With the Christmas card season in full swing, postmen are under too much pressure to complete delivery routes, according to the Communication Workers Union (CWU).

Outplacement services help boost a companys reputation for existing members of staff according to a survey by coaching and outplacement provider Mason Finch.

First Group has invested 250,000 in HR software for 6,000 employees across 260 UK sites of First Great Western and First TransPennine Express.

BT has extended its web-based pay review software to manage its equal pay review.

Cubic Transportation Systems has implemented an online appraisal system.

Coventry University has updated its HR and payroll operations.

Wincanton has reduced absence by 10,000 days in the past nine months, thanks to piloting a new management system, and now plans to roll it out across the company.

Sovereign Housing plans to implement a fully-integrated HR and payroll solution for its 600 employees by September 2009.

QVC has outsourced its payroll function.

Absence is more likely to be decreased through morale and engagement programmes than through absence management systems.

In theory, it should be possible to put a figure on an employee's value to the bottom line but attempts to establish generic measures have failed. Lauren Mills reports on current thinking.

GAC Logistics UK has launched an electronic payroll system to reduce its environmental impact and improve business efficiency.