Businesses to be fined when losing employment tribunal
The UK government has proposed fining employers up to £5,000 if they lose an employment tribunal case, with penalties ranging from £100 to £5,000. Business groups strongly oppose the plans, calling them a “revenue generator” and “tax on businesses” that contradicts the government’s pro-growth agenda and could force companies to settle frivolous claims.
Book review: The Right thing – Sally Bibb
Sally Bibb’s “The Right Thing” offers an exceptional guide to business ethics with a practical 21-question decision-making framework. The book explores ethical philosophy, leadership, and culture while providing real-world dilemmas across recruitment, management, and commerce—essential reading for professionals navigating ethical challenges.
Ask the expert: a TUPE puzzle
Adam Partington and Esther Smith address a complex TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings) case involving a bank’s closure of an independent agency network. The expert advice examines whether staff should have been transferred to the bank, made redundant with enhanced packages, and whether the bank’s late exclusion of an area manager from the transfer was valid.
Atmosphere of fear leads to accidents going unreported
A fearful workplace culture at Network Rail led workers to avoid reporting up to 40% of accidents over five years, with staff worried about job loss, public shaming, and missing safety bonuses. An inquiry found employees deliberately concealed around 600 minor incidents to avoid repercussions, prompting recommendations to scrap the accident targets and create a more transparent reporting system.
Graduate unemployment at 15 year high
Graduate unemployment has reached a 15-year high, with one in five university leavers unable to find work. Official figures show graduate joblessness nearly doubled from 10.6% in 2008 to 20%, rising faster than overall UK unemployment.
Nine million will not receive a full state pension
About 9.3 million National Insurance payments made between 2004 and 2009 failed to match workers’ records, potentially affecting their state pension entitlement. HMRC and employers disputed responsibility for the discrepancy, which created a deficit of roughly £138 per affected person.
Gray to sue over sexism sacking
Former Sky Sports presenter Andy Gray is suing the broadcaster for £3 million in unfair dismissal after being fired over sexist comments and behavior. Gray claims he wasn’t given a fair opportunity to apologize before his immediate dismissal, while Sky maintains his actions constituted unacceptable and offensive behavior.
Networks – the power of informal learning
Informal networks formed around shared interests are reshaping how people work and learn. From the Agile Manifesto in software development to the Scrum Alliance’s global community, these self-organizing networks prioritize collaboration and knowledge sharing over traditional hierarchical structures, offering valuable lessons for modern workplace learning.
Paternity leave: A practical guide
Employees can take up to two weeks of paternity leave after childbirth, with eligibility requiring 26 weeks’ continuous service and responsibility for the child’s upbringing. Additional paternity leave allows fathers to take up to six months if the mother returns to work, with specific notification requirements and eligibility criteria.
Negative figures raise fears of double dip recession
The UK economy contracted 0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2010, raising double-dip recession fears and concerns about rising unemployment. Poor growth figures and high inflation of 3.7% have sparked warnings of potential stagflation, though the government blamed severe winter weather for the slowdown.
Tuesday, 10am – stress alert
Tuesday at 10am is when workers experience peak stress levels, according to research surveying 3,000 UK employees. The study found that after catching up from Monday, employees feel overwhelmed by backlogged emails, impending deadlines, and mounting to-do lists as the week progresses.
Employee engagement – finding the missing link
Employee engagement depends primarily on line managers creating the right working climate, not corporate mission statements. Russell Connor identifies three essential conditions employees need—clarity about expectations, trust to use their judgment, and understanding of purpose—which managers can foster through clarifying, enabling, and reviewing their work.
Ask the expert: AWOL or Sickness?
Two employment law experts advise on handling an employee absent since October with no contact or medical certificates. They recommend treating the situation as AWOL through formal disciplinary procedures rather than assuming resignation, while considering potential disability discrimination issues.
HR kidding itself it is strategic business partner
A Mercer study across 40 countries reveals a significant gap between HR’s self-perception and reality: while 73% of HR departments consider themselves strategic partners, 85% of their daily work is tactical. Only 15% of HR time is spent on actual strategic activities, indicating most departments have substantial work to do to reinvent themselves strategically.
Work experience for young NEETs ‘blighting’ Britain
Employment Minister Chris Grayling unveiled a work experience programme to address youth unemployment, extending the benefit-protected period from two to eight weeks for 18-21 year-olds. The scheme aims to improve young people’s employability by matching them with employers like Homebase, Hilton, and McDonald’s, as youth joblessness reaches 20%.
Training a priority in budgets, say managers
UK managers expect training budgets to remain stable or grow despite economic challenges, with 83% maintaining investment levels and 95% aligning training to business goals to measure ROI, according to a SkillSoft survey.
Union blasts ‘outrageous’ county council cost-cutting plan
Dorset County Council has proposed 12 days of unpaid leave annually for 6,500 staff as part of £55 million cost-cutting plans. The union branded the move “outrageous,” describing it as a 4.6% salary cut that disproportionately affects lower-paid workers.
What are you doing to prepare for the agency workers regulations?
The Agency Workers Regulations (AWR), effective October 1, 2011, require temporary workers employed for more than 12 weeks to receive equal pay and employment conditions as permanent staff. Many UK HR professionals remain unprepared for this significant change, unaware of implementation dates and compliance consequences.
Job Centre Plus call centre on strike
Around 3,500 Jobcentre Plus call centre workers at seven UK sites are striking for 48 hours over concerns about excessive monitoring, unrealistic call time targets, and poor working conditions. The PCS union claims the contact centres operate under oppressive “target-driven culture” that forces staff to rush calls rather than provide proper customer service.
Youth unemployment hits new high – and set to worsen
Youth unemployment has hit a record high of 20.3%, with 951,000 people under 25 out of work, according to the latest Office for National Statistics figures. Experts warn the situation will worsen due to policy changes including the abolition of the Education Maintenance Allowance and closure of the Jobs Fund.
