Blog: Ten top tips for taking control of your career
Take control of your career by clarifying what matters to you, developing a clear vision of future success, and focusing on concrete short-term steps. Recognizing your progress and aligning your aspirations with organizational goals helps you advance without necessarily leaving your current organization.
Blog: Why I rate The Apprentice US more highly than its UK counterpart
The UK’s Apprentice relies heavily on Lord Sugar’s positional power through interruptions and insults, while the US version featuring Donald Trump uses personal power through confidence and charisma, making it more constructive and effective leadership.
Ask the Expert: How legal are contract clauses to work overtime for no pay?
Contract clauses requiring unpaid overtime are generally legal in the UK, provided employees aren’t paid below the National Minimum Wage when averaged across all hours worked. However, such clauses are limited by the Working Time Regulations’ 48-hour average week requirement and may be unenforceable if employers act in bad faith or unreasonably burden employees.
How to overcome six employee engagement challenges
Learn how to address six key employee engagement challenges, from clarifying accountability to tailoring communication across different workforce segments and measuring real business impact.
Health and safety investigations panel branded of “limited use”
The Health and Safety Executive’s new Myth Busters Challenge Panel aims to challenge excessive health and safety decisions by employers and consultants, but legal experts question its effectiveness. A partner at law firm Eversheds argues the panel will have limited impact and cannot overturn decisions, potentially reluctant to hold powerful bodies accountable.
Breakthrough reached in Unilever pension dispute
Unite and Usdaw unions have accepted Unilever’s improved pension offer after a lengthy dispute, securing guarantees against further changes until 2018. The GMB continues balloting its members while Unilever moves to close its final salary pension scheme for cost reasons.
Blog: Are annual performance reviews strictly necessary?
Some organizations successfully eliminate annual performance reviews by relying on frequent, real-time feedback instead. This approach can handle compensation, legal compliance, and talent identification without formal review scores.
Blog: LivePerson – A culture-based approach to recruitment
LivePerson’s “CTO with Heart” recruitment campaign prioritizes company culture over traditional hiring methods, featuring CEO and employee testimonials before discussing the role itself. This culture-first approach aims to attract candidates who genuinely align with the organization’s values and mission.
TV Review: The Apprentice Week 4 – Quality over quantity
In Week 4 of The Apprentice, the two remaining teams compete in a second-hand goods challenge, sourcing stock with £1,000 and reselling for profit. One team pursues a quality-over-quantity strategy buying few expensive items, while the other buys bulk cheap goods to upcycle, leading to dramatically different results.
Legal Insight: Compromise agreements
A compromise agreement is a legal settlement between employers and employees that ends employment and resolves potential tribunal claims. These agreements typically involve financial compensation, confidentiality clauses, and warranties, with employers usually covering the employee’s legal advice costs of £250-£500 plus VAT.
Tower Hamlets demands Apprenticeship Institute as part of outsourcing deal
Tower Hamlets Council has outsourced its ICT operations to Agilisys for £70 million over seven years, with a requirement that the vendor establish an Apprenticeships Institute in the borough. The deal aims to deliver £29 million in ICT savings while creating hundreds of training opportunities for local residents, backed by a no compulsory redundancy guarantee.
Training is ‘key to boosting staff morale’ – study
A study of UK HR decision-makers reveals that staff training is essential for boosting employee morale and enhancing business capabilities. The research highlights growing demand for leadership and management skills training, with blended learning combining classroom instruction and digital tools expected to become increasingly popular.
Prior work placements boost apprenticeship success rates
Young people with previous work experience are significantly more likely to complete apprenticeships successfully, according to an Ofsted study of UK’s best apprenticeship schemes. Vocational taster courses and prior employment help apprentices progress better, though placement capacity and qualification barriers remain challenges.
Blog: The power of trust
Trust is the foundation of every relationship and achievement, yet it’s hard-won and easily lost. Without trust, organizations and societies experience conflict and stagnation, while trust enables cooperation, innovation, and peace. Trust develops through consistent truthful behavior and honest leadership.
Employers shun temps in wake of Agency Worker Regs
Six months after the Agency Worker Regulations took effect in October 2011, employers are shifting hiring practices by converting temps to permanent roles, using excluded worker categories, or adopting Swedish Derogation contracts to avoid compliance costs.
Blog: Attendance bonus schemes – money wasted or money well spent?
Employee absenteeism costs UK businesses £32 billion annually, prompting many companies to implement attendance bonus schemes. These incentive programs reward reliable employees while discouraging unscheduled absences, though effectiveness depends on proper management and clear performance expectations.
Talent Spot: Leisa Docherty, people services director at Sage UK
Leisa Docherty, people services director at Sage UK, champions career development and innovation to help staff move “from good to great.” She believes HR professionals must have strong commercial ties with their business and actively contribute to product and service decisions, not just observe operations.
Government explores new “defined ambition” pension schemes
The UK government is exploring new “defined ambition” pension schemes designed to share risks between employers and workers, offering an alternative to expensive final salary pensions. The proposed framework would provide employees with retirement certainty while reducing costs and burdens for employers who have increasingly switched to defined contribution schemes.
NHS Academy set up to train next generation of leaders
The NHS Leadership Academy has been established to train leaders across the NHS, public health, and social care to improve patient outcomes. The national centre will develop doctors, nurses, health professionals, and managers to create engaged teams that positively impact patient care and health results.
Chancellor ‘shocked’ by millionaires’ tax avoidance schemes
Chancellor George Osborne has expressed shock at discovering that some of the UK’s wealthiest individuals legally pay virtually no income tax through avoidance schemes. HMRC’s confidential study found top earners exploiting loopholes like business losses and charitable donations to reduce their effective tax rate to around 10%, prompting the chancellor to propose a minimum “tycoon tax” rate.
