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Dear Visitor,
Welcome to People Matter from HR Solutions 4U.
 What's in this issue?
- Two-thirds of small firms do not offer pension schemes
- Workplace unrest rises as austerity measures take toll
- Job placements rise at fastest rate in six months
- New bank holidays Bill introduced
- Office romance
Two-thirds of small firms do not offer pension schemes
 Two-thirds of small employers do not offer pension schemes, while others have failed to keep up with the cost of providing sufficient contributions.
This is according to a survey of small firms conducted by the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA), which also found that one-fifth of companies with less than 250 employees plan to close their existing schemes and put all workers into the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST), once the Government's auto-enrolment policy comes into force.
From October 2012, employers will have to auto-enrol workers into a qualifying pension scheme and make mandatory contributions. Staff will be able to opt out after enrolment.
Read more
Workplace unrest rises as austerity measures take toll
 Employers face a sustained increase in workplace unrest as staff work longer and harder without greater reward.
This is according to the State of Human Resources survey by Kings College London and law firm Speechly Bircham, which found 50% of organisations surveyed have increased staff working hours, while pay rises and bonuses continue to be withheld.
The survey of senior HR professionals highlighted the correlation between staff working longer hours and increased absence, stress and employee grievances. Poor relationships between staff and managers and bullying/harassment were identified as the main causes.
To ensure this doesn’t happen in your business talk to us on 01256 328428 about implementing effective motivation practices.
Job placements rise at fastest rate in six months
 The number of permanent and temporary appointments grew at a faster rate in January than at any time in the past six and seven months respectively.
This is according to the Report on Jobs by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and professional services firm KPMG, which also found the rise in staff appointments reflected an increase in vacancies, with demand for IT and computing workers showing the strongest growth.
Equally, the availability of candidates to fill permanent jobs remained stable and improved for temporary and contract positions. The survey also found average salaries for permanent staff increased, but pay rates for temporary staff decreased for the first time in four months.
If you need help with recruiting staff effectively please contact us on 01256 328428.
New bank holidays Bill introduced
 The St George’s Day and St David’s Day Bill
has been introduced into the House of Commons which would designate St George’s Day (in England) and St David’s Day (in Wales) or their nearest working days, as an annual public holiday. If the Bill is passed, the change would take effect from 2012, and would increase the current eight public holidays to ten.
Office romance
 As Cupid fires his arrows in February we thought it might be a good time to bring up the dreaded office romance.
And no, we aren’t against a bit of romance, but the trouble is when it all goes wrong the repercussions can be felt throughout the office. So what can you do to mitigate it?
- Ideally have a policy of discouraging relationships within the business, and particularly not within departments. A robust policy will then enable you to take action such as moving staff. However, it will not completely remove the chance of romance occurring.
- Monitor performance to ensure this is not suffering as a result of the distraction – this is much easier to manage, than you having an issue with an office relationship.
- Where there is a conflict of interest – such as manager and subordinate in a relationship, one of the individuals needs to be moved into another area.
- If action needs to be taken be sure to handle the situation fairly – equal treatment to both parties.
- Be aware of the attitudes of the whole team – often relationships can cause resentment and conflict within a team, so monitor this and take remedial action immediately.
- Be sensitive but firm – if it all goes wrong you don’t want tears and tantrums in the workplace, but you still want to come across as a caring employer. Set down clear guidelines of your expectations, and suggest a couple of days off, if a member of staff is struggling to come to terms with a relationship breakdown. However, be clear with your expectations when they return to work.
If you would like any further help with implementing a policy or managing relationships within your business, please call us on 01256 328428.
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