Preventing People Problems

Should employees bring their own computer to work?

noreply@blogger.com (HR Dept) — Wed, 23 May 2012 09:15:00 +0000

We recently came across research that suggested that employees are more engaged with their work when they bring their own devices to work - click here to read more. Whether it is the latest iPad or bringing in a laptop, in our advancing modern society this doesn’t seem surprising. Employees are likely to be more productive if they are using equipment they are most comfortable with. Simply allowing employees to work on their own devices might demonstrate that the employer recognises the needs of the workforce and the fast moving technological advances. Plus, it cuts the computer equipment bills down by not having to fork out for the newest computer when one of your employees complain they don’t have a fancy operating system!

On the other hand, it is important to consider the health and safety aspects of this. There are legal requirements to ensure your employees are safe in work. Any equipment required for work needs to be maintained in safe condition. This could be done by administering PAT testing (which The HR Dept can do for you).

Security issues need to be considered too – if employees bring in their own pc’s etc, then they are also bringing in potential virus threats! Also, what happens if your employees take advantage and play ‘Words with Friends’ or other games on their iPad rather than working? Could this open up a can of worms?

Do you think your workforce would be more engaged if they brought their own devices to work? Leave a comment or tweet us @thehrdept

Pooch power

noreply@blogger.com (HR Dept) — Thu, 17 May 2012 08:55:00 +0000

We often comment on a lot of statistics and stories surrounding workplace absence as a result of stress, however the following piece of research is one of the most original.

Fudge - The HR Dept's office pooch

Nicely timed with Ashleigh and Pudsey, the lovable dancing dog trick act being crowned the ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ winner at the weekend, new research suggests that taking dogs to work ‘reduces employee’ stress. According to the scientific study, those who had dogs in their workplace were less stressed throughout the day compared to those who didn’t – woof indeed! Realistically, it has to be appropriate to the workplace but dogs seem to have a positive impact on employee morale and create a more enjoyable working environment, but what do you think?

Do you have an office dog? Leave a comment below or even better tweet us a picture of your workplace office pooch! @thehrdept

No Olympics holiday policy required here

noreply@blogger.com (HR Dept) — Fri, 11 May 2012 07:30:00 +0000

We appreciate the Olympics is a one off event, however all business owners should be planning ahead while remaining flexible and consistent in plans or procedures with regards to managing staff holiday or absence.

Time off and holidays should be booked in advance in accordance with existing holiday procedure/policy. We have heard a lot about advising business owners to create one off policies for the likes of the Olympics, but why create more paperwork and administration?! Our advice is to use the same rules that apply throughout the year when it comes to requesting holiday/leave. Unauthorised absence or ‘sickies’ should be treated in the exact same way as any unauthorised absence throughout the year.

If someone is volunteering during the Olympics, leave should be treated either as holiday entitlement or unpaid leave.

Though a special event, an employer has the right to refuse any request for holiday, but would have to grant it another time. Here is the reality: be fair, consistent and make sure people aren’t watching it on the internet at work if they are supposed to be working!

Keep calm and carry on really...

p.s. We are running a very quick poll to find out our reader’s thoughts on the impact of the Olympics. We’d really appreciate if you could take 30 to answer our poll here https://qtrial.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_5vvcfNPUU0HhDhi

Conflict at 30,000 feet

noreply@blogger.com (HR Dept) — Fri, 04 May 2012 07:30:00 +0000

This week we came across a unique unfair dismissal case which was heard recently at Exeter employment tribunal involving two pilots who were dismissed for having a bust up mid-flight.

Both pilots were dismissed for ‘endangering passenger safety’ while engaging in an argument in the cockpit. You can view the whole story here

We thought we would share this one with you, but sorry to anyone reading this who is a nervous flyer!

Summer of sickies? Our quick poll

noreply@blogger.com (HR Dept) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:54:00 +0000

Extra bank holidays, the Olympics, school summer holidays and the enjoyment of the European Football Championships, it would appear it will be a busy summer this year! We have been giving lots of advice recently on how these events might impact on SME businesses across the UK, especially around managing holiday requests and the reinforcement of a business’ sickness absence policy.

We have set up a really short poll for you, just to see whether you think these events will have an impact on your business. We would appreciate 30 seconds of your time to answer the two questions set up via this link.

As a thank you, please follow these links for more help, guidance and advice from The HR Dept on how to manage this unusual but exciting British summer. Our major word of advice is like with most things: be prepared.

Guidance and advice on what employees are entitled to for bank holidays and for the Diamond Jubilee

Top tips on how to deal with unauthorised absence during the Olympics/EURO 2012

We would love to do something about the summer weather, but miracles are out of The HR Dept remit.

It’s a pod life

noreply@blogger.com (HR Dept) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 08:40:00 +0000

Have you ever dreamt that your employees were so committed to their work that they never went home at the end of the day? Well now it appears there is a solution with these newly designed, futuristic pods where employees can spend the night at work. We have recently come across a London based data centre employer who has installed 'sleeping pods' in their offices. The pods have been designed so that employees need not leave the office and can be on site 24/7. These futuristic pods come fully equipped with a handy mirror, magazine rack, a night light, plug sockets and a stereo system.

Photo: PodTime

Originally implemented to avoid long commutes during the Olympics, perhaps these sleeping pods could act as a safety net each time there is strike action/snow/world cup?

The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth

noreply@blogger.com (HR Dept) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 09:11:00 +0000

Ever thought someone wasn’t telling you the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth in a disciplinary meeting? How do you get the truth from that person? Well... in South Africa we have discovered you are able to use lie detectors in disciplinary meetings!

It certainly is different to our ‘reasonable doubt’ judgement when looking into disciplinary matters.

With theft, fraud, blackmail and sexual harassment cases, lie detectors are brought into disciplinary meetings which in South Africa is considered legal. Permission is always sought from the person being interviewed and it is always made clear that the person has the right to refuse. Naturally those that were taking medication and pregnant women are excluded. However, as with refusing to do an alcoholic breathalyser test, the inference might be that they had something to hide. This sub-technique works wonders.

Naturally on the occasions when the detector went off the scale, this could indicate that the person was being a little economical with the truth. When this was pointed out to them, on about 99% of cases; they then confessed all to the offence.

Using a lie detector in UK disciplinary meetings is likely to attract unwanted attention and we have yet to find reference to it in the best practise guidance of managing difficult disciplinary meetings!

Swiss holidays

noreply@blogger.com (HR Dept) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 09:00:00 +0000

If we had a referendum in the UK about increasing our statutory holiday entitlement, it would perhaps cause a huge rush at the polling stations and the clamour would cause a stampede! In Switzerland, if more than 100,000 citizens speak up about a particular issue, they get their voice heard in a referendum, giving citizens the opportunity to have their say on changes to laws, budgets etc.

Recently, voters in Switzerland opted ‘out’ of proposals to increase employee statutory annual entitlement from 4 to 6 weeks a year, to bring them in line with other Western European neighbours.

Are British workers lucky to get nearly 6 weeks off a year?

In the UK, employees currently have a statutory right to 5.6 weeks annual leave and public holidays can be used to make up the 5.6 weeks (20 days plus 8 days). In Switzerland however, the proposals were voted against because business groups warned that it could be too costly to the economy.

Perhaps us Brits should consider ourselves lucky, especially since last year we enjoyed an additional bank holiday to celebrate the royal wedding and again this year to commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee – though it doesn’t mean that everyone will be paid for this time off!

So if the additional bank holiday for the Jubilee has thrown your business into confusion, find out more information and some tips here

Fuelling the strike

noreply@blogger.com (HR Dept) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 09:00:00 +0000

Earlier this week the Unite union announced that fuel tanker drivers have voted to go on strike to improve terms and conditions. The army have been called into training should they have to take over fuel deliveries. What would happen if members of your staff claimed they were unable to get to work because of fuel strikes i.e. there was no fuel left in the local area or they couldn't afford to put fuel in the car? We were asked recently this very question so we thought we would share it with you:

Employer: I’ve heard the news that there may be strike action on fuel. What if one of my employee’s comes to me claiming they have run out of petrol and could not afford to pay the premium on the short amount of fuel left in the pumps? In the short term they have suggested working from home, but I need them in the office so this wouldn’t work. What should I do?

The HR Dept: You’ve answered it for yourself; you need them in the office. Contractually they are obliged to turn up to work on time and perform their duties. You could consider your compassionate side with them and at least they were being honest and didn’t pull a sickie, but can you afford to sub wages? The reality is they need to find a way in to work – it is their responsibility. You could also suggest using public transport, share a lift with a colleague, share a lift through a car sharing website or like this GP did, walk the 18 miles to work. There are always practical ways around this disruptive event. Make it clear however that you expect them to be on time each day as well as understanding their predicament. Ensure they recognise that any unauthorised absence will be treated seriously as being AWOL.

Straight forward stuff really, but a good practical example of how to deal with these one off situations.

Top tips on flexible working requests

noreply@blogger.com (HR Dept) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 08:55:00 +0000

Could a small business ever really guarantee part-time work for new parents following family friendly leave? Probably not!

Guaranteeing part-time work for returning parents from maternity, paternity or adoption leave is one step to enhance your brand’s image. However the reality is very few businesses could ever actually follow HSBC’s recent announcement in the same vein.

The HR Dept receives plenty of calls about handling requests for flexible working following a working parent returning to the workplace. Employees have a statutory right to make a flexible working request and have it considered, in line with statutory procedures, but not for it to be accepted by the employer. If it is rejected, the reasons for grounds for the refusal are strict.

It is the employee who must put forward a suggestion for a flexible working pattern, outlining its impact and how it could be handled. Flexible working requests and their scope can be broad, such as;

Working less than normal days and or fewer days
Times of work could change – flexi-time for example
Job sharing
Home working

The problems (tribunal claims) that arise from flexible working request cases are mostly due to the failure to communicate properly and the failure to follow the statutory procedure, not necessarily because it was rejected on genuine grounds.

There are varying different views in the media so we thought we would share them with you:

Professional women who have children 'forced to accept low paid and unskilled roles'

Working Mum's feel men are discriminated against on flexible working

Micro maternity leave

The HR Dept’s top tips:

Get advice on how to handle flexible working requests from the onset
Remember that it is someone's right to make a flexible working request, but not a right to have it accepted
Explore all options when considering the request
Always be fair and consistent

‘No-fault dismissals’

noreply@blogger.com (HR Dept) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 09:52:00 +0000

You may have seen a consultation will be opened for discussion on the UK’s apparently ‘too complex’ dismissal rules this week.

Business Secretary Vince Cable has called on evidence to discuss the idea of ‘no-fault dismissals’ for businesses with fewer than 10 employees, in an attempt to instil new confidence of hiring new staff. This would mean an employee could be sacked with a payment of a set amount of compensation, otherwise a yet to be defined, no fault ‘pay off’.

The Government has said the idea was that small firms would be able to dismiss a worker where no fault had been identified on the part of the employee, without taking into account performance or meeting of targets etc.

We are going to put our two pence worth into the consultation. Our concern is that this will, like the increase of the unfair dismissal qualifying period to two years post 6^th April, mean a hike in discrimination claims, i.e. aggrieved employees will look for another route to make a claim against an employer. Furthermore it simply means more hassle, which is the exact notion that the Government is making attempts to combat.

From an individual perspective, would you want to work in a business that could sack you at any point through no fault of your own?

Feel the burn

noreply@blogger.com (HR Dept) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 11:43:00 +0000

Making an employee who fails to meet a performance standard do squats or press ups seems about the most unusual way to discipline staff in the workplace!

Well this is the approach taken by the flagship Abercrombie & Fitch shop in Milan. Staff who failed to greet customers with ‘sufficient cheeriness’ were orderedto do 10 press ups (male employees) or 10 squats (female employees). We won’t even comment on the sex discrimination occurring here with regards to ability of male and female employees!

Could this Abercrombie & Fitch model be 'cheerier'?

We must admit though novel, we would struggle to write this into any disciplinary policy!

Why a quiet word wouldn’t be sufficient in cases like this we are not sure, but some sort of ‘cheeriness competency framework’ would have to be developed.

We smiled after we read this, so no press ups or squats for The HR Dept!

Extra pay for a leap year??

noreply@blogger.com (HR Dept) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 10:28:00 +0000

Should employees be paid more for the ‘extra day’ they will be working on the 29th February due to the leap year?

We were recently asked whether an employer needs to pay their employees more in February because of the ‘extra day’ due to 2012 being a leap year. The last leap year in 2008 saw campaigns by protestors for a ‘National Duvet Day’ which gained considerable interest!

The reality is that these kinds of campaigns are unlikely to gain any footing. It really depends on how employees are paid. Salaried employees will be paid as normal, as they have since 1582 when we saw our first leap year. Those employees lucky enough to be paid on a weekly basis will receive an extra day’s pay.

There have been suggestions of granting employees the 29^th February as a day off as a gesture of goodwill. Let’s think about this practically. Given there are normally 30 or 31 days each month, employers could argue that they themselves are being short-changed for paying employees the same each month, regardless of how many days are in the month.

If any of your employees come to you to talk about extra pay, remind them that they knew when they signed their contract at the beginning of employment that some months are longer than others and their pay has been and will always be the same every month.

After all the UK workforce has had a while to get used to the idea of an extra day every four years.

If you would like to find out more information please go to our website.

Office gossiping - They did what in the stationery cupboard?!

noreply@blogger.com (HR Dept) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 11:42:00 +0000

Fact: Everyone gossips

Whether it's done verbally, via email or more recently via social media platforms like Facebook and twitter, it doesn't matter what form gossiping has. Gossiping in the workplace, especially when it is about other work colleagues, has all the negative downsides associated with the following words:

Tribunal
Harassment
Money

These are three words to make any employer jump to attention. Why? Because gossip usually becomes their problem after a fallout or incident. Read more about how inappropriate behaviour between two employees at a staff function became idle talk in the office and led to an employer landing claims of sex and pregnancy discrimination, harassment and constructive dismissal on his desk.

Does this look familiar?

Socialising and interaction in work is all part of fostering teamwork as well as building a culture of openness and transparency, but when rumours and malicious gossiping start to affect a workplace, it can become increasingly uncomfortable for everyone.

Here are our top 3 tips for businesses dealing with office gossip:

Cut it out - Warn everyone that it won't be tolerated

Make your staff aware of boundaries. You don't want all your staff to be robots - after all it's human nature to get things off your chest.

Don't participate yourself!

Cupid in the office?

noreply@blogger.com (HR Dept) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:37:00 +0000

The HR Dept has many a time dealt with issues around relationships in the workplace. As today is Valentine's Day, we thought we would share some Q&A’s to highlight how relationships in the workplace can often be a troublesome issue for employers:

Last week I caught two of my young employees getting too close for comfort in the stationery cupboard! What do I do?

Whose comfort, yours or theirs? If you have a policy about workplace relationships, see each of them individually and make sure they understand the rules. If not, then spell out the rules in the meeting i.e. not wasting working time canoodling or sending loads of emails and text messages. We will send you some HR Dept tissues as the course of young love never does run smoothly.

Around 20% people meet their long term partner in the office

One of my employees is saying they don't want Valentines flowers or chocolates around the office because of her beliefs, I’m at a loss.

Whilst we may believe that this is a commercially exploited event, St Valentine’s Day has been around since the Middle Ages and is a Christian celebration. Realistically disliking it is not going to count as a philosophical belief. Tell her to ignore the flowers and say you will eat her share of the chocs if they are handed round.

One of my staff is hoping her partner is going to propose on the 14^th and wants to provisionally book the 15^th off but able to cancel it if he does not.

Well let’s hope he does then or she will be absolutely no use to you on the 15^th if he does not. Better she takes the holiday come what may.

If workplace romance is destroying productivity in your business, then speak to us!

National Apprenticeship Week 2012

noreply@blogger.com (HR Dept) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:52:00 +0000

No this isn’t a blog about a reality TV show where young apprentices are sacked with the ominous words “You’re fired”, but to promote National Apprenticeship Week (#NAW2012). National Apprenticeship Week has been going full steam this week, raising the profile of the benefits of taking on an apprentice in a business. Apprenticeships are a great way for individuals to gain qualifications and workplace experience due to the on-the-job learning alongside a mentor. Though an apprenticeship doesn't guarantee a permanent role at the end of it, it is a great positive endorsement of creating more apprenticeship schemes as well as helping reduce the catastrophic million 16-24 year olds currently unemployed. An apprentice becomes trained to a high standard in a profession or trade. Research has shown recently that older workers, not your traditional school leaver at 16-18 years old, are turning to apprenticeships to gain new skills and an actual job.

From a business perspective apprenticeship schemes are great if you get a good, hard working apprentice and there is program of learning and development. Modern apprenticeships usually include a day release to a local college to enhance further the vocational learning with industry specific NVQ’s. This means apprentices can get on-the-job training leading to a nationally recognised standard, developed by industry. There is a minimum wage for an apprentice currently set at £2.60 an hour, but to take on an apprentice/employee for cheap work is not a traditional or modern apprenticeship. As the old saying goes, you only get back what you put in. Business Secretary Vince Cable announced earlier this week that from next week small firms will be able to apply for an incentive payment of £1,500 to take on their first apprentice in 2012/13.

If you have never employed an apprentice before, naturally you may not know the ins and outs of apprenticeship schemes. The CIPD have released a comprehensive guide on apprenticeships. Download for free here

Be warned though apprenticeship contracts are usually for a period of time, i.e. until the apprenticeship is served. Dismissing an apprentice prior to the completion of their time has hit the news before

Apprenticeships are a great way to help train and give skills in an industry or trade and we would be delighted to help anyone considering doing so with more information on how to set an apprenticeship up.

Have a good weekend, Lord of The HR Dept.

To tie or not to tie?

noreply@blogger.com (HR Dept) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:06:00 +0000

We recently ran a poll that stated 63% of respondents (SME business owners) stated they have an enforced dress code policy in their business, though the formality of the code varied depending on the industry and nature of employee. This week Britons were accused by the newly appointed chief at the Victoria and Albert Museum of being scruffy in their ‘dress down’ approach at work, specifically the lack of men wearing a tie.

First impressions still count and whilst having a relaxed dress code for creative staff for example may seem ‘cool’, the people they are selling to are often less tolerant and consider ‘laid back’ to be scruffy and assume the quality of the work will be the same. We are not suggesting dress codes should include formal suit and ties; after all the likes of David Cameron and Prince William often wear open necked shirts, in a bid to relate to their audiences.

Having a policy and enforcing it consistently is the key, but what does your dress code say about your business?

What is the oddest request you have seen in a dress code policy; Send us a tweet@thehrdept

By the way;

We believe Mickey Mouse could be in line for 'beard of year' in the annual Beard Liberation Front awards in 2012, following the story that cast members at Disneyland can now grow facial hair which had previously been banned under their strict dress code since 1955.

It's a number's game

noreply@blogger.com (HR Dept) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:10:00 +0000

We have compiled a weekly round-up of HR and business news in numbers:

0.2% - UK growth contracted 0.2% in the last three months of 2011. What does 2012 hold for everyone?

£300 could be what businesses in a Scottish city are charged for their own parking spaces provided to employees. A reserved car parking space at work is often highly prized... Early bird catches the worm!

At the time of writing, it is 182 days, 10 hours, 56 minutes and 6 seconds until the British Olympic Games begin. Basically, it is 6 months today that the hype of the Olympics will reach its peak. There could be an opportunity for your business to take advantage of the Olympics, but also be aware of employees wanting time off to attend /watch/volunteer at the games, so plan ahead.

£963,000 - The bonus paid to RBS chief Stephen Hester, who will be receiving the hefty sum as a bonus in shares. It has caused an outcry given the bailout provided to RBS and their ongoing cost cutting exercises.

2.69 million is the unfortunate number of rising UK unemployment. Without wearing rose coloured glasses, it is positive that the government has announced its’ Youth Contract to help and support employers in recruiting young people. This needs to get moving quickly.

£68 million is the substantial amount of compensation given to ex-Woolworths staff. An employment tribunal ruled that administrators had failed to follow redundancy procedures and awarded ex-workers a protected award for failing to consult.

£158 million - You will read more information about salary sacrifice schemes in our upcoming newsletter (which you can subscribe to here for free) but this week we find recruitment firm Reed could lose up to £158m in a ruling in a tribunal that it’s tax bills were incorrect when providing a salary sacrifice scheme to its’ temporary workers.

£1 trillion – British debt hits £1 trillion mark in December.

Difficult to comprehend really because written out it is - £1,000,000,000,000

Balancing the books is always a priority!

Time to Change - let's talk about mental health

noreply@blogger.com (HR Dept) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 10:19:00 +0000

It was during a TV advert break this week that a particular advert appeared that caught our attention and led us to discover more and promote the ‘Time to Change - let’s talk about mental health’ campaign launched by the Department of Health. The advert focuses on an employee returning to work following a period of absence due to a mental health issue. A colleague asks them, ‘how are you?’

It is a powerful advert and no doubt many people have been afraid to ask the same simple question in a situation where they know someone has been away from the workplace due to mental illness.

There is a stigma attached to mental health, and we are encouraging all organisations to sign up to find out more about the campaign and dispel that stigma by talking about the issues.

Handling these often sensitive subjects can be tricky for anyone within a business and often we are unaware of any issue until something happens or an individual confides in you. Being supportive, understanding and pointing someone in the right direction of support is imperative.

Just saying ‘cheer up’ or ‘you have got to pull yourself together’ are not effective methods of support – being non-judgemental, confidential, supportive and listening is a good place to start.

You can make a pledge of support by clicking here, we have.

'Blue Monday'

noreply@blogger.com (HR Dept) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:07:00 +0000

Producing a better workplace environment will increase productivity of employees. We've recently heard that workplace plants can ‘reduce depression, anxiety and overall stress’, as well as other suggestions like reducing the amount of the colour red within the workplace, and ensuring you sit so your back is not facing the entrance to your work.

These are all relatively minor suggestions to help employees/workers get over ‘Blue Monday’ - Monday 16^th January 2012 which apparently is the most depressing day of the year. After the highs of Christmas/New Year, people then tend to have a lull in emotions. Obviously this isn’t to be confused with depression.

Whether or not it will cost the UK economy £93 billion in lost productivity/absence is difficult to measure and imagine to be honest.

Having a physically better working environment as well as fostering a positive work ethic is naturally going to assist in the growth of a business and its’ personality too.

To give you food for thought, imagine if you worked here...

Health, happiness and prosperity for 2012 to all.

Youthful encouragement

noreply@blogger.com (HR Dept) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 10:25:00 +0000

Youth unemployment is already a growing problem and the Government are concerned that 16-24 year olds may become a ‘lost generation’ to the current and future workforce. This demographic has record high unemployment figures across the board, a staggering 1.02 million. Therefore much debate has started about how to create more jobs in general, but a focus has been placed on the younger generation in recent government initiatives.

This year we will see the launch of the £1 billion ‘Youth Contract’ which will provide 410,000 work places over a 3 year period for 18-24 year olds, with wage subsidies worth £2,275 handed to employers to take on 160,000 young people through The Work Programme. The subsidy will certainly be useful in its encouragement to get any size employer to take employee(s) on through this scheme and provide vital experience. More details need to emerge about the scheme in general but it is a positive step forward. The scheme will be open to the voluntary sector and there are also payment incentives to provide apprenticeships.

The HR Dept is encouraging business owners to sign up via a new website to get more information about the scheme when more details emerge.

For further information click here

Twas the night of the office Christmas party...

noreply@blogger.com (HR Dept) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 10:10:00 +0000

Let’s all deck the halls with boughs of holly

Party time, the season to be jolly

With short skirts, earrings and reindeer hats

A few vodkas at home and then off to get rats'd

As grumpy John from accounts asks Edna to dance

In walks the boss, just back from France

He makes straight for the bar, full of French bonhomie

And says “Over here folks the drinks are on me”

This is the moment when he should have known better

But it’s all a laugh, bit of fun and he’s a go getter.

Next thing he knows Lucy’s perched on his knee

And he’s fooling about and his hands are quite free.

Her boyfriend takes umbrage, Lucy heads for the loo.

It goes down in history as a “hell of a do”.

But come the next day with his head in his hands

He opens a letter that makes big demands:

Sexual harassment and a promised pay rise

Will his wife believe that it’s really just lies?

From all at The HR Dept, we wish you a very Merry Christmas

Why letting loose snakes into the office isn't the best idea...

noreply@blogger.com (HR Dept) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 10:21:00 +0000

This week we came across a rather unusual report of an angry Indian snake charmer letting snakes loose in a government office! Apparently Mr Hakkul, who was the go-to when there was a snake on the loose in the area, campaigned for a plot of land to keep his snakes. After several delays in dealing with his request, Mr Hakkul had come to the end of his tether and had his revenge on the officials, causing chaos.

Photo from BBC

This cleverly links us to the importance of leadership and management within any organisation. The HR Dept continues to preach about being proactive rather than reactive. Sadly no one has a crystal ball; however foreseeing issues before they come to a head, is the key to dealing with issues effectively. In this case, there had clearly been miscommunication, confusion and upset felt by Mr Hakkul. Ignoring a problem and assuming it will go away will not achieve anything, in an extraordinary case like this or in the office environment.

The HR Dept advises managers as always to identify an issue quickly before it becomes a problem and escalates. Following policies and procedures will enable you to deal with difficult situations more successfully. The role of a manager is not just in the title, it is the ability to manage people and ‘prevent people problems’...

"Help Wanted"

noreply@blogger.com (HR Dept) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:55:00 +0000

Why it is never good when you see an advert posted for your own job...

After seeing a ‘help wanted’ advert in a newspaper for a position that looks suspiciously like your own and included your boss’s phone number, what might you do? We recently came across this tale and this is exactly what happened to an employee of an architect’s firm in Florida.

The employee, confused, believing they were about to lose their job, made the rash decision to go to the architect’s office and erase an eye watering seven years worth of drawings and blueprints, estimated to be worth $2.5m (£1.5m).

Naturally the employee was caught, arrested, charged... and then fired.

Making matters even worse, it turns out the job was for the owner’s wife’s business.

Wondering whether the employee submitted an application for the other role? Probably not.

Unemployed youth: Disillusioned or misunderstood?

noreply@blogger.com (HR Dept) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:01:00 +0000

The HR Dept is disappointed and concerned to see that figures of youth unemployment have recently reached record highs. We recognise that the majority of unemployed 16-24 year olds do make every effort to get on the job ladder, but at the moment there are limited opportunities. However, Conservative politician Norman Tebbit has gone further and criticised the lack of ‘get up and go’ from UK graduates, sparking an interesting debate on motivation of the younger UK workforce at a time of high unemployment generally.

The reality is though, that the figures are likely to get worse before they get better. The Government will launch a £1 billion ‘youth contract’ to fund six month work placements for up 410,000 individuals. This is very positive, as it is so often the case that young workers have the theoretical knowledge but not the practical application. It has the potential to help build a younger worker’s confidence as everyone remembers their first day of work as it can be daunting stepping into an unknown environment! Once we know more about it, we will put more information out.

Find something you enjoy and are good at and you will hit the ground running

The critical point about younger workers disillusionment with the working world can be highlighted with some research we discovered recently - finding that a staggering 48% of people aged 16-24 said they would not work for a firm that prohibited social media use. Whether for work purpose or not, it shows a new trend of younger individuals looking to use social media in every part of their lives, whether it be personal or working.

Advice is to any young worker looking for their first role:

Look for something you want to get involved in or a role which you can match your skills against and present yourself as a positive, hard working and ambitious candidate and deliver on that promise.