intersect at the same place and at the same time

Continue reading "TRU London: a new way forward for HR and recruiters?" »

Every penny counts for HR practitioners in the current economic context faltering profitability for many organisations and weak overall economic growth. And so, as I tell Jeya Thiruchelvam in this week's XpertHR Podcast, benchmarking employment practices can represent a highly effective way to keep on top of costs and do their jobs more efficiently and more cost-effectively.

Continue reading "Benchmarking HR costs in 2010: Every penny counts" »

A round up of links to news items on recent employment tribunal rulings, including: hundreds of former workers in a caravan manufacturer who may not see the money that they were awarded by an employment tribunal; an alleged refusal by Corus to reinstate three workers who were dismissed because of their trade union links; and a receptionist in Cardiff who was sexually harassed by her boss.

Continue reading "Employment tribunal decisions making the headlines: 23.01.10 to 05.02.10" »

Some mothers may have attributed a lapse in memory or concentration to their pregnancy or new born baby. Australian researchers, however, have confirmed that a woman’s brain is not adversely affected by pregnancy or motherhood.

Continue reading ""Baby brain" myth is dispelled" »

UK interest rates are now just one month shy of notching up a whole calendar year at the current all-time low rate of 0.5%. The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has announced that interest rates will once again be held at 0.5%, following the February 2010 MPC meeting.

Continue reading "Interest rates on course for one year at 0.5%" »

Employers who are considering whether or not a job applicant accompanied by an assistance dog (commonly referred to as guide dogs) could be employed, should consider that accommodating an assistance dog could be a reasonable adjustment under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

Continue reading "Employees and guide dogs" »

The prognosis for pay awards across the UK economy in 2010 and beyond is less than rosy (PDF format, 47K) (external website), according to Bank of England governor Mervyn King.

Continue reading "Mervyn King: "Little scope" for pay growth in 2010 and beyond" »

Latest unemployment data delivered a relatively pleasant showing that headline unemployment stalled at 7.8% in November 2009 (subscription required). The UK unemployment rate is much lower than might have been expected given the length and severity of the recession (particularly when we consider that unemployment currently stands at 10% in both the US and the Eurozone). But Times business editor David Wighton argues that a focus on unemployment masks another difficult issue facing the economy: the problem of under-employment (external website).

Continue reading "Under-employment poses hidden danger for economic recovery" »

The 2010 general election is fast approaching, although the exact date is still not yet known. But what is certain is that its outcome will have major implications for the world of work and consequently for the work of HR professionals - no matter which party wins. Personnel Today has canvassed the views of a number of UK HR leaders and commentators, providing a fascinating insight into the HR profession's wishes and concerns for the next Government.

Continue reading "2010 general election: What will it mean for HR?" »

To acknowledge the decrease in the maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal, we’ve put together a table (subscription required) showing the rise, and now fall, of the maximum award since 1999.

Continue reading "The rise and fall of unfair dismissal awards" »

There's no surprise what the most popular HR question has been this month (note the restraint there in resisting the obvious "snow surprise" pun). Whether or not employers have to pay employees who can't get to work because of the snow tops the list of the most frequently accessed questions on XpertHR for January 2010.

HR professionals were also looking for other snow-related information such as minimum office temperatures and how to deal with lateness due to travel disruption.

Continue reading "Top 10 HR questions - January 2010" »

With the new decade well underway, the casual observer could be forgiven for finding the economic outlook distinctly optimistic. The economy has, after all, made a belated return to economic growth, signalling an end to the longest recession on record.  But there are still reasons to be cautious, as the latest monthly economic commentary article from CELRE - XpertHR's specialist salary surveys unit - explains.

Continue reading "Economic commentary - February 2010: Hope for the best, prepare for the worst" »

The government chose late on a Friday afternoon when I suspect many of you will have already left work for the weekend to publish its response to its consultation on the replacement for the GP sick note, usually referred to as the 'fit note' although formally called the 'Statement of fitness for work for social security or statutory sick pay'.

The most obvious change following the consutlation with HR, GPs, occupational health practitioners, employers, unions and other stakeholders is that there will not be an option to say a patient is 'fit for work' as in the draft version. Instead the options will be: 'you are not fit for work' or 'you may be fit for work taking into acount the following advice'.

The reason given for this is that employees will be empowered to make 'their own positive decisions to return to work' and GPs will not have unnecesssary appointments - presumably because their patients assume they need a doctor's permission to return to work.

The fit note will work if it improves communication between GPs and employees and encourages a partial return to work rather than allow people to slide into long term absence and possibly incapacity.

I would urge caution about some of the legal advice I've seen saying that this means GPs will have to find out more about their patient's work environment. This is not supposed to be the case, according to Dr Bill Gunnyeon, the DWP medical director who led on fit notes.

Gunnyeon said in September 2009 that GPs 'don't have to be aware of the individual's job, they merely have to list any potential functional limitatiosn. It is for the employer to address this with the individual employee.'

Are you ready to do this employers?