Lloyds to cut back office function to save money
Lloyds Banking Group is to axe a further 15,000 jobs in a bid to make annual savings of £1.5 billion by 2014, with most of the cuts likely to come from middle management and back office functions. The organisation has already announced 27,500 job losses since its merger with HBOS in 2009, but said […]
‘Don’t strike’ Cameron plea to public sector
David Cameron will make a last ditch appeal to public sector workers today not to go on strike on Thursday after talks between the coalition government and the unions broke down last night. The Prime Minister is to address the Local Government Association’s annual conference two days before a walkout of an expected 750,000 teachers, […]
Ask the expert: Am I really redundant?
This week the experts, Adam Partington and Esther Smith advise on whether this HR practitioner is being made redundant fairly. The question: Am I really redundant? I have worked for my current employer for 19 years as their HR/Payroll & Benefits Manager. Four weeks ago I was called into a meeting with the […]
Transparent top pay catches out 10% rise union leader
The ongoing controversy over executive salaries took a new twist this week after a union leader was criticised for taking a 10% pay rise and top mandarins lost their battle to keep their wage details secret. Christine Blower, head of the National Union of Teachers which is taking part in a national strike next week […]
Police officer sacked after Facebook comments
A Metropolitan police officer has been sacked for acting like a “nasty schoolyard bully” after posting offensive messages about a fellow officer on Facebook and abusing a female colleague both verbally and by text. The 35-year old constable, who was based in Islington, posted “deeply offensive” comments on the social networking site on 18 June […]
What your CEO is thinking and may not be telling you
How well do you know your customers? How well do you know the competition? The answers to those questions can have a significant impact on how your CEO perceives you and your department and how much stock he/she puts into your recommendations. According to a recent CareerBuilder.co.uk survey of 194 UK business leaders, 30% of […]
Charity alliance to push Government over forced labour convention
An alliance of charities and unions is to launch a high profile campaign to try and persuade the coalition government to change its mind about backing an international convention on domestic workers rights. The UK was one of only a handful of member countries at the International Labour Organization’s conference in Geneva yesterday to refuse […]
‘Sticky’ skilled workers create talent gaps
Despite high levels of unemployment, shortages of managerial, specialist and technical skills are resulting in a renewed talent war as individuals remain reluctant to change jobs due to the ongoing economic uncertainty. These are the findings of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s annual Resourcing and Talent Planning survey, which is produced in conjunction […]
Teaching unions vote to strike
Up to 750,000 public sector workers could take co-ordinated industrial action on 30 June after two teaching unions voted to strike yesterday and a third union is expected to follow suit today. The Public and Commercial Services Union has said it anticipates that the vote will come down overwhelmingly in favour of strike action when […]
Calls for government to engage with unions to avoid unrest
Rather than making threats against the unions, the coalition government would do better to actively engage with public sector staff if it wants to avoid mass industrial action this autumn, employment experts have warned. The recommendations came after business secretary Vince Cable was booed and heckled at the GMB union’s annual conference in Brighton yesterday, […]
Council off shoring move leads to Union anger
Unions warned that Birmingham City Council’s plans to offshore 100 IT roles to India were only the “tip of the iceberg” as members began voting on strike action over job cuts and changes to pay and conditions. In what the Local Government Association said was the first move by a local authority to outsource […]
Employees need holiday every 60 days
UK workers need to take a holiday every 60 days if they are to stay fresh, focused and avoid feeling stressed, according to research. A survey among 2,000 adults undertaken by Post Office Travel Insurance revealed that one in four felt the need to take a break from work every two months, with 20% feeling […]
BA strikes peace deal
A peace deal has been reached in the 18-month dispute between British Airways and its cabin crew, only days before the next wave of industrial action was due to take place. The settlement, agreed between the airline and Unite, was backed at a mass meeting near Heathrow airport of nearly 2,000 members of the trade […]
Secret talks lead to tube strike cancellation
A series of crippling London tube strikes due to start next Monday have been suspended following secret talks between Transport for London boss Mike Brown and union officials. The RMT transport union had threatened to bring the Underground to a standstill in six separate walkouts planned for May and June following the dismissal of two […]
1/3 of unionised workplaces expect a strike over next year
Just over three quarters of employers believe the UK is moving into a new and more unstable era of industrial relations, with a third of those that recognise a union expecting their workers to go on strike over the next 12 months. According to an online poll among 371 HR practitioners undertaken by the Chartered […]
HP boss wins breathing space over sexual harrassment letter
A letter detailing sexual harassment allegations against former Hewlett-Packard boss Mark Hurd will not be unsealed until September as revealing its contents before he has a chance to plead his case could cause him “irreparable harm”. The letter, written by celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred on behalf of former HP contractor Jodie Fisher, triggered a chain […]
Coaching ‘vital’ to laid off managers
Coaching can play a “vital” role in helping older managers cope with finding themselves unexpectedly on the job market again after being laid off, research has found. The two-year study undertaken jointly by academics at the Universities of Surrey and Bath among senior managers aged 49 to 62, who lost their jobs in acrimonious circumstances, […]
Training budgets continue to be squeezed
The trend towards shifting increasing amounts of training provision in-house to cope with budget cuts seems unlikely to change over the year ahead, with two out of five organisations anticipating further squeezes. According to a survey among 600 private and public sector organisations undertaken by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, some 43% saw […]
Taskforce set up to increase employee engagement
A government-sponsored taskforce has been set up to try and tackle the staff engagement issues identified in the MacLeod Review in order to boost the productivity and competitiveness of UK organisations. The taskforce, which includes representatives from both the public and private sector, will be chaired by David MacLeod himself, who wrote […]
Lecturers strike over pay and pensions
Tens of thousands of lecturers will today take part in their first nationwide strike for five years as part of a worsening row over changes to pay and pensions. Members of the University and College Union will walk out of 500 further education colleges, older universities and former polytechnics across the country and mount picket […]