Tube drivers to start industrial action on Friday
Tube train drivers are to begin industrial action on Friday morning in a move likely to cause delays and disruption to the capital’s underground network. The action was agreed by a margin of four to one by members of the UK’s largest transport union, the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, in a row with London […]
Axing unfair dismissal rights “not beneficial” for employers or staff, warn experts
Radical proposals to allow employers to sack unproductive workers without explanation would “not be beneficial” to themselves, their staff or the economy, experts have warned. A leaked final draft report, commissioned by the Prime Minister and written by Adrian Beecroft, a venture capitalist and Conservative Party donor, suggests that UK workers should be banned from […]
Employers lose top talent due to neglect not pay, says study
Low trust levels in senior management, job dissatisfaction and excessive amounts of daily stress are the key reasons why employers lose top talent. According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s quarterly Employee Outlook survey, staff are, unsurprisingly, much more likely to position themselves among the 22% currently looking for a new job if […]
Clegg promises yet more employment law change this autumn
The Coalition Government plans to introduce a “major package” of employment law changes this autumn, which includes “significant reforms” to the tribunal system. This morning, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg told a meeting of small business leaders gathered at the Shoreditch offices of Holition, which creates augmented reality marketing software, that the aim of implementing […]
Brain drain from 50p tax rate underestimated, warns Diageo chief
The 50 pence income tax rate is resulting in a trickle of high earners starting to leave the UK, while inhibiting others from coming here, Diageo boss Paul Walsh has claimed. Walsh, who has run one of the world’s largest drinks manufacturers for the last 11 years, told the Sunday Telegraph that the impact of […]
Blog: Is regulation really to blame for hiring caution?
I have looked with surprise at the debate around changing the unfair dismissal qualification period from one year to two. Is the unfair dismissal qualifying period really what drives small businesses away from employing people? Fear of employment law (which is used by many to sell employment law insurance) does not seem to tie in with […]
Proposals to change parental rights slammed as “hideous”
A Liberal Democrat minister has branded recommendations to restrict maternity and paternity rights as “hideous” amid rumours of a Cabinet split on the issue. Lynne Featherstone, LibDem equalities minister, made it clear to the Observer newspaper yesterday that her party would not tolerate any watering down of parental rights, lashing out at private equity […]
Only 20% of employers hire apprentices – and falling
A mere one in five employers has taken on an apprentice over the last year, with the majority harbouring negative perceptions of the current workplace training system, including its relevancy to them. To make matters worse – and despite the personal urging of Prime Minister for businesses to take on more such trainees– even fewer […]
Unemployment “truly horrific” – and unlikely to improve any time soon
UK unemployment levels have hit a “truly horrific” 17-year high, confirming that the private sector has failed to create enough jobs to offset swingeing public sector cuts. The International Labour Organization-defined rate of worklessness in the country now stands at 8.1% for the three months to August, up 0.4% on the quarter. The 114,000 increase […]
“Institutional inertia” leads to slow progress on female board directors
“Institutional inertia” is to blame for the fact that only 33 FTSE 100 companies have heeded Lord Davies’ call to set targets for increasing the number of female directors on their boards. A progress report due to be unveiled at a Downing Street reception this afternoon will also reveal that, of the 33 firms that […]
Public sector job cuts hindering not helping deficit reduction, warns CIPD
Chancellor George Osborne has been urged to postpone continuing public sector job cuts because they are a “false economy” that is hindering rather than helping deficit reduction plans. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development today warned that the Coalition Government was cutting too far, too fast, after a survey by the organisation revealed […]
Tory Conference: Employers invited to voice employment law concerns
The coalition Government has invited businesses to voice their concerns about existing employment law in the latest phase of efforts to slash red tape, which it claims is stifling private sector job creation. For the next three weeks, the Red Tape Challenge, Whitehall’s crowdsourcing project, will focus on the rules governing employee rights. The campaign […]
Customer service staff paid 34% below national average
The number of people working in the UK’s customer service sector has increased threefold in the last eight years, but pay remains 34% below the UK average. A new study by the Institute of Customer Service, published to coincide with the launch of National Customer Service Week (3 – 9 October), shows that the industry […]
Whitehall needs skills revamp or reform will fail, warns report
Whitehall must build up its specialist expertise in outsourcing, contract management and procurement or the coalition Government's hopes of ambitious civil service reform will founder, according to MPs. The recommendation is contained in a new Commons Public Administration Select Committee report entitled 'Change in Government: the agenda for leadership', which accuses the Government of lacking both […]
Alternative pension proposals could undermine public sector strike case
A local authority lobby group has come up with plans that it claims could save the Government £900 million a year in public sector pensions without immediately increasing employee contributions. According to the BBC, Local Government Employers, which represents the interests of England and Wales’ 375 local Councils, has written to the Communities’ Secretary Eric […]
Blog: Restrictive covenants – fair and enforceable or a waste of time?
Restrictive covenants are a big deal in the City, but are they worth the paper they are written on? Over the summer the High Court was kept busy by a case involving a bunch of investment advisors. Employees at a firm called Edward Jones declined to stay at the business when the firm was taken […]
Stability, stimulus and solidarity key to employment and growth, says Cable
Stability, stimulus, and solidarity are key to creating employment and turning around the UK’s economic fortunes, Business Secretary Vince Cable has said. He told delegates at the Liberal Democrat conference in Sheffield that the current economic crisis was the financial equivalent of the UK being at war, adding: “It is wishful thinking to imagine that we […]
Agency Worker Regs to remain unchanged
The coalition government has confirmed that there will be no last minute changes to the Agency Worker Regulations despite David Cameron’s attempts to water them down. A spokesman at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, told the Telegraph that the law, which comes into force on 1 October and entitles temps to equal pay […]
Blog: It’s not just about the money
Retaining your best workers during an economic downturn can make the difference between success and failure for any company. When pay is squeezed and standards of living seem threatened, people naturally focus more on salary and benefits and less on job satisfaction. In a recent survey by the Institute of Administrative Management, more than […]
Vince Cable wages war on spiralling executive pay
Vince Cable has published a discussion document proposing changes to company laws and regulations in a bid to control spiralling executive pay and stop “rewards for failure”. At the Liberal Democrat conference in Birmingham today, the Business Secretary said that, although the renumeration of chief executives at the UK’s largest public companies had risen fourfold […]
