Outdoor Training
Looking for an outdoor team training venue in East Anglia for 10 managers? Discover professional facilitators and established exercises designed to strengthen leadership skills and team dynamics in a natural setting.
Timms congratulates GCSE/GNVQ students and says ‘Don’t stop now!’
School Standards Minister Stephen Timms congratulated over 600,000 GCSE and GNVQ students on their exam success, urging them to continue their education. Results show passes at grades A*-C increased to 57.1%, while GNVQ Part One entries rose by 24.7%.
Blackwells Bookshop
Blackwells Bookshop is undergoing a relaunch with a new design and features. The bookstore’s website currently shows error pages as technical improvements are being made, but service will resume shortly.
Less than half UK workforce able to work flexibly
Less than half of UK employees have access to flexible working arrangements, with workers logging Europe’s longest hours at 43.6 per week. The TUC and Industrial Society launched new resources to promote work-life balance policies that benefit both employers and staff.
CBI: Tribunals should be the last resort
The CBI is launching a campaign to make employment tribunals a last resort for workplace disputes, citing a 50 percent rise in business costs over two years and warning that a “compensation culture” is damaging UK employment relations. The organization urges reform to encourage workplace resolution before legal action, while maintaining workers’ rights to justice.
Topping the bill at Brighton TUC: Public services and manufacturing
The Trades Union Congress in Brighton will debate private sector involvement in public services and the state of Britain’s manufacturing sector, alongside discussions on minimum wage youth rates and employment relations reform. The conference runs September 9-13 and features speakers including Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt and chairs of racial equality and disability rights commissions.
Union Demands action to save Fujitsu Skills in the UK
MSF union calls on Fujitsu to implement a social plan to retain IT skills following the company’s announcement of 16,000 worldwide job losses. The union, representing many of Fujitsu’s 10,000 UK ICL employees, urges an innovative approach reflecting Japanese corporate culture rather than aggressive downsizing tactics.
Employers are failing to control the causes of work-related asthma
Employers are failing to adequately control work-related asthma causes, with 20 people developing the condition daily despite legal requirements. The TUC is calling for a binding Approved Code of Practice to establish specific employer obligations for asthma prevention.
Manufacturing pay kept in pay by global pressures
Manufacturing pay awards remained flat at 2.9% in the three months to July, held back by global pressures and price deflation, while service sector pay climbed to 4.6%, revealing a widening gap between the two sectors.
Nobody is indispensable – are they?
Even President Bush takes a month off each summer, sending a powerful message: no one is indispensable. Businesses that depend entirely on one person are poorly structured, and taking regular breaks is essential for effective leadership and personal wellbeing.
Some people are stupid?
Recruitment manager Steve McMahon warns that silly or nonsensical answers on job applications can cost candidates their employment opportunities. His examples include applicants who provided absurd qualifications, deceased referees, and illogical reasons for leaving previous jobs.
Employee Relationship Management
Employee Relationship Management applies customer relationship marketing principles to how organizations manage employees. It emphasizes treating workers as individuals through two-way dialogue, mutual respect, flexibility, trust, and shared community values to build long-term partnerships.
Four ways to put the theory of Employee Relationship Management into action
Employee Relationship Management applies customer relationship principles to employee engagement through tailored communication, flexible learning, and two-way dialogue. This approach treats employees as individuals, building long-term relationships based on trust and mutual needs across recruitment, induction, career building, and maintenance stages.
REC accuses TUC of inaccuracy on Fixed Term Workers Directive
The Recruitment and Employment Confederation disputes the TUC’s claims about the Fixed Term Workers Directive, arguing the union’s statements on temporary worker protections are misleading. REC contends that agency work is an attractive employment choice, that existing UK and EU laws provide adequate protections, and that unionised workforces don’t necessarily enjoy better conditions than non-unionised contract workers.
NAPF agrees that IPPR claim that ‘government pension policy is unravelling’ adds usefulness to debate
IPPR warns that UK government pension policy risks unraveling due to complexity, unsustainable means-testing, and doubts over Stakeholder Pensions effectiveness. NAPF supports the think tank’s assessment and calls for clearer policy on retirement provision across pensions and long-term care.
Business welcomes A level results and backs AS levels
The CBI welcomes rising A-level and AS-level pass rates, calling the reforms that broadened curriculum options successful. However, the business group urges better careers guidance for students and support addressing implementation challenges in the new qualification system.
CBI expresses disappointment with government plans for maternity regulations
The CBI criticizes government plans for maternity leave regulations, arguing ministers haven’t gone far enough to reduce business burden. The organization says proposals on notice periods and communication restrictions during maternity leave will make planning difficult, particularly for smaller firms.
Equal pay for like work
The Equal Opportunities Commission provides comprehensive guidance on equal pay for like work, including information on your rights, relevant laws, case decisions, and next steps for taking action.
The effectiveness of employment equality policies in the UK
UK employment equality policies have helped ethnic minorities advance educationally and professionally, yet research reveals a persistent “ethnic penalty” where minorities earn less and progress slower than equally qualified white peers, despite policy improvements.
Changing spots? Will closer working with line managers open the way to the top for HR?
HR professionals are evolving their role by partnering more closely with line managers, moving from process-oriented functions toward strategic positions with greater business responsibility. This shift requires HR to develop stronger communication skills, business acumen, and collaborative leadership capabilities to advance to senior levels.
