Public sector jobs cull to lead to “tectonic shift” in UK labour market
More than one in seven public sector jobs will be lost as a result of coalition government budget cuts, leading to "a tectonic shift" in the nature of the UK labour market, according to the CIPD. The organisation cited the Office for Budget Responsibility‘s latest employment projections, which indicate that the public sector workforce is […]
Blog: How to grow your brain in 30 days
A lot can happen in thirty days. Buildings can be constructed, Governments can fall, love can blossom and without doubt new habits can be formed. My previous two blogs on this subject (here and here) have outlined fascinating evidence that scientists have uncovered over the last 10 years – yes our brains continue to grow […]
Legal Insight: Staff health and wellbeing – Your duty of care
Employees who have problems — whether work-related or personal — are, for obvious reasons, unlikely to perform as well as they would if the problem did not exist. But the impact on their work can take numerous forms ranging from reduced concentration and effort to sickness absence. If endemic, the situation may even lead […]
Employers can sack older workers to cut costs, rules Appeal Court
Legal opinion is mixed as to whether a landmark court case will open the floodgates for employers to dismiss staff based on their age in order to escape large pension pay-outs – without being subject to discrimination claims. The Court of Appeal ruled yesterday that Cumbria Primary Care Trust was within its rights to make […]
Best Practice: Five pointers to ensure flexible working works
A flexible working project at Wakefield Council has slashed costs and significantly boosted staff productivity since the first phase was introduced two years ago. The Council’s ‘Worksmart’ transformation programme is based on a property rationalisation initiative, introducing citizen-focused service guidelines and enabling all 2,500 employees to work more flexibly. Rationalising office space has saved […]
Blog: Five tips on how best to recruit Generation Y
By 2020, the Millennial generation will account for 50 per cent of the working population and will represent the majority of the workforce. As Millennials consume information in different ways than their Gen X and Boomer counterparts, it’s no longer enough for companies to connect to potential employees via traditional communications channels such as newspapers […]
Multi-national employers standardise HR policies to ‘create united culture’
Multi-national employers are increasingly synchronising their international HR policies to create a single company look-and-feel, according to the organisation behind the annual ‘Britain’s Top Employers’ study. A report in the Daily Telegraph cited the CRF Institute’s chief operating officer, Steven Veenendaal, as saying that, the reason behind the move was that “harmonisation is seen as […]
Blog: What is constructive dismissal?
I receive a lot of enquiries from disgruntled employees looking to take their employers to an employment tribunal for constructive dismissal. Constructive dismissal is very hard to prove. Employees must show that there was a fundamental breach of contract by the employer that leads to a breakdown in trust and confidence. They must then […]
Ask the Expert: When does continuity of service start for a casual worker turned perm?
The question We have workers employed on zero hours/casual contracts, which means that there is no obligation either to offer or accept work on either side. But one of these workers is moving to a take on a permanent role with us. Do we give them continuity of service from their casual start date […]
Rooting out the “cancer” of employee cynicism
We are living through one of the most, if not the most, challenging, uncertain economic times of our lives. The US economy has been on rocky ground for a number of years and the Euro is under threat as major countries in Europe face potential insolvency. Even the Far East is facing numerous economic […]
Bus driver appeals sacking – for eating a grape
A bus driver has lodged an appeal against being sacked apparently for eating a grape while on duty. Michael Shephard, a 66-year-old granddad from Coventry, claims that he was dismissed by National Express after he was caught on CCTV popping the offending fruit into his mouth two weeks ago. Although he was sitting in […]
Public sector jobs cull will jump to 730,000 by 2017, forecasts OBR
A huge 20,000 more public sector workers than expected will lose their jobs over the next four years, taking the total cull to 730,000, the government’s independent forecasters revealed yesterday. In November, the Office for Budget Responsibility had forecast that the number of public servants being axed would be 310,000 higher than the 400,000 predicted […]
Blog: Lessons on dealing with the unions during times of change
Welcome to this weeks Guest Blogger – Paul Myers is the HR Manager for a local transport company. He has initiated significant change in his organisation and has managed to keep his staff on board. He is a people centric manager who has considered how to increase and harness employee engagement at every opportunity. […]
Video Interview: Aia worldwide’s Steven Ehrlich on driving engagement via social media
Mike Taylor, director of www.web-based-recruitment.com, talks to Steven Ehrlich, global vice president of client development for digital brand agency, aia worldwide, about how to drive engagement through social media. He also talks about the common mistakes that organisations make when going down the social media route and gives his take on what he believes the […]
TV Review: The Apprentice Week 1 – Honesty is the best policy
Blimey time flies. The rutting season for wannabe entrepreneurs is upon us and once again. The Apprentice has dished up a smorgasbord of egos, preposterous suits and girls who all weirdly look alike. Anyone who read my posts last time will know I do not admire Lord Sugar’ management style. He is a leadership […]
Employee wellness programmes: Proving their worth and paying their way
It’s a known fact that happy and engaged employees are more likely to be productive and loyal. Valuable assets to their employer, they can also help to generate a positive environment for their colleagues, time and resource savings for the HR team and positive financial savings for their employer. Several strategies exist to try […]
Budget 2012: Fears over lack of prep time for Olympics Sunday working plans
With the Olympic and Paralympic Games only just over three months away, plans to suspend Sunday trading laws over the eight weekends of the events have sparked concern over the lack of time that employers have to prepare. In his Budget today, Chancellor George Osborne proposed emergency legislation to enable large shops in England and […]
Budget 2012: Local pay deals ‘could expose public sector to discrimination claims’
The public sector will need to tread carefully when negotiating local pay deals or risk opening itself up to discrimination claims, a law firm has warned. As expected, the Chancellor announced in his Budget speech today that he was looking to see whether he could “make public sector pay more responsive to local pay rates”. […]
Budget 2012: Income tax changes branded ‘Robin Hood lite’ at best
Although the Chancellor may have redrawn taxation boundaries, his Budget has done nothing to improve the outlook for growth and jobs, according to an influential HR body. Dubbed by the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, as a ‘Robin Hood Budget”, John Philpott, chief economic adviser at Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development was sceptical, however. […]
Budget 2012: Pensioners are today’s “biggest losers”, claims industry body
Pensioners are the “biggest losers” in today’s Budget, an industry body has claimed. Although the National Association of Pension Funds welcomed the Chancellor’s proposals to introduce a single tier state benefit for future pensioners to replace the Basic and second State Pension, it warned that existing claimants stand to lose more than £2 billion in […]
