This week’s news in brief.
Sack for failing test
B&Q has defended
its recruitment process after an employee was appointed and then sacked after
he failed a psychometric test. Matthew Brearley, director of retail HR at
B&Q, said the Bournemouth store that employed 18-year-old Carl Filer had
not followed the firm’s recruitment procedures and had taken him on before he
had taken the test, which he subsequently failed.   www.diy.com
Web firms ignore HR
Web-based companies
are not paying enough attention to important HR issues such as recruitment,
training and people management, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Realism not pessimism – addressing the challenges of e-markets states there is
a widespread lack of commitment to key HR issues among e-businesses,
potentially leading to serious failures in operating efficiency. www.pwcglobal.com
Working Time opt-out
Nearly a quarter of
workers have opted out of the Working Time regulations, illustrating a lack of
commitment to the initiative at Government level, a new study claims. The
report by Blick UK criticises the Government for including the opt-out clause
in the legislation. www.blick.co.uk
IT firm cuts 3,000 jobs
Computer giant
Hewlett-Packard is to cut 3,000 jobs due to the US consumer and commercial
downturn. The firm warned its profits would be between 2 and 4 per cent lower
than expected in the three months to 30 April.
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Intel gets flexible
A three-month pilot
scheme at IT company Intel to introduce flexible working practices found that
employees experienced increased job satisfaction and improved their ability to
meet deadlines. The scheme, which involved 70 employees in the IT department,
was introduced in October 2000 to monitor the effectiveness of flexible working
practices.
