Friday afternoons off

In a creative and innovative move, Kellogg's today announced that staff who have worked the necessary hours in the week will be eligible to take Friday afternoons off.

The HR team admitted that with summer approaching - (the UK has great summer weather predicted) Friday absences were a regular occurrence.

A fantastic move from HR, turning the issue round into one of re-investment in staff, benefit and reward.

news blog: Night Shift Fears for employers

news blog: Night Shift Fears for employers

Night Shift Fears for employers

Danish courts have awarded compensation to women who developed breast cancer after working night shifts. Following on from that decision the HSE has commissioned an independent epidemiologist report on the issue to explore any possible links and or causation between shift working and cancer.

Employers have an obligation to take 'reasonably practical' precautions towards health of staff; they do not have a duty to eliminate all the risks. Employers should make stringent health checks and comply with their duties under Health and Safety Legislation.

news blog: Cancer at work

news blog: Cancer at work

Cancer at work

Some of our regular readers, partners and clients are very aware of the training and seminars we deliver to line managers on approaching and managing team members who have been diagnosed with cancer.

Not all cancers are terminal and how the work relationship is managed often is crucial in the successful rehabilitation of staff back into the workplace. However, some cancers can be in personal and private areas (e.g. breast and testicular) and relaying and/or engaging managers to deal with sensitive issues around such diagnoses can be problematic both for the employee and the employer. The Disability Discrimination Act covers cancer upon the point of diagnosis, even if the cancer is treatable and recoverable.

Follow our regular blog for updates, recent case law and best practice tips on managing cancer in the workplace.

Bullying at Work

I attended an excellent lecture last night delivered by Dr Sheila White on bullying in the workplace. Arranged by the CIPD in Oldham, Dr White delivered the findings of her research into workplace bullying in the Civil Service.

The results were staggering and focused on bullying in a line management role. The reasons for bullying were many but all started from a position of envy from the bully to the victim.

Then followed some lively debate from the attending HR professionals with Dr White around the fine line of strong performance management -v- bullying behaviour and the arising issues of vicarious liability for employers.

The overwhelming advice from Dr White was to consider workplace mediation. This was music to my ears as Seminars & Solutions now has a workplace mediation service. Call us today on 0161 905 1219 or visit us at http://www.seminarsandsolutions.com/ for further details.