Age Discrimination in Recruitment - DOHR: HR and Recruitment

Winning businesses weaponise their humanity

Posted on May 14, 2019 (June 28, 2021) by Donna Obstfeld

Winning businesses weaponise their humanity Frank Zappa once said: An algorithm can tell you a story but it can't tell you the whole story, it just doesn't have the eyebrows. Emotion is everything. We lived through the ages of Content, Context, Attention and Authenticity. We now live in the Age of Humanisation. In this era…

Dyslexia in the Workplace

Posted on May 8, 2019 (June 28, 2021) by Donna Obstfeld

An employee who has been struggling with his work has recently told me he has dyslexia. Does the organisation have any obligations to the employee in this respect? Dyslexia is predicted to affect approximately 10% of the British population, according to the British Dyslexia Association meaning it is incredibly likely that a current or future…

Human Resources

Posted on May 2, 2019 (June 28, 2021) by Donna Obstfeld

HR Have you ever stopped to think about what Human Resources actually covers and why all large businesses have a department dedicated to the management of their people? For many micro and small businesses, the thought of Human Resources (HR) is, well…. Not really a thought at all. There are only 4 key elements that…

Walking The Plank

Posted on April 25, 2019 (June 28, 2021) by Donna Obstfeld

There may well come a time in your business life when you REALLY need a member of staff to walk the plank (leave). There are many reasons why this may be the case, but you must be aware of the ‘legal’ reasons for dismissal which are limited to: capability, behaviour, redundancy or some other substantial…

Why are my staff leaving?

Posted on April 17, 2019 (June 28, 2021) by Donna Obstfeld

There are three main reasons why staff don't stay in a business... The first is to do with not actually having the right person doing the role that needs doing. This normally comes down to the recruitment process where the job either wasn't properly defined, or the criteria weren't properly set, or the person being…

Equal Pay

Posted on April 10, 2019 (February 15, 2022) by Donna Obstfeld

Avoiding Pay DifferencesThe Equal Pay Act came into effect in 1970. It prohibits less favourable treatment between men and women in terms of pay and conditions.What does this mean?What it doesn't mean is that men and women have to be paid exactly the same exact amounts of money. But, if you've got two groups of…

References

Posted on April 4, 2019 (June 28, 2021) by Donna Obstfeld

Do I have to provide one? We get asked this question a lot more than you might think, and the short answer is no, not usually. There are certain sectors, like Financial Services, where it could be a legal requirement, however in most cases for employers there is no legal obligation to provide a reference.…

Can you honestly say that harassment is not a risk to your business?

Posted on March 9, 2019 (June 28, 2021) by Donna Obstfeld

#MeToo - a year on I just want to touch on something which we're dealing with more and more at the moment and that's the issue of harassment. Now about a year ago there was a huge campaign around #MeToo when lots of people came forward and started talking about their experiences of harassment…

Recruitment is no longer about finding the perfect employee

Posted on February 10, 2019 (June 28, 2021) by Donna Obstfeld

Record levels of employment, the uncertainty of Brexit and the need for new skills for a modern workplace have led to a significant increase in competition for the best talent in what is now an employee-led recruitment market. Organisations are having to work harder and harder to attract the right people. That is not necessarily…

Recruitment Advertising

Posted on January 13, 2019 (June 28, 2021) by Donna Obstfeld

Two things have happened this week which have made me think about the wording of recruitment adverts: 1) A contact of mine advertised for a young, dynamic person – thus opening themselves up to an age discrimination claim, as an older person may arguably be more dynamic than a young person. 2) The Army has…