Fee hikes for skilled migrant worker visas a “bitter blow”, says CBI

The CBI has condemned the coalition government’s decision to double the visa fees that employers have to pay in order to hire working migrants as a “bitter blow” to UK business. The Home Office announced yesterday that, while fee increases for the majority of visas had been kept at about 2%, those for skilled workers […]

Recruitment agencies indulge in “casual racial discrimination”

UK recruitment agencies are indulging in "casual racial discrimination" against job seekers from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, making them more likely than white applicants to apply to employers directly. This is the key finding of a survey among 2,500 people who have sought work over the last 12 months conducted by SPA Future […]

London 2012: 02 staff pilot flexible working options

O2 has asked a quarter of its staff to work remotely today in order to test whether contingency plans intended to manage expected travel disruption during the Olympic Games will work. The mobile telephone operator has closed its Slough headquarters and provided 3,000 employees with access to the necessary technology and support to do their […]

Leadership training mandated for senior Whitehall project managers

Civil servants are to receive mandatory training in leadership and project management skills thanks to the creation of a new £7 million Major Projects Leadership Academy. But the initiative, which will be delivered in partnership with Oxford’s Saïd Business School and consultants, Deloitte, is targeted to save the government £10 billion per year once it […]

Youth unemployment “time bomb” to cost economy £9.2bn per year

Employers must be given more incentives to hire young people in order to avert a youth unemployment “time-bomb” that will cost the country £9.2 billion per year from 2013, a report has warned. The study undertaken by the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations predicted that, from next year, some £2.9 billion per annum […]

National Apprenticeship Week: How to get started

As we enter another year of economic uncertainty, recruiting fresh faces may not be at the top of the corporate agenda for all companies in 2012. Organisations ranging from large firms through to small and medium-sized enterprises are increasingly being asked to balance up diminishing budgets with a need to boost productivity and continue providing […]

National Apprenticeship Week: Who’s doing what and where

 The coalition government is attempting to use ‘National Apprenticeship Week’ as a means of drumming up more interest among employers in offering taxpayer-backed apprenticeship schemes. At the official launch event at Channel 4’s offices in London today, Business Secretary Vince Cable kicked off more than 500 events across the country, which are intended to celebrate […]

Minister for disabled: Unemployment result of unwillingness to work

Unemployment in the UK is down to people’s unwillingness to work because there is “no shortage of jobs”, the minister for disabled people has said. Maria Miller, who works for the Department for Work and Pensions, said on BBC Radio 5’s ‘Pienaar’s Politics’ programme yesterday that the current employment situation was the result of a […]

Waterstones ends unpaid work placements

A high street book store has pulled out of the coalition government’s Work Experience scheme after discovering that unemployed people were working at one of its outlets without pay. The Guardian said that, after it had highlighted the practice taking place at a branch of Waterstones, the retailer initiated a review of the situation. It […]

Sustained high unemployment to ‘permanently damage UK economy’

 The sustained high levels of unemployment expected over the next three years are likely to do permanent damage to UK industry and will cost the economy dearly into the long-term, a think tank has warned.   The National Institute of Economic and Social Research predicted that unemployment would hit about 9% this year and, even […]

Move to darker suits reflects darker employee mood

It appears that, since the start of the recession, navy suits are no longer de rigueur but have instead been replaced in sartorial terms by charcoal as a reflection of employees’ darker mood. According to workwear specialists Alexandra, sales of navy blue suits have dropped from 47% of the total in 2005 to only 37% […]

Workplace alcohol policies should be mandated, says charity

All UK publicly-listed companies should be obliged to assess and manage the risks posed by employees’ drinking behaviour and to introduce specific alcohol-related policies to deal with it, a charity has said. Alcohol Concern has written to Vince Cable, secretary of state for business, innovation and skills, requesting that a greater focus be given to […]

London 2012: Planning for travel disruption

London is less than six months away from hosting the biggest sporting event in the world. During the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the country expects to play host to 90,000 athletes, media representatives and officials, along with hundreds of thousands of spectators who will attend venues across the capital from 27 July to 14 […]

Workers more ‘stressed and insecure’ than in Queen’s coronation year

In the year of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, it appears that, despite higher levels of personal prosperity, workers are more stressed and more insecure than they were 60 years ago. According to a special Work Audit report published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development to explore how the world of work in the […]

Trades require more – not less – recognition, says Wolf report contributor

As the government announced today that it would axe vocational subjects ranging from nail technology to horse care from school league tables, one of the contributors to the Wolf report called for greater recognition of traditional trades. More than 3,100 vocational qualifications, which also include fish husbandry and travel and tourism and are currently regarded […]

London 2012: Civil servants ordered to work from home during Olympics

Staff across Whitehall will be forced to work from home during the Olympics and Paralympics Games in order to ease the pressure on London’s public transport network. Civil servants will be ordered not to commute to work for up to seven weeks to prevent the public transport network in the capital from becoming over-congested. Operation […]

Clegg calls for urgent action in upping income tax thresholds

The Deputy Prime Minister has urged his Coalition colleagues to move “further and faster” in raising the income tax threshold to £10,000 per annum, while introducing extra taxes for the rich to fund the move. At the last election, the Liberal Democrats pledged to increase the threshold and the Coalition agreed to implement the policy […]

Shift over last year in way HR viewed, reveals survey

Two thirds of HR directors believe that the last 12 months has seen a shift in the way the function is viewed, with most feeling that they now have the right level of senior management representation. Video interviews with 18 senior HR professionals from large UK private and public sector organisations undertaken by HR consultancy, […]

EU data protection law proposals to make “huge demands” on HR

The European Commission is suggesting changes to existing data protection legislation that could see employers fined up to 2% of their global turnover if they and their workers fail to comply with it. The proposals, which will now go before the European Parliament and are expected to take as much as two years to come […]

Blog: ReServe – A new way of working for the over-55s

A recent article in the New York Times featured the work of ReServe, an innovative non-profit organisation that links people over 55 with meaningful second careers. As a model for what is needed to address the nature of later life careers for a sector of the UK population ReServe appears to have much to offer. […]