Tribunal system broken: time for overhaul says CIPD
The employment tribunal systems must be radically overhauled as it is now “broken” and no longer offers value for money, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. A survey undertaken by the HR body revealed that just under seven out of 10 employers believe they have no effective protection against employees taking unjustifiable […]
Ask the expert: Redundancy of backfilled post
This time the experts, Esther Smith and Martin Brewer give their advice on what to do in the case of making this backfilled post redundant. The question: Redundancy of backfilled post We have a seconded employee whose post may be made redundant – given that he has been in this post for 11 months and […]
Public sector pension reform may spark action
The UK faces a wave of industrial unrest if the recommendations of a report on public sector pension reform due to be published later this week are adopted. A Treasury review, conducted by former Labour Cabinet minister Lord Hutton, is expected to propose sweeping changes to the pension system, which include axing ‘gold-plated’ financial salary […]
UK small business ‘not prepared for disruption’
Although the majority of UK small-to-medium enterprises suffered business disruption due to adverse weather conditions, health or transport issues last year, nearly a quarter had no contingency plans in place to deal with the situation. According to a survey undertaken by telecoms provider Cable & Wireless Worldwide’s Demon Broadband, a huge 86% of respondents experienced […]
MoD: 17, 000 forces jobs are to go
The Ministry of Defence has come under fire after announcing plans to axe 17,000 posts across the armed forces over the next four years, some 11,000 of which will take the form of redundancies. The first tranche of the three or four waves of redundancies will come in September. The RAF was the first to […]
Scottish unions grapple with councils over redundancy and pay
Scottish trade unions have denied that a deal has been struck with the Scottish Government and local councils to protect public sector jobs in return for pay constraint. The move followed reports that an agreement was close, but unions seeking more assurances over the deal accused the Scottish Government of “jumping the gun”. Although a […]
23 minutes on a conference call – that’s your limit
Concentration starts to wane after workers have spent an average of 23 minutes on a telephone conference call, with many resorting to doodling and checking or writing emails while others simply fall asleep. A survey, undertaken among 4,800 individuals in the UK, India, Spain, Germany and Singapore by telecoms provider Cable & Wireless, revealed that […]
Reed Learning partners with ASTD to deliver training certification
Reed Learning has launched its UK partnership with the American Society of Training and Development (ASTD). Although the official announcement will not come until next month, a breakfast briefing held in London on 17 February confirmed the move, which has been interpreted by some as a challenge to the CIPD for their members who […]
Long service soldiers sacked by email in personnel blunder
The Ministry of Defence has apologised for any distress caused after sacking 38 soldiers – including one on the front line in Afghanistan – by email. According to the Sun newspaper, the warrant officers, who had each put in more than 20 years of service, received a round-robin email from career manager Major Andy Simpson […]
Redundancies ahead as cuts bite
The first three months of 2011 will be “a quarter of reckoning” for the jobs market, with the number of redundancies across the economy set to rise “sharply” as coalition government cuts start to bite. According to this quarter’s Labour Market Outlook from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and management consultancy KPMG, the […]
Love in the office – heartbreak for HR
A stolen kiss in the stationery cupboard is one thing, but when love blooms in the office it can turn into heartbreak for HR managers, explains Adrian Martin, Partner at Burges Salmon LLP. If members of staff develop a personal relationship, there is a risk of conflict of interest and potential for discrimination and […]
Social media policy goes bad at Commonwealth Bank
The Commonwealth Bank in Australia has been forced to rethink its social media policy after revelations that staff could be disciplined or even sacked if their friends criticised the bank on sites such as Facebook. The move followed an open letter to the bank written by the Finance Sector Union. It branded the policy as […]
Man in sexual harrassment claim against John Lewis
A male worker is suing John Lewis for sexual discrimination over claims that management did not take his complaints of sexual harassment by a female colleague seriously. Konstantinos Kalomoiris attested that 68-year old Bianca Revrenna slapped his bottom on three separate occasions even after he had asked her not to and that he made a […]
Ask the expert: a TUPE puzzle
The experts, Adam Partington and Esther Smith advise on a TUPE puzzle… The question: TUPE puzzle A well known bank recently closed down the Independent Agency Network – staff are employed by an Independent Agent who has a contract with the Bank to run local agencies for them. It was decided by the bank […]
Gray to sue over sexism sacking
Former Sky Sports presenter Andy Gray is set to sue the broadcaster for £3 million in an unfair dismissal lawsuit after losing his job following a sexism row with fellow presenter Richard Keys. The football pundit was sacked on Tuesday after leaked videos showed him making sexist comments and actions. But he has now […]
Union blasts ‘outrageous’ county council cost-cutting plan
Proposals by Dorset County Council to make thousands of workers take 12 days’ unpaid leave per year as part of plans to save £55 million by 2013/14 have been branded “outrageous” by the union. The unpaid leave, which would be implemented among the local authority’s 6,500 staff in calendar years 2012 and 2013 on top […]
Job Centre Plus call centre on strike
Thousands of call centre workers at Jobcentre Plus are starting a 48-hour strike today in a dispute over “oppressive” working conditions and claims of “excessive monitoring”. Some 3,500 members of the Public and Commercial Services union at seven of the newest Jobcentre Plus call centres in Newport, Glasgow, Bristol, Norwich, Sheffield, Makerfield near Wigan and […]
IT and comms falling behind – Unite calls for better training
Unite is calling on employers in the IT and communications sector to improve their training and appraisal practices after research revealed widespread dissatisfaction among staff. A survey of just under 400 personnel working for firms ranging from Accenture and Apple to Capita and Hewlett-Packard undertaken by the union revealed that 62% were not receiving the […]
Work Programme targets are “over-ambitious”
The Association of Learning Providers has called on the government to rethink the way it structures its Work Programme-related contracts, warning that the current system could put small firms out of business. The move comes only a week after a Select Committee inquiry heard evidence that the targets set for providers to help […]
Ask the expert: Question regarding redundancy
The experts, Adam Partington and Esther Smith advise on what a vauge redundancy conversation means for an employee. The question: Question regarding redundancy I was in a meeting with my manager last week to discuss topic a. During the meeting my manager raised the issue of redundancy and suggested a possible leave date of […]