==================================================================
HR Zone Newswire - Issue 2
20 July 2000
http://www.hrzone.co.uk
==================================================================
This is the second issue of the new HR Zone Newswire. HR Zone
complements the existing TrainingZONE website and focuses on
employment, legislation, personnel and human resource issues.
http://www.hrzone.co.uk
==================================================================
LATEST HEADLINES ***** LATEST HEADLINES ***** LATEST HEADLINES
1. New Deal to become permanent says Chancellor
2. TUC takes the government to court on parental rights
3.'Government is implementing employment law changes too quickly'
warns CIPD
4. Tax records of millions of taxpayers go missing
5. Free IT training materials!
LATEST HEADLINES ***** LATEST HEADLINES ***** LATEST HEADLINES
==================================================================
View from the HR Zone
=====================
Equal opportunity matters have been surreptitiously entering the
news arena in the past fortnight.
Two weeks ago, there was the case of a German-born bus driver now
residing in Kent. His name is Klaus Burger. The other drivers,
according to reports made at a race discrimination case brought
by Mr Burger, saw the German driver as an object of ridicule.
They would call him Hermann the German, perform 'Basil Faulty'
style goose-stepping when he was close by, and when passing on
the road, instead of the normal wave that most drivers give one
another, they would give a Nazi style salute whilst holding a
finger to the top lip to imitate a moustache, undoubtedly a
Hitler impersonation.
I cannot help but think that this treatment would not have
happened if Mr Burger had not been born in Germany. His
Germanness singled him out as a target for workmates.
Mr Burger was upset by the conduct and eventually received
treatment for depression. In fact most German people would be
deeply offended by such conduct.
The tribunal decided that Mr Burger was not subjected to race
discrimination, he was simply the recipient of good-natured banter.
More recently, the TUC has called on the government to extend
disability discrimination legislation to those smaller firms
employing less than 15 people, excluded from the legislation.
Their message is a simple one, equal opportunities should be
available to all people, not just those working for medium to
large companies. A policy of inclusiveness that excludes some
people from complying with what is right and decent is not a
fair policy.
The TUC points out that upto a million people could benefit
if their suggestion was adopted.
Finally, The Times this week pointed out that mental illness
is still a taboo subject in the workplace. Few of us
understand it sufficiently, and few of us know how to react to
fellow workers who have a mental illness. The normal reaction
is to back away from the person with the mental illness.
I cannot help but think that the fortnights events have a greater
message for us. Legislation to improve diversity could go further,
but more than that, there is still the need for a sea-change in
attitudes.
Diversity management, equal opportunities and inclusiveness are
about how we as individuals value other people, and when
something is going wrong in these areas, it thrusts unnecessary
pain and suffering into someones life. It is our communal value
system which is insufficient, and we need to do more to get it
right. Just because the law says that something is not illegal,
it does not make it acceptable, or right or decent to treat
another human being badly.
Jon Seaton
Editor HR Zone
mailto:editor@hrzone.co.uk
******************************************************************
The LawZone is an internet based service meeting informational
needs of the legal community. It brings items of legal news,
employment law news, interpretation and much more to a wide
audience in the UK and further afield. See the LawZONE at
http://www.lawzone.co.uk
******************************************************************
The HR Newswire is distributed on request to 10,000 HR
professionals.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/help/advertise.html
******************************************************************
Latest News
===========
1. New Deal to become permanent says Chancellor
An Employment Opportunities fund of 875 million pounds sterling for
next year, increasing the following year, will make the New Deal
scheme permanent.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/item/22304
2. TUC takes the government to court on parental rights
Tony Blair may be having a bad time of things lately, but that
won't stop the TUC continuing the court case after his wifes
advice to them on parental rights legislation.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/item/22313
3. 'Government is implementing employment law changes too quickly'
warns CIPD
The CIPD says that government changes to employment legislation
is too much too fast after surveying 5000 members.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/item/22018
4. Tax records of millions of taxpayers go missing
Problems with the Inland Revenues computer systems are being blamed
for upto 5 million peoples tax records going missing
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/item/22407
5. Free IT Training materials!
For most HR managers and IT managers keeping staff knowledgeable
about how to work their desktop computers is a continuous battle.
Free help is at hand for IT Trainers, HR Staff and computer users.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/item/22233
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
+ HAVE THESE STORIES ON YOUR WEBSITE +
+ Add real value to your web site - +
+ include our free news headlines on your +
+ page - instantly updated through the day +
+ - makes your web site fresh and lively +
+ https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/news/syndicatednews.html+
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Looking for HR resources? Perhaps needing to buy a gift?
Have you checked out the 19 specialist shops for HR
professionals? Search for resources and products across all the
suppliers. If you supply this sector, why not create your own
branded shop in this Mall, with full control through your own
back-office.
http://mall.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/trainingzone.mall/
******************************************************************
Looking for Work?
-----------------
Our aim here at HR Zone is to make CareerZone the best recruitment
area for Training & HR professionals on the Internet. There are
lots of exciting things happening behind the scenes at the moment
- be sure to keep a look out for our new Alert Profiles service!
See current vacancies and advertise your own vacancies at
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-site/tzjobs.cgi
==================================================================
Community Area
==============
* * * Workshops * * *
Every Tuesday lunchtime at 1.00 pm at
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/workshop/
a community workshop is run for HR and training professionals. Our
workshop is an online, real-time, live discussion on topics around
HR and training. The next workshop on Tuesday 25 July is titled:
Introducing Culture Change Into An Organisation
******************************************************************
What's in the Directory?
======================
HR departments are under increasing pressure these days. They have
to be more accountable, offer higher service and continuously keep
an eye on costs.
Some are even outsourcing some roles whilst others are becoming HR
contractors for other businesses. Whilst historically a cost centre
to the business, some HR operations are now becoming a profit
centre.
The Directory at https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-site/tzprov.cgi
lists HR consultancies and training consultancies as a support for
HR operations looking to control costs by accessing local HR and
training support services. If you're not in the directory you
could be missing business!
==================================================================
Subscriber Information
==================================================================
We want everyone to use this free newswire service, so forward or
hand a copy on to colleagues and encourage them to register too!
You can update your HR Zone Newswire subscriptions by visiting the
site's Profile page and selecting the 'My Services' link. This
offers a menu of newswires, alerts and job profiles to keep you up
to date with the latest professional news and opportunities.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/profile
Alternatively, subscribe by sending a message to:
mailto:subscribe@trainingzone.co.uk
and in the BODY of the message type: SUBSCRIBE HRZONE-NEWSWIRE
To receive HR Zone Newswire free each week, register your name at
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/register
To remove yourself from this mailing list, visit the Profile page
or mailto:unsubscribe@trainingzone.co.uk. In the body of the
message type: UNSUBSCRIBE HRZONE-NEWSWIRE. To succeed, make sure
your email address shown in the header is the same as the one to
which LearningWire is sent.
==================================================================
Copyright (c) 2000 Sift Group plc. All rights reserved.
May be reproduced in any medium for non-commercial purposes as
long as attribution is given.
==================================================================
HR Zone, 100 Victoria Street, Bristol BS1 6HZ
Tel:+44 (0)117 915 9600 Fax:+44 (0)117 915 9630
http://www.hrzone.co.uk
==================================================================
