Chancellor’s windfall tax will cause tens of thousands to lose their jobs

Tens of thousands of oil workers will lose their jobs over the next few years as a result of the Chancellor’s £2bn windfall tax on North Sea producers, the industry has warned. The surprise levy, which was announced by George Osborne in Wednesday’s Budget, was designed to fund a fuel duty cut of one pence for […]

UK business not ready for a crisis

Although awareness of the need for crisis planning is high following a series of extreme weather conditions, the flu epidemic and transport disruptions, only just over half of UK organisations have any contingency plans in place.  These are the findings of a report entitled ‘Managing Threats in a Dangerous World’ published by the Chartered Management […]

Lecturers strike over pay and pensions

Tens of thousands of lecturers will today take part in their first nationwide strike for five years as part of a worsening row over changes to pay and pensions.  Members of the University and College Union will walk out of 500 further education colleges, older universities and former polytechnics across the country and mount picket […]

Budget 2011: Cars and fleets update

The Budget 2011 announced further changes which will affect businesses and their employees who use a car for business. There are changes for both employees provided with a company car, and for those using their own car for business journeys. Clearly, changes to fuel duty will affect all motorists so those are not dealt with […]

Want wellbeing? Time to be flexible

According to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), companies looking to make sure staff aren’t under too much pressure, should consider implementing flexible working policies, such as remote working. In fact, it claims that employees who work for organisations that offer flexible working practices are the happiest of all.  The Office of National Statistics reveals […]

Book review: Brilliant Business Writing by Neil Taylor

Title: Brilliant Business Writing (2nd Edition)Author: Neil Taylor ISBN: 9780273744580 Brilliant Business Writing (2nd Edition, Neil Taylor, Pearson Books, 2011) is absolutely jam-packed with straightforward, realistic and unpretentious advice. It is an easy read that is well structured and written in an un-patronising and uncomplicated tone. Don’t be put off by expecting a 150 page […]

Ignore the Bribery Act at your peril, says law firm

Law firm, Prettys, warns companies not to ignore Bribery Act as strict new rules spread to the wider business community. Although implementation of The Act has been delayed, it looks likely to come into force later this year and could extend to normal business conduct that many companies do not realise will be affected. Penalties […]

Budget 2011: Enterprise zones announced

As the deabte rages as to whether they will make any difference, the chancellor has revealed the locations of the first of 21 new enterprise zones to be set up. Delivering his 2011 Budget announcement Osborne said zones will be set up in Birmingham and Solihull, Bristol, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, Leeds, Liverpool, Greater Manchester, Sheffield, the […]

Budget 2011: Pensions reaction

The introduction of a flat pension has been welcomed by the industry. NAPF Chief Executive Joanne Segars said:"This is a turning point for pensions in the UK. Over half a million new pensioners a year will get a simpler and more generous state pension, and reliance on means-tested benefits will be slashed. “For too long […]

Budget 2011: George Osborne minds the skills gap

The 2011 budget, delivered by George Osborne on 23 March 2011, highlighted something familiar to all those who work in human resources, training and recruitment – a lack of skills is hampering our financial recovery, not helped by a lack of suitable jobs and an education system many believe is lacking to teach the workers […]

EHRC to focus on promoting and enforcing equality at work

The coalition government has launched a consultation on plans to restrict the equality regulator’s remit to core activities, which include promoting awareness of and enforcing anti-discrimination legislation in the workplace.  The Equality and Human Rights Commission was set up in October 2007 when it took over the work of the Equal Opportunities Commission, the Commission […]

SMEs claim coalition bad for business

Just under half of small-to-medium employers believe that the coalition government’s policies to date have had a negative impact on their business, while just less than a third feel that today’s Budget will make things worse.  A survey undertaken by pollster YouGov among 523 senior SME decision-makers revealed that 48% were unhappy with the impact […]

IBM settles out of court for bribery campaign

IBM has agreed to pay $10 million to US regulators in order to settle accusations of a decade-long campaign of bribery in China and South Korea out-of-court.  The Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that the world’s largest computer company had given cash and gifts, which included travel and entertainment, to Chinese and South Korean officials […]

Health and safety cuts will put employees at risk

Cuts of a third to the number of automatic health and safety inspections from April will put employees at risk and inevitably lead to more workplace injuries and deaths, lawyers have warned.  The Work and Pensions Minister Chris Grayling announced yesterday that automatic inspections would now take place only at high risk installations such as […]

Wellbeing at work: Ease employees’ money worries

Financial issues affect all types of employees yet it’s a subject that’s often ignored in the workplace. However when this type of issue gets out of hand it can have serious repercussions for employee performance and productivity, not to mention attendance and engagement. Eugene Farrell, Immediate Past Chair UK Employee Assistance Professionals Association (www.eapa.org.uk), looks […]

Ask the expert: Accusations – how do we handle bad mouthing of the company?

This time the experts, Esther Smith and Martin Brewer give their advice on what to do about an employee bad mouthing the company at social events in front of clients. The question: Accusations – how do we handle bad mouthing of the company? I’m investigating an accusation by one of our senior staff against a […]

Budget Britain: Save money, banish employee rights…

Balancing the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees is a trite phrase in the HR world. Recent political change coupled with the challenging economic backdrop has shifted this balance, generally, in the favour of employers. Whether the latest government proposals go too far in their fight against the “enemies of enterprise”, depends on your […]

Flexible working is for senior staff only, say some

Although 83% of UK employers now offer flexible working options, just under two out of five limit the benefit to senior personnel only.  This is despite the fact that 55% find that flexible working costs them less than more traditional office-based activity, boosts staff productivity (40%) and enhances staff motivation levels (36%) The survey undertaken among […]

One in four have no respect for manager

Just over a quarter of UK workers have no respect for their managers, while just under half fail to find them motivational, with staff in the North East of England being most disillusioned.  These are the findings of a survey undertaken among 2,031 adults by pollster ICM on behalf of the People 1st Training Company, […]

Crowdsourcing will decide which regulations go

The coalition government is introducing a crowdsourcing initiative to enable employers to pick which of the current 21,000 business regulations should stay or go, starting with the retail sector.  The initiative will be announced by Business Secretary Vince Cable later today in a speech at the Federation of Small Business conference in Liverpool along with […]