HR departments ‘avoiding redundancies’

Redundancies are successfully being avoided in many UK human resources (HR) departments as the recession rumbles on, it has been revealed.

Indeed, the Financial Times reports many HR teams – up to a quarter – have actually taken on new recruits.

According to the research by Incomes Data Services, 23 per cent of HR departments have increased their workforce, while 42 per cent have maintained their numbers.

Meanwhile, only 35 per cent have been forced to reduce their number of staff.

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The report’s author Graham Brown said: “Some HR departments may even argue that a recession actually creates more work for them. They may have to run complicated headcount reduction programmes or find cost savings through the introduction of new incentive packages.”

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development recently revealed that, despite more Britons now being subject to a pay freeze, employee satisfaction in the UK has increased in recent months.

Indeed, while in 2008 the number of people reporting to be satisfied with their salary stood at 31 per cent, this has now risen to 62 per cent.