PROFESSIONAL COMPUTING

Transcription

1 PROFESSIONAL COMPUTING Lecture 9: Human Resources Dr. Mark Lee School of Computer Science, University of Birmingham Autumn 2014

2 Microsoft s bell curve What has Microsoft done good in the last decade? Stack Ranking Performance Review Rank all members of the group on a bell curve Top Performers, good performers, bad performers (was successful during 80s at General Electric under CEO Jack Welch CEO of the Year in Fortune 500) Now - Performance Reviews will focus on teamwork and not use numerical measures

3 Less Recent News 19 year old employee of McDonalds (Llangunor branch) Dismissed for gross misconduct (March, 2012) Previously an exceptional employee Past Spotless 18 month employment history Co-worker wished to buy a McFlurry make it a nice one Employee used two portions of chocolate topping Was fired on the spot appealed to Employment Tribunal on grounds of unfair dismissal We ll look at the issues surrounding this today

4 History of Industrial Relations Up to the 1970s Industrial disputes were common Most strikes were politically motivated by left wing unions Strikes were marked by aggressive picketing Secondary actions were common Many professions were closed shops requiring union membership Nearly all trade unions imposed a political levy which funded the Labour party Over manning - British Industry was not competitive Trade Unions were effectively immune from legal action 1978 Winter of Discontent

5 A new government 1969 Labour party proposes reforms (but rejected by unions) 1979 Conservatives come to power Mandate for root and branch reform Four successive Tory governments break the power of unions At the same time Increase in the power/protection of individual employees legislation for equal pay of women (1960s ) Industrial Relations Act (1971) concept of unfair dismissal Anti-discrimination Laws (1970s 2010)

6 Human Resource Departments Suddenly HR became complex - Ensuring recruitment/selection/promotion complied with legislation Staff training and development Appraisal Dismissal and Redundancy procedures Adminstrating grievance procedures Being aware of new legislation Health and Safety Etc. etc. Recruitment is expensive keeping employees happy is good sense (surprisingly) HR is meant to do this

7 Recruitment and Selection Recruitment Soliciting applications Often out-sourced to a recruitment agency Pre-selection and shortlisting Typically charge 25% of first year of salary for services Selection Usually left to parent company (but agency may advise/set up selection procedures)

8 Selection Procedures One to one interviews with senior management A reliable method of selection Especially if records can be reviewed for future applications Difficult to comply with existing anti-discrimination legislation Interview by panel Very common Easy to comply with legislation Research suggests not reliable Smooth talkers have a decided advantage Common to have independents Avoid nepotism/corruption Evidence they make bad decisions more likely

9 References Assessment by references Important in Academic and Public bodies Less so in private companies Often not much more than a final check Law often allows applicants to read their own references Potential for civil action By applicant for unfair references By Employer if reference misses negative aspects Often referees will write banal but positive praise References have become far less important

10 Tests Psychometric Tests Ability tests General ability in written skills etc. Aptitude tests Focus on ability to learn Reliable for assessing programming ability Increasing difficultly for more advanced skills Personality Tests Surprisingly common Competiting theories of personality Unclear value (all these tests can be practiced)

11 Staff Training and Management UK industry is frequently criticized for lack of interest in staff training Compare to USA employers commonly fund part time master degrees for graduate employees Successive UK governments have provided initiatives to improve this Investors in People scheme (1991) 40,000 organisations nationally (2008 figure) Exported to other countries But less impact on professional careers In general companies, staff development of IT careers may be limited External courses/conferences

12 Remuneration Disparity of pay (and benefits) causes dissatisfaction Public Services Fixed pay scales Annual Increments Promotion means moving to a better scale Rarely competitive with private sector Private Companies Individual agreements within broad guidelines Often difficult to justify Job Evaluation Equal pay for equal work & anti-discrimination legislation

13 Appraisal Schemes Until recently, Possible to complete professional career without ever being appraised or reviewed Academia/Teaching Feedback up to age 35 (say) then no appraisal This has changed Management by Objectives Regular (annual) meeting with manager Agreed objectives Objectives should be Clear Measurable Achievable Revised objectives for next period

14 Redundancy & dismissal HR is responsible for ensuring proper procedures are followed In all cases, such actions are difficult Employee General staff morale Laws concerning redundancy are complex (and currently changing) Unfair dismissal Reason for dismissal must be valid Correct procedure must be followed Employment Tribunals are costly in time & money Possible award of up to 72,300 for unfair dismissal Employee could be forcibly re-employed (but this is rare) (236,000 hearings in 2010 )

15 Reasons for Justified Dismissal Legislation lists the following reasons Lack of capability Misconduct Breach of law (by company/not employee) Redundancy Any other reason (!) But not: (legal) Union activity Legal action to enforce employment rights Issues covered by anti-discrimination law (for instance maternity leave)

16 Statutory Dismissal Procedure Set Procedure ( ) Employer required to give reasons for dismissal in writing Meeting arranged for all parties to state their case If employer goes ahead, employee has right to appeal (ideally to senior management) Unfair dismissal can be claimed only after one year of employment Any dismissal which breached the above was automatically considered unfair ACAS Code of Practice (2009) No set procedure but a guide to best practice Tribunal will take into account actual practice May increase payout by up to 25% in cases of unfair dismissal 2 year employment required for any claim of unfair dismissal (with certain anti-discrimination exemptions) Our current government is very keen to further streamline/de-regulate dismissals (apparently to boost the economy!)

17 Redundancy Redundancy: when the company no longer requires people to do a certain job. Potentially the company itself might have gone bust The law entitles employees to minimum levels of compensation based on age, salary & experience Most (good) companies will pay more than these levels If the company intends to make 20 or more employees redundant in 90 days or less consultation is required In UK law there are two concepts of redundancy For purposes of compensation, redundancy is where employer no longer needs employees to do that job. For purposes of consultation, redundancy is dismissal where reason is not related to individuals concerned Difficult to select who to make redundant Last in First Out is the norm (probably not fair) But accepted by Trade Unions & courts Not contrary to anti-discrimination laws

18 Constructive Dismissal Company behaves to an employees in such a way that they feel they must resign Any breach in terms of employment contract can be seen as constructive dismissal Constructive Dismissal is not necessarily Unfair (but often is) Examples: Moving office to other side of country without consultation Employs a trained accountant to spend their time as a receptionist Senior management countermands instructions issued by junior manager 2004 regulations lay down statutory grievance procedures. These must be used before a claim for constructive dismissal can be claimed

19 Tapere versus Lewisham NHS Trust (2009) Tapare worked at Lewisham Primary Care Trust for several years before being moved to Beckenham Trust Beckenham is further to commute and also involves navigating the M25 ring road. Tapere objected to the move was allowed to arrive 15 minutes later than previously Tapere resigned and claimed Unfair Dismissal Initial hearing found against Tapere Felt that there was no material detriment to Tapere This was overtuned on appeal Ruling test should not be objective Only whether or not it is reasonable for the employee to believe they have suffered a material detriment.

20 Transfer of Undertakings, Protection of Employment (TUPE) Laws governing where one company takes over another Employees of old company automatically become employees of new company Conditions of employment must be maintained Representatives of employees have the right to be informed about the transfer Consultation must occur about any changes affecting employees (e.g. office location) George Osbourne asked employers their views on TUPE in May, 2011 Highly likely these regulations will be watered down in the next couple of years Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill (2013)

21 Anti-Discrimination Laws From the 1970s a wide range of anti-discriminatory laws have been introduced. Provided similar (but not equal protection) against Sexual Gender Disabilities Religion Political Discrimination Each type of discrimination was monitored by a different government body.

22 Equality Act 2010 Consolidated all previous laws into a single act Provides a single framework which guarantees Anti-discrimination Equal pay and employment conditions Equal access to sales and services For the following Gender Sexual Preference Marital status Age Race Religion Political Views Disabilities With some explicit exemptions

23 Summary Over the past 40 years we ve seen an increase in the rights of employees as individuals Need for Human Resources Management Recruitment and Selection Training Dismissal and Redundancy Equality Act 2010