It's not often HR makes it into the pages of top satirical mag Private Eye. But in the latest issue hacks at the magazine have taken issue with the government's latest initiative to help smaller firms with employment law.
The campaign aims to help employers by directing them to Business Link's online tools, calculators and interactive guides, saving cash so they don't have to buy in professional HR advice. The Eye goes on to say:
"Sadly the advice to stop buying in expensive HR comes too late for many public sector bodies. Buying in staff admin services from Capita proved disastrous for the Leicester Hospitals NHS Trust, which ended up paying bank charges for staff after their payroll was botched month after month last year. Also stuck with Capita is the BBC, which can't afford to break its £100m outsourced HR deal even though the firm lost personal details of staff."
The article also highlights the cost of outsourcing Northern Ireland's Civil Service HR spiralling from the planned £328m to £465m.
I interviewed BBC HR chief Stephen Kelly earlier this month and he admitted that the corporation's contract with Capita was suffering from problems. But he said he was determined to put things right and was confident its full benefits would soon be realised.
Until he does, then the spectre of another mention in Private Eye looms...
