News: Mixed response to EC’s watering down of gender quota proposals
The European Commission’s decision to significantly water down plans for legally-binding quotas in order to boost the number of women on company boards has met with a mixed response. The original aim had been to impose strict 40% quotas on both executive and non-executive board positions within public companies. Under the new proposals, however, […]
News: Impact of flexible working extension will be “limited”, says lawyer
Government plans to extend flexible working rights to all employees in a bid to stop women being “locked out of the workplace” and boost GDP may have a “more limited” impact than expected, a lawyer has warned. The government estimates that the forthcoming changes will bring a net benefit of £222.5 million to employers as […]
Legal Insight: Mind your language
In recent years, the influx of migrant workers from Eastern European countries in particular has resulted in a highly diverse range of cultures and identities within the United Kingdom’s labour force. In certain lower paid sectors such as agriculture and hospitality, there is a particular reliance on those whose first language is not English. The […]
News: Gender bias alive and well, survey finds
The average gender pay gap for UK executives stands at £10,060, with women also receiving less than half of what men are awarded in bonuses, according to the findings of the Chartered Management Institute’s (CMI) latest annual Gender Salary Survey. Despite government pledges to address inequalities between the sexes, the gender pay gap across the […]
Blog: National Stress Awareness Day – How to deal with stress in the workplace
We may be officially out of recession, but the market is still tough, and many businesses are suffering from its consequences. We have seen redundancies across a range of sectors, and often companies have been forced to diversify into different areas to compete with rival firms. Changes such as these can create anxiety and be […]
Age audit tool unwrapped: How ageist is your organisation?
In the blink of an eye, the default retirement age made employees go from being seen as important contributors to society to a perceived ‘burden’. The recent end of the DRA is just one element of a broader shift towards recognising the changing role, and value, of older workers. Enabling more people to defer […]
Blog: How to deal with equal pay after the Birimingham ruling
The recent high profile case where 170 women have been given the right to take an equal pay case against Birmingham City Council brings equal pay firmly in the spotlight. The workers, mainly women who worked in traditionally-female roles, such as cooks, cleaners and care staff won the right to seek compensation in the civil […]
News: EU debate on female board quotas postponed
A European Union debate on proposals that would force female quotas of 40% on company boards across Europe has been postponed amid concerns that they could be unlawful. The move will give EU Justice commissioner, Viviane Reding, a chance to review her plans, which are opposed by at least 11 of the 27 commissioners, including […]
News: Decision to retire ageing chairman could open FA to legal challenge
The failure of the Football Association’s chairman to extend his tenure beyond his 70th birthday could leave the organisation open to legal challenge, a lawyer has warned. The FA’s Council voted by 45 votes to 40 to reject a proposal both to waive a rule requiring directors to stand down when they turned 70 and […]
Blog: Would you hire someone with a drug or alcohol dependency?
The HRZone community will already be well aware that getting people ‘back to work’ and reducing the welfare bill are central to this government’s ambitions. What may not be so familiar is the way in which this broader political context is reflected in policy on treatment for drug and alcohol problems. The vision of […]
News: Repeal of equality legislation will “let bad bosses off the hook”
The government’s decision to repeal sections of the Equality Act less than two years after their introduction has been branded by unions as an attempt to “let bad bosses off the hook”. Provisions in the Equality Act 2010 that make employers liable for the harassment of their staff by third parties such as customers or […]
News: Financial services firms scoop up at race diversity awards
Financial services organisations topped the charts this year in terms of accolades for promoting race diversity and equality in the workplace. Business in the Community’s Race for Opportunity campaign hosted its annual awards dinner at the London Hilton on Park Lane last night, in which four out of nine of the winners came from the […]
News: Celebrity campaigns help reduce mental health stigma at work
Less stigma is being attached to mental health issues than a year ago following a number of TV and press campaigns and celebrities talking openly about their conditions, research has found. A survey among 1,000 employers and 1,000 staff conducted by insurance provider Aviva, published to coincide with World Mental Health Day, revealed that just […]
News: Sheila Lawlor – Scrap “family-unfriendly” maternity leave
The UK should scrap paid maternity leave because it creates a “perverse incentive” for women to return to work and replace it with an unpaid career break instead, the head of a right-wing think tank has said. Sheila Lawlor, director of Politeia who will chair the organisation’s fringe ‘Women in The Boardroom’ event at the […]
News: Fear of causing offence damaging inclusion efforts, warns research
Fear of causing offence to colleagues by saying something politically incorrect can damage working relationships and actually hamper attempts at inclusion, research has found. The study undertaken by the Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion on behalf of BT revealed that both managers and employees were often anxious about having conversations with others if they […]
Blog: National Work-Life Week: Getting women on the board
Everywhere I turn the debate about getting more women into British boardrooms continues. Last week we learnt the government is building a team of allies to fight the EU’s proposed introduction of mandatory quotas. The week before, BBC2 aired the second part of Dragons’ Den entrepreneur Hilary Devey’s investigation into why so few women […]
News: Don’t act “too gay”, senior GP tells medical students
A senior member of the Royal College of General Practitioners is under investigation after telling medical students that they should act in a less “overtly gay” fashion in order to pass their exams. According to the Independent, the inquiry was launched following the discovery that Dr Una Coales had written a controversial guide setting out […]
Blog: Working your business skills on the dating scene
Many of our finely tuned business skills can be applied to the dating scene. Match.com’s resident clinical psychologist, Dr Cecilia d’Felice, shares her advice on how you can transfer your business expertise to your dating toolkit: Research You wouldn’t turn up to a business meeting unprepared and the same diligence should apply to a date. […]
Talent Spot: Karen Gill, co-founder of everywoman
Karen Gill knows all about the hard work and knock-backs entailed in setting up a new business. Thirteen years ago, with the help of a friend, Maxine Benson, she established everywoman, a women’s membership organisation that aims to increase the number and status of females in business. The organisation, which today has 40,000 members, […]
Ask the Expert: How can we avoid ageism claims over gym membership?
The question The way that our business is currently set up is as an Industrial Provident Society, which means that employees can buy a share in the company and also receive free gym membership for a friend or family member (employees already have membership themselves). But we are now having to change our legal […]