Strike action will be “long and hard and dirty”, warn unions
Employers have urged the coalition government to stand firm in the face of an estimated two million public servants taking industrial action from 30 November over its proposed pensions revamp. After delegates voted unanimously in favour of coordinated action at the TUC conference in London yesterday, 10 more unions announced that they planned to […]
Case Study: Acas helps HMRC devise social media usage policy
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs decided to ask Acas for help after it suffered from a couple of high-profile social media-related incidents but authorised the roll-out of blanket internet access to all of its staff for the first time. The findings of the consultation, published in the form of a Workings and social networking report, […]
Blog: Three ways to deal with employee lateness
Employees’ lateness, when not measured and managed properly, can cause businesses thousands of pounds each year in lost productivity and profits. In order to understand how lateness can affect organisation’s bottom line, let’s look at the example below: Company X has 150 employees. 10% of their workforce (15 employees) is persistently late to work by […]
DWP reverses decision to offshore 200 UK jobs
A union is claiming that pressure from its members led to IT supplier HP reversing a decision to offshore 200 UK jobs to India. The move would have resulted in a government contractor sending the live records of millions of UK citizens overseas for the first time, in the initial step of a process known as ‘knowledge transfer’. […]
Fresh pension proposals to hit millions of workers in their 40s
Millions of workers in their 40s are expected to be hit by coalition government plans to bring forward increases in the state pension age to 67 by a decade. The news came as an employment tribunal found that a leisure centre worker suffered age discrimination and was unfairly dismissed so that his employer could avoid […]
Ask the Expert: Is posting Facebook pictures of planking at work acceptable?
The Question Two members of staff posted pictures of themselves ‘planking’ on Facebook or lying in places that put their health and safety at risk – on top of a top shelf in a backroom and above the back door at work. Comments have been made about this on Facebook, which included the manager […]
Blog: Less than 24 days to go! What do you think about the Agency Regs?
In less than 24 days time, the Temporary Agency Regulations (Regulations) come into force. If reports in the national press this week are correct, the Government is yet again wavering over whether the legislation should be implemented in its current form. This time though, the deadline is so tight that commentators are speculating whether this is […]
“Millions” of public servants to strike in November, warns union
Leaders of the civil servants’ union have agreed to hold a second strike over public sector pensions in November as the TUC warned that it was “prepared and ready” to coordinate national industrial action if government talks failed. Officials said that as many as 10 unions could support the proposed walk-out which, according to Mark […]
Microsoft loses second top US manager amid fresh UK revelations
Microsoft has lost its second high profile US director in as many weeks amid fresh revelations of inappropriate executive behaviour during its UK High Court battle over sexual harassment claims. According to the Daily Telegraph, Linda Zecher, a board member and vice president of the software giant’s worldwide public sector business, shocked colleagues when she […]
Update: Fujitsu contractors to strike over “insultingly low” pay offer
More than 1,000 contract Fujitsu staff working for five central government departments and agencies will strike in 11 days time over what they have branded an “insultingly low” pay offer. The joint action between members of the Public and Commercial Services and Unite unions will take place on Monday 19 September and affect IT outsourcing […]
Female unemployment to jump again from 23-year high
Even as it became clear that Lord Davies’ boardroom gender targets were being ignored by most UK companies, the TUC warned that female unemployment rates were set to jump further from current 23-year highs. An analysis of official statistics undertaken by the union umbrella organisation revealed that, because the number of women employed in the […]
Legal Insight: The religious discrimination issue
The Church of England recently attempted to re-open the long-running debate over the issue of religion (and religious expression) in the workplace. But the legal position is far from straightforward. How far employers should go in accommodating the religious needs and requirements of staff is an issue that typically polarises opinion. The Church believes that […]
Ask the Expert: How sick is sick?
The Question A member of staff has been off sick for two weeks (one week self-certified, the other with a doctor’s note). While off sick, she has been posting on a social networking site that she has been to Bristol to have a new tattoo, has been out and about with friends and has also […]
New boss hacks back on Everything Everywhere management team
The new boss of mobile phone company Everything Everywhere marked his first day in the job by wiping out half of his management team including two senior HR executives. Olaf Swantee, chief executive of the company, which was created out of the merger of Orange and T-Mobile last year, announced yesterday that he had hacked […]
First 2,000 armed forces personnel are axed
Nearly 2,000 armed forces personnel out of a projected 22,000 will be told that they face redundancy today following the coalition government’s controversial Strategic Defence Review. The army plans to release 920 soldiers, of which 660 will be voluntary departures and the rest compulsory. More than half of the 260 being forced out are Gurkhas, […]
‘Outrageous behaviour’ of Microsoft UK bosses exposed in High Court battle
An alleged culture of “outrageous behaviour” characterised by “excessive drunkenness” and lewd behaviour among Microsoft UK’s senior staff has been exposed in a £10 million High Court battle between its boss and former heir apparent. Simon Negus, who was hired as a general manager to eventually succeed UK chief Gordon Frazer, was sacked by the […]
Tate trustees take action to stop bullying
Complaints of bullying by managers has led the Tate galleries to issue a directive pointing out that staff have a right to work in a safe place “free from harassment or discrimination of any kind”. According to the Independent, the problem was considered so serious that the organisation’s trustees, who are appointed by the Prime […]
Blog: Apple loses Jobs – so what does it mean for the people?
When one of the world’s most celebrated business leaders announces plans to make a move, the focus is all too often on shares and customer impact, but little is mentioned about the impact it will have on the people within the organisation. When Steve Jobs announced he is standing down as chief executive at Apple, […]
Update: Health unions plan first ever NHS-wide strike
Health service unions are planning to launch a series of targeted, rolling strikes this autumn rather than a mass walkout if pension negotiations with the coalition government fail as expected. The news came to light after Unison, which represents 460,000 NHS workers, hosted a meeting with other unions in London on Wednesday, in order to […]
Bonuses and allowances compensate council bosses for pay cuts
Local authority bosses were compensated for promised pay cuts last year by having their bonuses and allowances boosted instead. The move came despite calls by Eric Pickles, the Communities and Local Government Secretary, for town hall chiefs to take a 10% wage reduction. An analysis of accounts published by 128 of the largest council’s […]