The process of recruitment can also be expensive because the company will have to pay to advertise for the job and for the length of the job description describing the job role.
The HR departments help the store to achieve its aims in staff availability and as well as helping the store to meet customer demands. The HR Department also offer each member of staff the opportunity to increase their staff flexibility within the business by way of training, in attempt to minimize the level of staff turnover. Tesco also try to keep staff within the company by way of reward/incentive. Three examples of incentives could be:
- Staff discount after a years service to the company
- Increase of pay after 6 months on the job
- Paid holiday after 6 months
Tesco also have a reward system, the stores rewards a member of staff with vouchers i.e. 10 gift vouchers, when they recognize an employee has performed excellent customer service towards a customer.
The job titles of the staff in the HR Department are shown on the diagram attached.
A job description contains basic information about the job itself and/or the role of the job holder. It is usually prepared when a vacancy is created; a copy may be sent to all applicants. This may include:
- The job title or a summary of the job role
- The purpose of the job
- The main duties of the job holder
- The place or department where the employee will work
- The physical conditions
- The social conditions
- Any special features of the job
- Any special skills or qualifications required
- The person to whom the job holder reports
- Anyone for whom the job holder is responsible for managing
- The appraisal arrangements
Most job descriptions will not include all this information; some will be very brief depending on the job title. Job descriptions are used to benefit both the employer and employee. Employers will benefit because writing documents means greater thought will be given to the best type of person for the job and the job description will help to decide a fair salary for the job, in relation to pay rates to other employees. Employees will benefit because although they will be expected to be ‘flexible’ about what they do (no one is likely to last long if they will only do the duties listed on the job description), an employee can identify if a task would be ‘unreasonable’ to be asked to perform.
A person specification identifies the skills and abilities required of the job holder and are usually divided into essential requirements and desirable ones. Usually only applicants who have all the essential requirements are invited for an interview even though both should be included in the advertisement. Person specifications tend to cover:-
- Experience
- Qualifications
- Personal attributes
Person specifications are also used to benefit both employers and employees. Employers benefit because the advertisement is likely to identify essential and desirable qualities more clearly and training needs for the newly appointed person can be more easily identified. Employees will benefit because the applicant can see exactly what the job entails so there is less chance of unsuitable applicants applying.
Tesco advertise online, because as customers maybe searching for an item or shopping online they will see the advertisement.
After applicants have applied, a team of managers and team leaders will select the best candidate for the job.
Rights and responsibilities do not just happen, the have evolved to find a fair balance between what employers and employees can both reasonably expect. Therefore the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees are laid down. These are the four main Acts to be abided by:-
- The Employment Rights Act 1996
- The Sex Discrimination Act 1975
- The Race Relations Act 1976
- The Disability Discrimination Act 1995
These four main Acts are linked to the equal opportunities policy; they support the basic principle that all potential and actual employees should be treated equally in all matters relating to their employment.
All employees with one month’s service are entitled to a written statement about the terms and conditions of their employment no later then two months after their employment starts, under the terms of the Employments Rights Act 1996. Both employer and employee benefit in several ways if a contract of employment is issued. The employer is complying with the requirements of employment legalization and the employee knows he or she is working for a reputable organization which observes legal requirements. The contract gives full details of the employment- so there is less likely to be any misunderstandings however if a dispute arises, the contract will help to define what can be reasonably expected of each party. The relationship between the employer and employee is defined in law, so both have legal protection if anything goes wrong.
There are several reasons why an employee may be dismissed; even though this rarely happens.
- Because he or she has breached the terms of their contract of employment, committed an offence which is not permitted by the organization.
- Because he or she is redundant. In this case, there is no longer any work for that person to do.
- Through involvement in unlawful activities.
- For some other substantial reason i.e. continually refusing to comply with reasonable requests.
Any employee who breaches their contract is dealt with through the organizations disciplinary procedures. There are three stages to a disciplinary procedure.
- A verbal warning for a minor offence
- A written (or final) warning for a serious offence or repeated minor offence.
- Suspension, demotion, transfer or dismissal for a very serious offence.
If a serious offence is committed the employee’s contract will be terminated without notice. This is called summary dismissal or instant dismissal, an offence which could prompt this could be gross breach of organizational rules.
Organization chart showing the job titles of the staff in the Human Resources Department