Union blasts ‘outrageous’ county council cost-cutting plan
Proposals by Dorset County Council to make thousands of workers take 12 days’ unpaid leave per year as part of plans to save £55 million by 2013/14 have been branded “outrageous” by the union. The unpaid leave, which would be implemented among the local authority’s 6,500 staff in calendar years 2012 and 2013 on top […]
What are you doing to prepare for the agency workers regulations?
This year will see the introduction of the new Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) on 1 October 2011. This new piece of legislation is set to have a significant impact on business and performance. But what are HR professionals doing to prepare themselves and their organisations for this change? This new law means that temporary agency […]
Job Centre Plus call centre on strike
Thousands of call centre workers at Jobcentre Plus are starting a 48-hour strike today in a dispute over “oppressive” working conditions and claims of “excessive monitoring”. Some 3,500 members of the Public and Commercial Services union at seven of the newest Jobcentre Plus call centres in Newport, Glasgow, Bristol, Norwich, Sheffield, Makerfield near Wigan and […]
Youth unemployment hits new high – and set to worsen
As official figures revealed that the number of people out of work had risen to 2.5 million, experts warned that youth and female unemployment was only set to worsen over the months ahead. According to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics, unemployment rose by 49,000 in the three months to November, putting […]
Avoiding Blue Monday
In 1979 Bob Geldof complained that "I don’t like Mondays". So many people agreed with him that he went to the top of the charts. The fourth monday in January is “Blue Monday" and as such should be disliked above all other days because it has been declared the most depressing day of the year […]
Invest in customer service skills, urges survey
As the consumer spending market becomes increasingly fragile, organisations must invest in developing staff customer service skills in order to avoid losing business and suffering the effects of a tarnished reputation. According to a survey among 2,082 UK adults undertaken by YouGov on behalf of training provider Kaplan, some 47% indicated that they had boycotted […]
Addressing skills gaps in project management
Most projects still fail to meet expectations. Eddie Kilkelly examines the extent to which this failure may be due to a lack of individual competence and identifies potential strategies for bridging skills gaps. Even the best planned and resourced projects can be knocked off track by constant technological change, new market entrants, and fluctuations in […]
Legal lowdown: Age discrimination at the BBC
Miriam O'Reilly’s successful age discrimination case against the BBC last week sets a benchmark for age discrimination cases going forward, says employment lawyer Emma Bartlett. The BBC’s public apology and acceptance of the Employment Tribunal’s decision and desire to take Ms O’Reilly back is somewhat exceptional. Taking her back could mitigate the BBC’s potential liability […]
IT and comms falling behind – Unite calls for better training
Unite is calling on employers in the IT and communications sector to improve their training and appraisal practices after research revealed widespread dissatisfaction among staff. A survey of just under 400 personnel working for firms ranging from Accenture and Apple to Capita and Hewlett-Packard undertaken by the union revealed that 62% were not receiving the […]
Unions criticise NHS revamp plans
The coalition government is to publish its “high risk” NHS Bill to revamp the health service later today amid warnings that Primary Care Trusts are already starting to implode as staff leave “in droves”. The Health and Social Care Bill, which will be laid before Parliament this afternoon, paves the way for GPs to seize […]
Work Programme targets are “over-ambitious”
The Association of Learning Providers has called on the government to rethink the way it structures its Work Programme-related contracts, warning that the current system could put small firms out of business. The move comes only a week after a Select Committee inquiry heard evidence that the targets set for providers to help […]
Parental leave shake-up “ignores needs of business”
Coalition government proposals to overhaul the current parental leave system have been slammed by employers’ groups as an example of "rushed thinking" that "fundamentally ignores" the needs of business. Speaking yesterday at the launch of a report on parenting by thinktank Demos, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg confirmed that measures formulated by the […]
Book review: ‘Strategic employee surveys’ – Dr Jack W Wiley
Member Jeremy Thorn reviews Jack Wiley’s book, ‘Strategic employee surveys’ for HRzone.co.uk. Find out what he has to say about the title. Title: ‘Strategic employee surveys – evidence-based guidelines for driving organizational success’, by Dr Jack W Wiley. ISBN 978-0-470-88970-1 – Jossey Bass £26.99 Review by Jeremy Thorn I am a sucker for being impressed […]
Engagement – what’s Sir Isaac Newton got to do with it?
As the effects of the Comprehensive Spending Review now filter into the real economy, and with most organisations facing the challenge of doing the same amount of work with less resource, there has probably never been a more important time to engage the workforce. There is plenty of research that makes the connection between engagement […]
Ask the expert: Question regarding redundancy
The experts, Adam Partington and Esther Smith advise on what a vauge redundancy conversation means for an employee. The question: Question regarding redundancy I was in a meeting with my manager last week to discuss topic a. During the meeting my manager raised the issue of redundancy and suggested a possible leave date of […]
Video: How will the default retirement age abolition affect you?
With the news that the coalition intends to go ahead with the abolition of the DRA, it's imperative to know how it will affect your business. Employment lawyer at Pinsent Masons, Sarah Banatvala, explains what approach businesses should take once the law is removed.
Companies could ‘report rivals’ to fraud office
The head of the Serious Fraud Office will invite companies to report rivals that they suspect of corrupt practices later this week following a row over controversial coalition government efforts to water down the Bribery Act. According to the Daily Telegraph, Richard Alderman, head of the SFO, which is to be given sweeping powers to […]
Legal challenge to civil service redundancy scheme changes
The Public and Commercial Services union is to mount a legal challenge over changes to the civil service redundancy compensation scheme this week after its members voted overwhelmingly to reject them. The union will take the matter to the High Court and has already called on the coalition government to reopen negotiations in a bid […]
Healthcare unions hit out at two year pay freeze proposals
Health service unions have rejected “divisive” proposals to introduce a two-year freeze on increments for all staff in England from April in return for an “extremely limited” guarantee of no compulsory redundancies. The British Medical Association joined The Royal College of Nursing and Unison in throwing out suggestions made by the NHS Employers body that […]
Pension age change will ‘hit women and disadvantaged hardest’
Coalition government plans to save £38 billion by bringing forward the age at which workers can claim a state pension will hit women and the most disadvantaged in society hardest, a charity has warned. A new Pensions Bill, which was introduced into Parliament yesterday, will see the State Pension Age for women rise from 60 […]
