Avoiding Blue Monday
Blue Monday, the third Monday in January, is often called the most depressing day of the year due to post-Christmas debt, failed resolutions, and harsh winter weather. Employers can reduce expected absences on this day through back-to-work interviews, clear sickness policies, and monitoring absence patterns.
Invest in customer service skills, urges survey
A YouGov survey of 2,082 UK adults reveals that nearly half have boycotted companies with poor customer service, while 77% shared negative experiences with others. Organizations must invest in staff training to avoid losing business and damaging their reputation.
Addressing skills gaps in project management
Project managers often lack critical skills beyond their formal qualifications, leading to project failures. HR and L&D professionals can address these gaps by defining role requirements, assessing current skills, implementing targeted training, and reassessing competency levels to ensure project success.
Legal lowdown: Age discrimination at the BBC
Miriam O’Reilly’s successful age discrimination case against the BBC sets an important benchmark for employment law. The BBC’s public apology and offer of reinstatement is exceptional, signaling to other potential claimants and employers the serious consequences of age-based hiring decisions in media.
IT and comms falling behind – Unite calls for better training
Unite union research reveals that 62% of IT and communications workers lack adequate training to keep skills current, while 85% are dissatisfied with their development opportunities. The survey also found widespread concerns about unfair performance appraisals and inadequate compensation across major technology employers.
Unions criticise NHS revamp plans
Multiple healthcare unions, including the BMA and Royal College of Nursing, have criticized the government’s NHS reform bill as “extremely risky and potentially disastrous,” citing concerns about the ambitious scale of changes, rapid implementation pace, and simultaneous £20 billion savings demands. The Health and Social Care Bill, to be published today, would give GPs control of most NHS budgets by 2013, but unions warn that Primary Care Trusts are already collapsing as staff depart.
Work Programme targets are “over-ambitious”
Learning providers warn that Work Programme contracts use unrealistic targets and a high-risk financial model that could force small firms out of business. The Association of Learning Providers is calling for the government to restructure contracts to improve cashflow and reduce financial risk for providers.
Parental leave shake-up “ignores needs of business”
The UK government’s proposed overhaul of parental leave to allow flexible shared leave has drawn criticism from employers’ groups who say it ignores business needs and will create planning difficulties, particularly for small companies. While the scheme aims to let parents split paid leave in chunks starting in 2015, the British Chambers of Commerce warns it represents “rushed thinking” that could discourage hiring.
Book review: ‘Strategic employee surveys’ – Dr Jack W Wiley
Dr Jack W Wiley’s ‘Strategic Employee Surveys’ explores why organizations should conduct employee surveys to drive business success, covering warning indicators, program evaluation, engagement measurement, and a seven-step feedback model. This clearly written guide examines global variations in survey practices across industries and regions.
Engagement – what’s Sir Isaac Newton got to do with it?
Employee engagement drives superior organizational performance, yet most companies struggle to foster it because they rely on flawed motivational models. This article explains what true engagement looks like, the values that underpin it, and how managers can create authentic interpersonal connections that inspire discretionary effort.
Ask the expert: Question regarding redundancy
Expert legal advice on navigating vague redundancy discussions with your manager. Learn what “informal” redundancy conversations mean for your employment status and what steps you can take to seek clarity about your position and job security.
Video: How will the default retirement age abolition affect you?
The UK coalition government plans to abolish the default retirement age. Employment lawyer Sarah Banatvala explains how businesses should adapt their practices once this law is removed.
Companies could ‘report rivals’ to fraud office
The Serious Fraud Office head will invite companies to report suspected corrupt rivals, marking a push to enforce the UK’s tough new Bribery Act. The SFO will prioritize cases where unethical foreign companies gain unfair advantage over “good ethical UK corporates,” working with businesses and advisers to gather evidence of wrongdoing.
Legal challenge to civil service redundancy scheme changes
The Public and Commercial Services union is launching a High Court legal challenge against proposed civil service redundancy scheme changes after 90% of its 80,000 members voted to reject them. The union argues the new caps on redundancy payments breach employment rights and human rights law, while the government says the changes are necessary for cost reduction.
Healthcare unions hit out at two year pay freeze proposals
Healthcare unions in England have rejected proposals for a two-year pay freeze on staff increments in return for limited job security guarantees. The British Medical Association, Royal College of Nursing, and Unison argue the freeze amounts to a real-terms pay cut and criticize the NHS for protecting wasteful spending instead of supporting hardworking staff.
Pension age change will ‘hit women and disadvantaged hardest’
A charity warns that accelerated state pension age increases will disproportionately harm women and disadvantaged groups. The government plans to raise the State Pension Age to 65 for women by 2018 and to 66 for both sexes by 2020, six years earlier than previously planned, saving £38 billion but affecting five million people.
Stonewall index highlights most inclusive places to work
The Home Office has topped Stonewall’s Top 100 Employers index, recognized for its inclusive policies and commitment to equality and diversity. The ranking, based on surveys of over 9,000 LGB staff, highlights employers creating welcoming workplaces for lesbian, gay and bisexual employees across sectors including banking, law, and sports.
Mums at disadvantage in tough employment market
Working mothers face significant hiring discrimination in the UK job market, with employers citing unfounded concerns about commitment and flexibility. A survey found that only 27% of companies plan to hire mothers in the coming year, down from 38% previously, despite recognizing their value as experienced workers.
Employment law takeaways for January
January employment law updates cover key rulings on unfair dismissal compensation reductions, equal pay claim timelines, and BBC defamation liability. These takeaways help HR professionals understand recent legal decisions affecting workplace practices and procedures.
Are you stressed at work?
Work stress often stems from unrealistic demands, insufficient resources, and poor management rather than individual shortcomings. Lasting relief requires managers, coworkers, and HR to address root causes like unclear priorities and lack of support, not just individual stress-management techniques.
