HR Advice from the HR Girl
Welcome to HR Girl, the site where I discuss HR related issues and developments that I have come across in my work, as well as current news stories from the world of employment. I hope you find it interesting and useful.
Click on the categories above to find blog posts that I have added relating to different subjects. The site covers a variety of HR subjects, so whatever you’re looking for, chances are you’ll find something of interest here. If you have any thoughts on any of the blogs, I’ll be really happy to hear them. Just fill in the comments box at the bottom of the post.
Latest HR Articles
Holidays are supposed to help reduce stress but…July 22, 2010 / filed under Health and Well being
Having just returned from annual leave this week, I was quite interested to read an article stating that according to a survey carried out by the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM), nearly half of UK Managers are more stressed when they return to work than before they went on holiday! I must admit the thought of coming back in after a week out of the office was causing me some anxiety, although the reality wasn’t as bad as expected. The... Read more »
Employees affected by travel chaosApril 19, 2010 / filed under News/General
It’s only the middle of April, and already British businesses have been affected by a second natural occurrence that has stopped countless employees from being able to work. As with the chaos caused by the heavy snow storms in February, many people are unable to get to work as they are stranded across the globe following the volcanic eruption in Iceland. So what should employers do in terms of pay if they have employees that cannot return to work... Read more »
The right to have legal representation at disciplinary?April 14, 2010 / filed under Employment Law
A recent case (R v the Governers of X school and others) highlighted very specific occasions where an employee may have the right to be represented by a legal professional at an employer’s disciplinary hearing. The case concerned G (represented by R), a teaching assistant at X school who was dismissed for kissing a 15 year old boy after a disciplinary hearing was held. In normal circumstances an employee is only allowed to be accompanied by a colleague... Read more »
The ‘fit note’ has arrivedApril 12, 2010 / filed under Employment Law, HR Practice, Health and Well being
This month sees the arrival of long-debated new legislation and HR practice around employee sickness absence. The ‘fit note’ has replaced the previous ‘sick note’ from 6th April 2010. The difference in this new note is that instead of stating that the employee is simply unfit for work full stop, the GP could instead indicate that the employee ‘may be fit for work’, meaning that he/she could be able to carry out some tasks, and with adjustments... Read more »
Recruitment and Retention
Jobcentre Plus; helping businesses and long term unemployed
September 14, 2009 Recruitment and RetentionWith the grim news today that unemployment could continue to increase, and potentially not recover to pre-recession levels until 2015, there are millions of people relying on the services of Jobcentre Plus to help them return to employment. The numbers of people who are classed as long term unemployed... Read more »
Staff retention is not any easier during recession
July 27, 2009 Employee Relations, HR Practice, Recruitment and RetentionDue to the uncertainty surrounding the economy, and therefore job security and the labour market, it is likely that employees are not as mobile as usual in most organisations. Some employers may be thinking that they don’t have to worry about staff retention at the moment because there aren’t as... Read more »
Employment Law
The right to have legal representation at disciplinary?
April 14, 2010 Employment LawA recent case (R v the Governers of X school and others) highlighted very specific occasions where an employee may have the right to be represented by a legal professional at an employer’s disciplinary hearing. The case concerned G (represented by R), a teaching assistant at X school who was dismissed... Read more »
The ‘fit note’ has arrived
April 12, 2010 Employment Law, HR Practice, Health and Well beingThis month sees the arrival of long-debated new legislation and HR practice around employee sickness absence. The ‘fit note’ has replaced the previous ‘sick note’ from 6th April 2010. The difference in this new note is that instead of stating that the employee is simply unfit for work full stop,... Read more »
Learning and Development
Speed training
July 12, 2009 Learning and DevelopmentI’ve recently been discussing a particular type of training delivery with a colleague, which he is going to try out with a series of sessions over the coming weeks. The concept is based around a short, sharp presentation of ideas on a specific topic within a limited time frame. There are a number of... Read more »
Everyday learning
June 12, 2009 Learning and DevelopmentAs we all know, budgets for things like benefits, recruitment and training are currently a lot smaller than this time last year in many companies, so HR professionals are having to be more strategic and clever with the cash they have in order to keep their organisations healthy during the recession and... Read more »