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 […]

Too many rules are bad for employee relations

I saw an ad the other day stating that failure to have comprehensive written policies can leave employers vulnerable to claims at employment tribunals, which have powers to levy fines of up to £5,000 plus compensation. The advert listed some 21 different documents that should be in place. I am not a specialist in employment […]

Union ballots Fujitsu’s ICT staff for strike action over pay

The Public and Commercial Services union is balloting 750 ICT staff working on contracts for five major government Departments and agencies for strike action over pay. According to our sister site www.publictechnology.net, the conflict centres on supplier Fujitsu and its outsourcing work for HMRC, Home Office, Ministry of Defence, the Office of National Statistics and […]

Blog: What to do about bullies in the workplace

Recognise This! – Fire bullies. That is the only reasonable course of action. News about bullies in the workplace seems to come up fairly regularly. In his “Business Performance” blog, Leslie Allen recently reported on a CareerBuilder.com survey on bullies:   “The survey carried out by CareerBuilder.com between February and March of 2011, which involved […]

Falling employer confidence leads to sharp hiring slowdown

The employment recovery is set to slow sharply over the year ahead as fears over the global economic outlook lead to falling confidence among private sector employers, particularly in manufacturing. Such a situation is likely to be of concern to the coalition government, which has the stated aim of trying to rebalance the economy towards […]

The secret to staff satisfaction

The current climate is not only affecting business profitability but also staff morale, with employee satisfaction rates at their lowest since 2009, according to a recent survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Further research carried out by mental health charity, Mind, revealed that 41% of people are stressed by their jobs, with […]

Civil service union takes legal advice after losing redundancy pay battle

A civil service union is taking legal advice after losing a High Court challenge against coalition government moves to reduce workers’ redundancy and early retirement pay-outs. The Public and Commercial Services Union, which has 270,000 members, and the Prison Officers’ Association, which has 35,000, had called for a judicial review of a decision that was […]