British Gas: HRM Strategies, Employee Issues and Legal Compliance

This report provides an analysis of Human Resource Management (HRM) within British Gas, a part of Centrica Group, focusing on key management issues and the role of the HR function. It addresses challenges such as employee turnover, skill gaps, and international staff problems encountered during global expansion. The report explores how the HR department can implement strategies like compensation benefits, training programs, and cultural awareness initiatives to improve employee retention, enhance skills, and manage diversity effectively. Furthermore, it examines the impact of employment legislation on HR practices and proposes developmental activities, such as in-house training programs, to boost employee performance and organizational success. The analysis emphasizes the importance of adapting HRM strategies to the dynamic energy market and global environment to maintain competitiveness and ensure sustainable organizational performance.

Running head: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN BRITISH GAS
Human Resource Management in British Gas
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Task 1.........................................................................................................................................2
Task 2.........................................................................................................................................3
Task 3.........................................................................................................................................5
Task 4.........................................................................................................................................7
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................8
References................................................................................................................................10

2HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN BRITISH GAS
Introduction
Human Resource Management refers to strategic approach that helps in managing the
people effectively within an organization. It helps a business in gaining competitive
advantage. British Gas is a part of Centrica Group and it is an energy brand that is best
recognized in the country. The multinational company Centrica has business in various
countries (1). The report discusses about the management issues that are faced by the
company and how the functional HR department can help in effectively managing
organisation. It also talks about how British Gas can manage the international staff problems
in the event of going global. The report also talks about development activity that can help
British Gas in improving the performance of employees in an organisation. The report also
elaborates on the effect of employment legislation on the employees working in the
organization.
Task 1
The people management issue that is being faced by British Gas pertains to the
employees leaving the organization that is having negative influence on the performance of
the organization. British Gas needs staff of high calibre who can maintain the central heating
along with gas appliances. It would require highly skilled workers who can effectively help
the organisation in reaching its aim. The employee turnover has reduced the productivity of
the employees at British Gas and it has increased the workload of the other employees in the
organization. It has drained the talent in British Gas that has brought down the performance
of the employees in the organization. The highly skilled staff employees of British Gas are
leaving the organization and it has left behind the workers who cannot carry out the job
responsibilities of the organization. As per the case study it can be said that experience is an
important aspect in relation to technical work and the leaving of the employees who are

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experience will have a debilitating influence on the growth of the organization. Another
people management issue that is being faced in the organization pertains to the selection of
employees who do not have the skills and the expertise of carrying out the job functions in
the company. According to the case study, the employees at British Gas lack in relation to
soft skills along with technical skills that has a detrimental effect on the performance of
employees at British Gas. The dearth of these skills will have a negative effect on the
employees working in the organization.
The functional HR department of British Gas can make use of compensation along
with benefit that can help in the retention of the best employees on the organization. The
employees who perform well at British Gas should be provided with bonus along with
incentives that can help in the growth of an organization. The incentives should be provided
on monthly basis that can help in improving the overall performance of the employees
working in the organization. Additional bonus can be paid to the employees of British Gas in
the event of completion of project within that of stipulated timeframe (2). The employees in
an energy company needs soft skills, transferable skills and technical skills that can help them
in delivering effective performance within organization. On the basis of case study, it can be
said that there are people from different kinds of culture in British Gas and the training given
on soft skills can help in the aspect of effective communication along with dispute resolution
in the organization. The project planning skills should be engrained in the workers of British
Gas that can help them in providing solutions to the problems rising in the organization. The
transferable skills would be able to improve the overall performance of the employees
working in the organization. The employees of British Gas should be provided with training
that focuses on these three aspects that can help them in delivery of performance in the
organization (3). A training needs assessment should be implemented by the functional HR

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Department of British gas that can help in the establishment of strategic training plan for
British Gas.
Task 2
British Gas is facing international staff problems in the event of going global. The
functional HR Department of British Gas can implement HR planning process that can help it
in managing the problems. The international issue being faced by British Gas pertains to the
challenges owing to the event of globalization. The employees of British Gas are not able to
understand the foreign culture that is acting like a barrier and preventing it from penetrating
the new markets. The employees are not being to understand the international market along
with culture and this is acting like a barrier in in the path of progress of organization. The
intervention of government in the various economies of world has paved the way for
uncertainty within that of the global marketplace (4). The HR within British Gas can take
recourse to cultural awareness programs that can be useful in making the employees
recognize regarding the benefits of diversity. It can help the organisation in thinking about
better ideas that can help in bringing about innovation in British Gas. It can help the
organization in reaching out to a wider audience. The team building activities can also help in
integrating the employees of the various cultures towards that of a common business
objective. British Gas should foster culture pertaining to continuous learning that can that can
help the business in staying competitive within the global environment. Learning
Management System can be used by the HR of British Gas that can help them in training the
employees that can help them in successfully adjusting in the international domain. Online
training can be provided to the employees in the home country along with the employees who
are in the foreign locations which can help the employees in adjusting to the cultural milieu in
the foreign countries and enriching the skills of the employees of British Gas.

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The composition of the workforce is becoming more diverse in the present era and
this is giving rise to challenges for the company called British Gas. The diverse workforce
has given rise to problems like harassment along with discrimination in British Gas. The
company should implement strict rules along with guidelines that can help the company in
successfully managing the issues in the international arena. Globalisation has paved the path
for restructuring in the political along with economical systems in the world. It is important
the employees of British Gas should be made comfortable with the abstract concepts along
with uncertain situations that can help the company in surviving within the competitive
environment (5). The employees of British Gas should be capable of seeking out the
problems and they should be able to gather necessary information and also make the
decisions on the basis of the uncertain realities. The employees in British Gas should be
equipped with holistic understanding in relation to systems thinking which can help the
company in the event of survival. It can be helpful for the company in solving the global
issues that can arise in the present era. Technical Skills Development Training should be
provided to the employees of British Gas that is an energy brand that can be of great help in
the aspect of developing of the resources that can help the organisation in expanding in the
international countries. It can help them in solving the international issue that can arise in the
company owing to globalisation. Technical Skills training can be said to be fundamental in
relation to employee education and it can help the employees of British Gas who are in the
foreign countries in solving issues related to technical skills (6).
Task 3
A developmental activity can be implemented in British Gas that can improve the
performance of the employees. It can also prove to be useful in retaining the employees in the
organization that can overall increase the profits made by the organization. The functional
HR department of British Gas can take recourse to developmental activities that can augment

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performance of employees in organization. In-house training program can be taken recourse
to by the HR of British Gas that can equip the employees of the organization with requisite
amount of skills that can prove to be beneficial for the employees. The in-house training
program should focus on the aspect of data analytics that can help in the aspect of collecting
and understanding large amount of information that can pave the way for success of
organization (7). The energy market within UK can be said to be dynamic and in the event of
the company not being able to deliver on the basis of expectations of the customers, the
company would suffer in the long run. In-house training program can be useful in providing
the customers with the right kind of customer service that can lead to organizational success.
The in-house training program should focus on the aspect of creative solutions that can help
the employees in adjusting to the changes taking place in the world environment. The
traditional process may not be sufficient in the present age in solving the issues that can arise
in the energy company. The in-house training program implemented by HR Department of
British Gas should be able to build on the imagination of employees of British Gas that can
help the employees in relation to problem solving. The training programs would be able to
teach the employees about risk-taking that can help the employees in learning new skills that
can augment their professional growth. The non-traditional assessment model can be used at
the time of training which can help in providing the employees with the feasible solutions
that can work for benefit of employees in organization. It can be said that change will occur
in the modern world and the training programs will be able to teach the employees regarding
the mode of thinking that can help the organization in attaining success (8). The in-house
training program would also train the employees about safety that is crucial in the case of
energy companies. The training would teach the employees about personal protective
equipment along with material handling that is of great significance for the employees
working in British Gas. The training should teach the employees about trouble-shooting that

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can come to be of great use for the employees of organization (9). The training can teach the
employees about Solar Home along with Street Lighting that can come to be of use for the
employees in an organization.
The functional skills should be taught to the employees that can help in teaching
practical skills to the employees of British Gas. It can allow the individuals in the
organization in completion of the energy efficient assessment that can prove to be useful for
employees of the organization. The in-house training program can teach the employees about
project planning along with understanding of the aspect of energy use. It can help the
employees in the identification of potential opportunities that can help the employees in
thinking in thinking in a strategic manner(10). It would be able to help the employees in
assessing the business case for the implementation of opportunities related to energy
efficiency. The training program would focus on monitoring along with investigation that can
help the company in developing analysis systems.
Task 4
The employment legislations states that proper attention should be laid on the aspect
of wellness of the employees so that they can work without any kind of interruption. The
employment legislations helps in governing the relation between the employee and the
employer within the ambit of an organisation. The Employment and Labour Law 2018 in UK
states that the national minimum wage that should be given to the employees is 7.50 pound in
an hour and the maximum working week is around 48 hours that applies to most of the
employees in the various organizations of UK (11). Reward along with compensation are
crucial factors that helps in attracting and engaging the employees in an organization. There
are various options that are available for the organisations in rewarding the staff. It helps in
recognising the contribution of the employees and the effective reward packages are aligned
with the needs of the staff in an organization. There are many states in UK that have enacted

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the compensation statutes of the workers that requires the private employers in UK to carry
out the compensation insurance of the workers. The employees in British Gas are provided
with compensation benefits that pertains to medical expenses, disability benefits and death
benefits on the basis of Employment and Labour Law 2018.
Health and Safety at Work is the main legislation that is instrumental in covering
health and the safety of the employees in UK. The British health and the safety law is based
on Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The Act helps in stating general duties that the
employers have in relation to employees in an organization. The Management of Health and
Safety at Work Regulations 1999 helps in making explicit what the employers should do in
managing the health along with safety of workers under that of Health and Safety at Work
Act.
The HSW Act in UK places a great amount of responsibility on the people who are
instrumental in creating risk. This is applicable in the event of risk maker being an employer
or supplier of the articles. The risk maker has many duties that should be implemented for
managing risk. The health along with the safety representations plays an important role in
raising the standard of health in the organisations of UK. British Gas is an energy brand and
accidents can at any tome occur in this organisation. It is of great importance that the
organisation takes into account the labour laws prevailing in UK that can help the employees
in working safety in the organisation (12). British Gas maintains the safety standard in the
organisation that helps the employees in delivering effective performance in the organization.
The organization is equipped with Safety & Health Department who works closely with the
employees and ensures that the lives of the workers are not jeopardized in the organization.
Safety meetings are held in the British Gas that makes the employees aware regarding the
various safety precautions that have been implemented in the organization. The workers in
British Gas being knowledge able about the safety practices in the organization can make full

9HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN BRITISH GAS
use of them that can help them in prevention of any kind of accident in the organization (13).
The meetings are held in the organization from time to time that helps the employees in being
aware regarding the safety laws in UK and how the employees can revolt in the case of
violation of any of the laws. The policies along with procedures in British Gas are compliant
with the regulatory requirements that helps in taking care of the employees in organization
(14).
Conclusion
Human Resource Management is indicative of strategic approach that can be useful in
regard to managing of people in the organization. The human resource management can help
an organization in attaining competitive advantage that can help an organization in rising
above competitors. British Gas forms part of that of Centrica Group that is greatly popular in
UK. The company needs staff who have high calibre who helps in maintaining the central
heating appliances. The company needs workers who are highly skilled who can help the
organization in reaching its mission. Employee turnover has been instrumental in reducing
productivity of employees that increases workload of the other employees in organization. It
can be recommended that in-house training program should be provided to the employees of
British Gas that can provide the employees with skills that can benefit employees. The
program focussing on data analytics can help in collection of information that can create the
way for organizational success. Employment Legislations highlight the fact that the
employees in an organisation should be provided with the right kind of atmosphere that can
help in building the proper relationship between the employee and the employer in British
Gas.

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