Supporting employees out of the public sector

Reducing staff numbers is never easy, and is a problem most public sector organisations will face. The NHS has implemented an idea for employees to help lighten the load. The recent introduction of the Mutually Agreed Resignation Scheme (MARS), which has since been adopted by a number of NHS organisations, shows how the NHS is […]

Employers back government’s minimum threshold on strike ballots proposal

Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Three quarters of employers back coalition government proposals to introduce a minimum threshold on strike ballots over fears that increased levels of industrial action following swingeing budget cuts could stifle the UK’s economic recovery. These are the findings of a study among 507 senior UK decision […]

Public sector workers say striking worth the public perception risk

Although just under three in five public sector workers understand that they risk losing public sympathy if they cause disruption through strike action, 49% believe that they must do what is necessary to protect their jobs. But according to a survey of 2,000 UK private and public sector workers undertaken by the Chartered Institute of […]

Should UK brace for winter of discontent?

With the spending review due to be announced this week and last week’s announcements of quangos to be closed down sparking talk of a ‘quango bonfire’, union action is expected over government cuts – but how soon and in which sectors remains to be seen. Tomorrow (Tuesday 10 October) the TUC will hold a rally […]

Ask the expert: Notice period holiday

The experts, Neil Gill and Esther Smith advise on whether it can be made compulsory to take remaining holiday when serving notice.   The question: Notice period holiday Can employers include a clause in their employment contracts which states that any outstanding holiday entitlement must be used up during notice periods? For example, if an […]

Ask the expert: Sickness and holiday pay

The experts, Adam Partington and Esther Smith advise on working out holiday leave for a sick employee.   The question: Sickness and holiday pay Situation: Employee off on sick leave for 7.5 months. Received Full pay for 6 months, half pay for the remaining 1.5 months. Company policy) Returned to work on a fit note […]

Strike action threatened over pay and conditions

Unions have warned of potential industrial action if Northampton Borough Council tries to impose changes in terms and conditions that they claim would hit the salaries of the local authority’s lowest paid workers.  The Council’s approval of new pay structures and cuts in allowances led more than 200 angry workers to stage a demonstration outside […]

Cuts cause ‘bullying tactics’ accusations from unions

Unions have condemned Birmingham City Council’s “bullying” tactics after warnings that new contracts imposing cuts in pay and conditions on nearly 26,000 staff were to be introduced as part of a bid to save more than £330 million by 2014.  Stephen Hughes, chief executive of the country’s largest local authority, has sent legal notices to […]

Union calls for civil disobedience to beat cuts

The Trades Union Congress is expected to overwhelmingly back a composite motion today to ‘support and co-ordinate campaigning and joint industrial action’ at a national and local level in response to proposed public sector budget cuts.  Union leaders warned the Financial Times that public sector pensions are shaping up to be the most “combustible” issue, […]

Sexual harrassment at work widespread and unreported

While almost one in ten women feel sexually harassed at work, just under half report the situation to HR or managers over fears that their career will be affected or they will not be taken seriously.  The most common complaint, cited by one fifth of female workers, was being subject to sexist comments from male […]

Employees win over lack of redundancy consultation

About 60 workers made redundant in January after their employer went into liquidation have been awarded 90 days’ back pay due to inadequate consultation over the situation.  Electrical contractors J&G Engineering had debts of around £2.3 million when it went into liquidation just after Christmas.  But Unite brought a case against it because staff were […]

Ask the expert: Is this redundancy fair?

This week the experts, Martin Brewer and Esther Smith, advise on whether this redundancy selection is fair.   The question: Is this redundancy fair? The shop floor team consists of five employees working 42 hours per week (full time), three employees working 35 hours per week (part time) and six employees working a variety of […]

Tube strikes after ACAS talks break down

The London Underground network is set to be crippled by a wave of 24-hour rolling strikes from today after talks at the conciliation service Acas to avert industrial action collapsed last week.  Some 10,000 members of London Underground’s two biggest unions, the RMT and TSSA, began preparations for strike action from 5pm on 6 September […]

Over 2/3 of organisations fail to evaluate training

In order to boost the performance of their coaching initiatives, organisations need to introduce well-thought through programmes and evaluation processes that are aligned with business strategy.  According to the ‘2010 Learning and Development’ survey undertaken by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), however, more than two thirds of organisations currently fail to evaluate […]

Overseas labour still in demand to fill skills gap despite jobless Britons

Despite high levels of domestic unemployment, organisations are turning to both migrant workers and offshore outsourcers in a bid to plug UK skills gaps as the economy starts to recover.  According to the quarterly ‘Labour Market Outlook’ survey published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and management consultancy KPMG, some 45% of […]

Pay offer halts proposed BAA strike

Money talks: the Unite union has called off proposed industrial action by thousands of airport workers that would have crippled six UK airports, after operator BAA agreed to a “much improved” pay offer.  The agreement was reached last night after hours of fraught negotiations mediated by the conciliation service, Acas. Unite intends to recommend that […]

HR must not fall for the ‘delusion of gender’

HR professionals need to be careful of indulging in ‘neurosexism’, after revelations that widely accepted differences between male and female abilities are not hard-wired into their brains from birth but are the result of cultural assumptions.  Cordelia Fine, a researcher at Melbourne University, argues in her book entitled ‘Delusions of Gender’, which is due to […]

Union urges BT employees with damaged hearing to claim

Only days after the Communications Workers Union voted to accept BT’s pay deal worth 9.3% over three years, it is urging engineers suffering from tinnitus and deafness to seek compensation from the telco for potential negligence.  Compensation claims are currently being looked at in Cardiff County Court, which has asked the solicitors involved to consider […]

The HP Way: Sexual harrassment and the CEO

The fall from grace of a highly regarded CEO, sexual harassment accusations from a soft porn actress-turned reality TV contestant, some fiddled expenses and a breach of a 50 plus year old corporate ethical code: the events of the past week at Hewlett Packard, one of the founding fathers of Silicon Valley, reads more like […]

CIPD predict 50% rise in redundancies

Redundancy levels are expected to jump by 50% over the next quarter dealing a blow to coalition government hopes that private sector employers will create enough jobs to offset swingeing public sector cuts.  According to the latest quarterly Labour Market Outlook published by the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD) and management consultancy KPMG, […]