Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development Northern Ireland Branch

Quarterly Newsletter Volume 3, Issue 4, September, 2007

Paul Benedict & John Mulholland presenting the Harrogate Conference Ticket to Claire Spratt, the lucky winner

From Harrogate to Holiday Inn... The CIPD NI Branch would like to congratulate Claire Spratt and Sonia Tracey, the two lucky winners of free tickets (£1300 each) for this year’s CIPD Annual Conference at Harrogate. Both of them will be at Harrogate soon to be inspired… to network… to learn and to have some fun…. Congratulations to them! Building on its past successes this annual conference, known for professionalism, quality standards and its impressive range of speakers is bigger and better this year. The three day conference (18-20th September 2007) includes over 50 seminars on the hottest HR topics, 10 masterclasses to spark serious debate and conversation, 6 practical down-to-earth workshops, delivered by over 100 speakers representing 60 business schools and leading organisations. This year our branch secured two tickets for this great event and Claire Spratt and Sonia Tracey have won those tickets in the raffle conducted through our Branch Website. Claire Spratt is delighted to have won one of the tickets and is really looking forward to Harrogate. She told John and Paul that she is particularly keen to see the sessions with David Rock on ‘The New Science of Change' and 'Well Happy', with Carolyn Woolley presenting the business case for well-being. Harrogate is only the start for Claire as after that she will be attending our HR conference in October where she is looking forward to ‘Learning from the Best’ at Holiday Inn, Belfast. CIPD NI wishes them both to come back enriched to equip their organisations with the skills to lead, innovate and change. -

Paul Benedict MCIPD

to Our October Event !

HR Challenges 2007 – Learning from the Best

Be a Winner ! All you have to do is send us an email quoting your name, CIPD membership number and email address to enter for the draw. It’s that simple ! Entries should reach us before 16/09/07, 5.00 pm - What we are trying to do is compile a list of members who are happy for us to email out information on our events. Your details will be maintained by the Branch, held in confidence and will not be passed to any third parties.

So what’s to stop you email your details to our administrator: [email protected] Visit our branch website on October 1, 2007 for the results !

From the Chair….

Welcome to New Committee Members

A Year of

Change

It has been a busy time since our AGM in May and I am delighted with the progress the new committee has made. We have some new faces on the committee and this has allowed a few people to take on new roles. The coming months provide opportunities for others to get more involved and we are always on the look-out for volunteers (definition-someone who has n’t heard the question!). The summer months are usually fairly quiet and after our session with providers and the Employment Law Update we have finalised our business plan, finalised our events programme and have looked at ways we can better serve members in Northern Ireland. You will probably have noticed changes to Soundbytes, not least a change of printer. Have a look too at our updated website www.CIPD.co.uk/branches/nireland - we want to make our services more accessible and readily available to you. The CIPD website is a mine of information but in all honestly people don’t use it often enough. Elsewhere in this publication you will find our Events Programme. Wendy McCulla and the events team have put a very comprehensive programme together-surely there is something there relevant to you and your work. We are always keen to attract sponsors so if you have a few quid handy and are keen to promote your products or services to over 2700 practitioners why not talk to us about an ad in Soundbytes. We are often asked by other organisations to partner for events and I see this as an indicator of our success. We are striving to raise the profile of CIPD of in Northern Ireland we want to raise the profile of our profession and we want to raise the profile of the excellent practices from some of our top organisations. We got wonderful coverage from the Irish News Workplace Employment Awards. Hopefully our timing of this edition will be the trigger to motivate you to sign up for CIPD qualifications or to attend one of our events. The climate of Northern Ireland is changing in more ways that one and never has there been a greater urgency to ensure our skill base allows the NI economy to flourish and grow. This promises to be a very interesting year of change.

Branch Committee at work..... We need Volunteers... If you can spend an hour or two a month, Speak to John today and come on board!

CIPD NI Branch Committee Volunteers 2007

P Wallace Vice Chair

B McMaw Membership Advisor

P Aiken Policy Advisor

P Benedict Web Editor

W McCulla Events Organiser

R Taylor Treasurer

G Corey Member

L Carson Member

G Finnegan Editor

D O’Connor Member

K McKeaveney Member

Enjoy what is left of our summer

Best wishes John Mulholland FCIPD Chair CIPD NI Mobile 07867536494

2

T Hunter Public Relations

And also with the above, Mark McCrory (Secretary), Michael Beattie, Maureen Brennan and Vivienne Walker.

Employment Law …

April 2007 saw changes in the working rights of new mothers, adoptive parents and employees with caring responsibilities outside work. Paid maternity and adoption leave The amount of paid leave All pregnant employees remain entitled to 26 weeks’ ordinary maternity leave and 26 weeks’ additional maternity leave. The period during which employers must pay an employee Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) has increased from 26 weeks to 39 weeks. Employers who don’t already operate a more generous contractual scheme must pay an eligible employee 90% of her average weekly earnings for the first six weeks of her leave and either a flat rate or 90% of her average weekly earnings (whichever is lower) for the remaining 33 weeks. A pregnant employee is able to start her Maternity Pay Period on any day of the week. Adopters, as before, are entitled to 26 weeks’ ordinary adoption leave and 26 weeks’ additional adoption leave. However, the period during which employers must pay a qualifying employee Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) has increased from 26 to 39 weeks. SAP is paid at a flat rate or 90% of the adopter’s average weekly earnings (whichever is lower). Pay will normally begin on the day of or the day after the child’s placement for adoption, or on a date up to two weeks before the expected placement date. There is no change to the amount of notice (28 days) an employee going on maternity or adoption leave must give their employer about the date they plan to start or return from leave. However, if the employee changes their mind about their return date, they must give the employer at least eight weeks’ notice of the new date. SMP, SAP and Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) used to be paid on the basis of a weekly rate. Employers can now split weekly payments over two pay periods for easier administration.

Staying in touch during leave Employers and employees can make reasonable contact during the period of maternity or adoption leave. They need to agree between themselves what kind of contact they will have, for example, to notify the employee of any changes at work or advise of any job vacancies and promotion opportunities. A new mother or adopter can also go into work for up to 10 days during their period of maternity or adoption leave without losing their SMP, MA or SAP entitlement. This is the new right to ‘Keeping in Touch’ days and, if any work is to take place, it must be mutually agreed between employee and employer. Right for carers to request flexible working Research in Northern Ireland shows that 92% of employers believe that people work best when they can balance their work with other aspects of their lives. Nearly seven in ten feel that flexible working practices have a positive impact on employee relations and employee motivation and commitment. From 6th April 2007, a further step in promoting work-life balance was taken with the extension of the right to request flexible working to employees who have caring responsibilities for an adult who is a spouse, partner, civil partner, near relative or someone living at the same address. To be eligible to make a request, an employee must have worked for the same employer continuously for 26 weeks. This is an extension of the existing right to request which is available to parents of children under 6 and of disabled children under 18. Employers are required, by law, to give serious consideration to an employee’s application. A request can only be refused by the employer where there are sound business reasons why the request cannot be accommodated. - Lynn Taylor, DEL

For free and confidential advice, phone the Labour Relations Agency on 028 9032 1442 or visit www.delni.gov.uk/erbooklets to obtain guidance booklets.

3

CIPD Course Providers …

Provider

Provider Contact Details

Courses Provided

1

CIPD – Membership Development

0208971000 www.cipd.co.uk

APCL – Accredited Prior Learning

2

DMS Personnel Consultants

Bangor Tel: 028 9147 0725 Email: [email protected]

PAC – Professional Assessment of Competence Cert. In Personnel &Training Practice

3

Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education

www.belfastinstitute.ac.uk

PDS – Graduate Route Cert. In Personnel &Training Practice

4

North West Institute of Further & Higher Education

www.nwifhe.ac.uk Noelle Devlin Tel. 028 7127 6187

PDS – Graduate Route Cert. In Personnel &Training Practice

5

Queens University Belfast

www.qub.ac.uk Martin Mulholland

PDS – Graduate Route Cert. In Personnel &Training Practice Post Graduate Diploma in Personnel Management

6

University of Ulster UUJ

www.ulster.ac.uk Course Director: Jeanette Harrison [email protected]

PDS – Graduate Route + optional 3 year for MSc in Human Resource Management MBA - Get licentiate on completion

8

North East Institute

www.nei.ac.uk Associate college of UU Sam Johnston

Certificate in Personnel Practice

9

North Down and Ards Institute

Certificate in Personnel Practice Course contact: [email protected]

10

Upper Bann

Castle Park Rd, Bangor, County Down BT20 4TF Tel: 028 9127 6600 www.ndai.ac.uk Elizabeth Smith 07917 767 357

11

Gingerbread

Pat Kernaghan [email protected]

For lone parents Certificate in Training Practice – Get course paid for

13

Hugh Russell Associates

[email protected]

Certificate in Training Practice or through civil service

rd

PDS scheme

Note: From 1.8.07 NI Further and higher education colleges have merged under new names. The new college groupings are: Belfast Metropolitan College incorporating:

Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education & Castlereagh College of Further and Higher Education.

North West Regional College incorporating:

North West Institute of Further and Higher Education & Limavady College of Further and Higher Education.

Northern Regional College incorporating:

Causeway Institute of Further and Higher Education, North East Institute of Further and Higher Education & East Antrim Institute of Further and Higher Education.

Southern Regional College incorporating:

Armagh College of Further and Higher Education, Newry and Kilkeel Institute of Further and Higher Education & Upper Bann Institute of Further and Higher Education.

South West College incorporating:

East Tyrone College of Further and Higher Education, Fermanagh College of Further and Higher Education & Omagh College of Further Education.

South Eastern Regional College:

East Down Institute of Further and Higher Education, Lisburn College of Further and Higher Education & North Down and Ards Institute of Further and Higher Education.

Policy Advisor’s Page … On the 2 July 2007, Sir Reg Empey, Minister for the Department for Employment and Learning launched a public consultation on proposals to help vulnerable agency workers and reduce bureaucracy for recruitment agencies. The Consultation will run until 24 September 2007. The proposals include provision of new guidance for migrant workers on the cost of living in the UK, and giving workers the right to withdraw from certain agency services. Also provided for is the removal of the obligation on employment agencies to provide large amounts of information. Other proposals include producing guidance for the entertainment sector to protect workers from unscrupulous individuals, drivers and permitted working hours.

The local Branch will over the next 6 weeks consider lodge comments to 2 recent Public Consultation opportunities provided by the NI Executive, which may be of interest to Members. Before outlining the subject matter members may find it useful to know how the process works and how our submission can benefit from the views of the wider CIPD family. Many of you will read in journals such as People Management or Personnel Today about new legislation which is proposed or has been enacted. In the main such legislation applies to England and Wales as the procedure differs for Northern Ireland. Generally what happens is that the Government in Whitehall issues public consultation opportunities as part of its role. The CIPD through its Public Policy Unit takes an interest and depending on the topic will engage with Branches or the general membership in different ways. Sometimes, several focus groups are organised in conjunction with the sponsoring government department. At other times CIPD seek views via the CIPD Website or specialist panels. From a CIPD perspective professional advisors at Wimbledon are able to make an informed response to the Consultation. Such consultation opportunities do not prevent individual members also making an individual response to the consultation opportunity. However here in NI, legislation is such that it is for the NI Executive (previously the direct rule Ministers) to issue proposed legislation out for consultation. It is usually the case that several months after a Public Consultation has been launched in England that NI launches its own consultation opportunity. As a CIPD Branch the process which we have adopted is to wait until the local consultation has been launched. Depending upon the interest in the topic, briefings can be organised for interested members and before a response is provided, contact is made with the professional advisor for the topic at CIPD headquarters. With the English consultation already out and in many cases over, it may be appropriate to use aspects of the CIPD national response as part of the NI response. On the other hand this may not be possible as was the case several years ago when we commented upon the Review of Public Administration. Two local consultations have been launched and are now open for public consultation and which may interest Branch Members.

The legislation is to be known as “The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008.” The proposed legislation and related guidance can be downloaded at http://www.delni.gov.uk/changes-torecruitment-industry-law-consultation The second public consultation opportunity relates to new Additional Paternity Leave and Pay scheme. This was launched on 11 July 2007 and follows two previous consultations on this new family friendly measure. The scheme will provide eligible fathers with a right to take up to 26 weeks off work to care for their new born baby before the child’s first birthday. This will be in addition to the current entitlement to 2 weeks paid paternity leave after the birth. In addition, provision will be made for additional statutory Paternity pay. When approved it is likely that the right to additional paternity leave and pay will come into effect in April 2009 or 2010. The consultation document seeks views on the most effective ways to administer additional paternity leave and pay and is part of a package of family friendly measures introduced in the Work and Families (Northern Ireland) Order 2006. The consultation has a closing date of 5 October 2007 and further details including an associated integrated impact assessment can be downloaded from the Department for Employment and Learning website. The CIPD Branch Committee will be discussing a formal NI Branch response to both these public consultation opportunities at our Committee Meetings. If you have any views which you wish to put forward please email Joan Cowan, the Branch Administrator at [email protected] Incidentally if any Member has any other suggestions or comments to make regarding Employment/ People Policy issues please do not hesitate to make contact especially if you consider that an event should be organised to explain in greater detail Policy matters. The CIPD in London is developing continually their engagement with Government and have created recently a public policy section on the main CIPD website. Why not take a look? It is to be hoped that sometime in the future this will fully recognise the particular position of Northern Ireland and the specific legislation which applies here.

.

– Peter Aiken, Branch Policy Advisor August 2007.

Did you hear the latest podcast on ‘Employment Law’? Log on to http://www.cipd.co.uk/podcasts

5

Irish News Awards … Endorsed by CIPD NI Northbrook Technology, Ulster Bank and Grafton Recruitment were among the highprofile businesses which scooped the gongs at the CIPD endorsed Irish News Workplace & Employment Awards on 21st June. A capacity audience packed into the Ramada Hotel for the gala black-tie dinner, at which Department for Employment and Learning minister Sir Reg Empey congratulated all the winners for their success in placing a firm emphasis on individuals and their positive contribution to the Northern Ireland workplace. The prestigious event, hosted by award-winning BBC journalist Karen Patterson, saw 12 main awards being presented along with one special category winner and 17 commendations. As well as the blue chip companies honoured, the Workplace & Employment Awards also recognised innovative firms which are seldom thrust into the spotlight, including LegalIsland and Octave Music Solutions. "The aims and objectives of these first indigenous workplace and recruitment awards in the Northern Ireland business calendar have all been met and exceeded," said Irish News editor Noel Doran. "The awards have strongly reinforced the message that people are our most important resource." The Minister told guests: "Whether you run a small, medium or large organisation, in the public, private or voluntary sector, people are at the heart of what we do." Sir Reg said that the aims of the first indigenous workplace and employment awards went arm in arm with the work currently being done through the Department's Skills Strategy, 'Success through Skills', as both place an emphasis on individuals and their positive contribution to the Workplace.

Anna Began of Tughans Solicitors, presenting the award to Legal Island

The awards were supported by KPMG, Tughans Solicitors, Liberty IT and Agnew Corporate and have been endorsed by key industry bodies the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD NI).

Cross Border Employment Award - Small Organisation Winner - FPM Accountants LLP Cross Border Employment Award - Large Organisation Winner - Ulster Bank Group Highly Commended - Belleek Pottery Limited, O'Neills Irish International Sports Company Ltd Best Creative Recruitment Advertisement - Recruitment Agency Winner - Diamond Recruitment Group Best Creative Recruitment Advertisement - Advertising Agency/ Direct Advertisers Winner - AV Browne Group Highly Commended - Halifax PLC, Ulster Bank Group Recruitment Consultant of the Year - Single branch Winner - Caroline McKelvey, Apple Recruitment Services Highly Commended Pauline McCann , Abacus Professional Recruitment Recruitment Consultant of the Year - Multiple branch Winner - Nicola Smith , Bond Search and Selection Ltd Highly Commended - Debbie McCorry, Grafton ESP, Cathie McNeill, Grafton ESP Recruitment Agency of the Year - Single Branch Winner - Abacus Professional Recruitment Highly Commended - PRG Recruitment Agency of the Year - Multiple Branch Winner - Grafton ESP Highly Commended Bond Search & Selection Ltd, Diamond Recruitment Group Special Recruitment Agency Award for Innovation Winner - Octave Music Solutions Work Life Balance Award - Small Organisation Winner - Greer Publications Highly Commended Relay Business Software Limited, DFPF Ltd Work Life Balance Award - Large Organisation Winner - Northbrook Technology of NI Highly Commended - Clanmill Housing Association Best Place to Work Award - Small Organisation Winner - Legal-Island Highly Commended - St. Mary's Primary School Best Place to Work Award- Large Organisation Winner - Northbrook Technology of NI Highly Commended - Ulster Bank Group, Almac Group

6

Ian Roddy of Agnew Corporate presenting the award to Octave Music Solutions.

Publish Your Article Here! The branch publishes this newsletter four times a year. Articles of interest to our readers are always welcomed. If you have any articles you would like to submit or discuss, please contact Gabriel Finnegan: [email protected]

Learning from the Best…

Let’s Learn from the Best ! I am delighted to unveil an extensive Programme of Events for the coming year. The Programme is comprehensive and has been developed in response to feedback from our Members Survey (conducted earlier this year). We hope that the wide variety of events will include something to tempt you along. If you have not attended a CIPD event before, please do join us – we really are a friendly bunch, and you never know what valuable contacts you will make whilst at the event! th

The Programme will be launched on Tuesday 18 September over breakfast in BIFHE, with guest speaker, Mike Fizser, talking about “A positive psychology approach to giving and receiving feedback”. Last year’s CIPD NI Conference was such a success that we have decided to make this an annual event. Taking place on 17th October, key speakers this year will include leaders in their field from across the UK. The conference also provides an opportunity to recognise some of the ‘up and coming’ HR and Training professionals of the future in our Student Awards, which will take place over lunch. You will receive a brochure with all the details over the summer and we very much hope to see you there. As a grand finale to 2007 we will hold a ‘Spotlight on Diversity’ conference on 5th December, which will provide current thinking on diversity issues. During each conference, you will also have the opportunity to upgrade your membership. If you bring along your CV, our membership advisors will be on hand to offer advice and answer any queries you may have. It will not be all Belfast based and we have established a regional subcommittee to better serve the needs of our members in the North West. We have put together a very impressive line-up for the year ahead (even if we do say so ourselves!) and hope that with the advance notice you can make a note of event dates for next year also. We hope you are having a good summer and look forward to welcoming you to our events during a busy and productive year for CIPD NI. Opportunities exist to sponsor a speaker and/or chair a meeting and also for exhibition stands at our conferences at a reasonable rate (which includes complimentary delegate places). If interested please contact Tennent Hunter at: [email protected] Wendy McCulla, Events Sub-Committee.

How to advertise here? Would you like to advertise your company to 2800 CIPD members? You can now advertise in Soundbytes at special rates. Only a small percentage of space will be given over to advertising in each edition, so you will be one of only a limited number of advertisers. The rates of colour adverts are highly competitive, and you can choose to cover a page, half page or a quarter page. If interested, contact Gabriel Finnegan on: Email: [email protected]

Did you Know? The CIPD NI Branch has 2820 members at present. The membership fluctuates from month to month, as new members join and others decide not (or simply forget) to renew their membership. At the last official count in August, our largest category of members was Chartered Members, closely followed by our Graduate and Associate members. Membership Breakdown: 9 Chartered Members :708 9 Graduate Members :509 9 Associates :525 9 Affiliates (Students) :400 9 Licentiates :365 9 Chartered Fellows :235 9 Affiliates (Non Students) :074 9 Companions CIPD :004

For membership support Contact Beth McMaw at [email protected] or Alastair Killen at [email protected]

Check out the CIPD website The Northern Ireland Branch section of the CIPD website is now bigger and better than ever. You can now access member event information, check out the latest Branch News, find out about CPD opportunities and read the past and the current newsletters online. The Branch is working to develop the site and increase the amount of information available online in the coming months. If you have a suggestion to improve the quality of our Branch Website, please contact Paul Benedict [email protected]

7

Branch Events 2007 - 2008 : Tues 18th September : 7.30am – 9.15am Continental Breakfast served until 7.55am : Belfast Metropolitan College (BMC) Gerard Moag Campus, Millfield, Belfast : Building Performance – A positive psychology approach to giving and receiving feedback - Launch of CIPD NI Programme for 07-08 Speaker: Mike Fiszer, Thematic Leader – Leadership and Coaching, PEARN KANDOLA Cost :FREE - Kindly sponsored by BMC Date Time Venue Title

What is Upgrade Clinic? To upgrade to Chartered Member (Chartered MCIPD) or Chartered Fellow (Chartered FCIPD) you’ll need to fill in the Upgrading Application Form and send it back to CIPD HQ with an up-to-date CV together with the upgrading fee. If you’re an Affiliate, Associate, or Licentiate member you cannot upgrade directly to chartered membership. To become a chartered member you’ll first need to meet the practitioner-level Standards in full. You can do this by choosing to study the Professional Development Scheme (PDS) or by having your experience assessed through Professional assessment of competence (PAC). The local membership advisors will be available during the Upgrade Clinics to provide you with Support and Guidance for the above. Bring your CV and have an informal chat with your personal membership advisor at the next Upgrade Clinic !

Date : Time : Venue : Title : Speaker : Cost : Date Time Venue Title

Cost

Mon 8th October 9.30am – 12.30pm The Junction, Derry Employment Law Update Judith Curran, Batchelors Solicitors, London FREE - Kindly sponsored by DMS

: Wed 17th October : 9.00am – 4.45pm Lunch and refreshments included : Holiday Inn22 Ormeau Avenue Belfast : CIPD NI Conference: HR Challenges-Learning from the Best (& Upgrade Clinic) A chance to listen and learn from leading edge speakers, as well as network with CIPD fellow-practitioners. Speakers: Industry Leaders : £100 (CIPD members), £125 (Non-members), £50 (Students & Tutors) (inc VAT) : : : : :

Mon 26th November

Date : Time : Venue : Title : Speaker : Cost :

Mon 26th November

Date Time Venue Title Cost

6.00pm for 6.30pm start. Light refreshments provided Belfast Metropolitan College (BMC) Gerard Moag Campus, Millfield, Belfast

A Manager’s first 100 days Speaker: Tony Bray. Author of CIPD’s Toolkit FREE - Kindly sponsored by BMC 6.30pm for 7.00pm Start North West Regional College (NWRC),Northland Road Campus, Derry Shape the Future - Growing the Next Generation of Leaders Michelle O’Doherty, Talent Development Manager – Eircom FREE - Kindly sponsored by NWRC

: Wed 5th December : 9.00am – 4.45pm Lunch and refreshments included : BMC Gerard Moag Campus Millfield, Belfast : Spotlight on Diversity Conference (& Upgrade Clinic) Speakers:Sally Milne ( ITV), Dianah Worman (CIPDStephen) Alford (Fujitsu NI), Evelyn Collins (Equality Commission) Cost : £100 (CIPD members) £125 (Non-members) £50 (Students & Tutors) (inc VAT)

Date Time Venue Title

2008 Tues 22nd January Tues 22nd January Thurs 14th February Wed 20th February Tues 26th February

-

Belfast Organisational Capability Development Radisson Roe Hotel, Limavady Retaining Talent through Organisational Change. Ross Park, Kells ‘Love Your People 2’ Conference (& Upgrade Clinic) Belfast Developing People of Different Ages Everglades Hotel, Londonderry Managing Diversity Conference

Visit www.cipd.co.uk/branch/nireland for the latest information on Branch Events

CIPD NI Belfast Business Centre, Cathedral House, 23-31, Waring Street, Belfast BT1 2DX Tel. 028 9043 6631 Registered Charity No: 1038333