Unions may coordinate action against cuts
The prospect of a general strike moved a step closer yesterday after the RMT union tabled a motion calling for co-ordinated industrial action in protest at the coalition government’s proposed public sector jobs and pension cuts. The transport union’s motion will be heard at umbrella organisation the TUC’s Congress, which takes place from 13 to […]
Unemployment set to soar
The coalition government’s austerity budget will result in the loss of 1.3 million jobs across the economy over the next five years, according to leaked Treasury estimates. The unpublished private assessment, which was seen by the Guardian, indicated that the government expected between 500,000 and 600,000 posts to go in the public sector and an […]
NHS not so ‘protected’ after all
Despite reassurances from the coalition government that front-line services would be protected, many NHS Trusts are already being forced to make redundancies, introduce recruitment freezes and cut back on services, according to the BMA. A survey of 92 local negotiating committee chairs undertaken by the doctors’ association revealed that 24% already planned to make redundancies […]
Emergency budget – what it means for HR and employers
This ‘emergency’ budget, delivered by Chancellor George Osborne (flanked by two Liberal Democrats to prove how well the coalition is working and how much cross-party support the financial plan has) could be significant for managers and HR, according to business leaders and the CIPD. John Philpott, chief economic adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel […]
Public sector HR braces for storms ahead
Public sector HR managers could face difficult times ahead if current debates being played out in the media over potentially radical changes to pay and pensions come to fruition. Only a day after Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg branded public sector pensions “unaffordable”, signalling possible future cuts, and 10 days after Prime Minister David Cameron […]
Outrage against ‘minority only’ council work placement
A council’s decision to ban white graduates from applying for an £18,000-a-year management training scheme in order to boost staff diversity ratios has caused outrage. The initiative by Bristol City Council, which offers two candidates a two-year placement with the local authority, is only open to people from black or ethnic minority backgrounds. The scheme, […]
Controversial HR outsourcing leads to NHS resignation
The head of an NHS membership body has resigned after the organisation was criticised for its handling of a project to provide outsourced HR services to the health service. Steve Barnett, chief executive of the NHS Confederation since February last year and former NHS deputy director of HR, quit following a critical report of its […]
NHS age discrimination manager awarded £147,000
A senior NHS manager has been awarded £147,000 after winning a battle to prove that she was passed over for promotion because of her age. An employment tribunal in Leeds found that Linda Sturdy, 60, who worked in the breast screen clinic at the city’s Seacroft Hospital for 17 years, was subject to age discrimination […]
NHS saving for ‘brutal job cuts’
The NHS in England is setting up a £2 billion fund to cover redundancy costs as staff brace themselves for “brutal” job cuts to help plug a £20 billion financial hole. For the first time, this year’s national operating framework, in which the Department of Health sets out the NHS’ priorities, requires the country’s 152 […]
Will public sector pay freeze be good for UK or just cause misery?
Business leaders have called for an immediate two-year freeze on public sector workers’ pay to help cut the UK’s budget deficit despite union protests that such a move would cause “misery” as inflation hits 5.3%. Richard Lambert, director general of employers’ lobby group claimed that selected public sector pay and recruitment freezes could save £18 […]
Lack of clinician training a danger to NHS
The new government must protect the future of the NHS by acting to prevent the further erosion of clinicians’ training budgets, a junior doctors’ leader has warned. As a result, Dr Shree Datta, chair of the British Medical Association’s (BMA) Junior Doctors Committee, said that the government needs to “plan properly” in order to ensure […]
Public sector pay freezes ‘unsustainable’
A post-election government of any stripe will find it difficult to sustain public sector pay freezes because both private sector wages and inflation rates are now picking up, a study has warned. The report by the Labour Research Department (LRD), an independent research organisation that provides information to trade unions, found that a slight increase […]
Total reward: the holistic approach
Recent research highlighted that 80% of public sector workers have never heard of total reward packages, despite recognition that a holistic approach to health and wellbeing significantly improves staff retention and increases productivity. Public Sector organisations are increasingly expanding their rewards package to their employees, over and above their basic salaries. Do those benefiting from […]
Next government must curb public sector job cuts
A recruitment industry body has warned that an incoming government of whatever stripe must address two immediate priorities – stimulating jobs growth and cutting expenditure without creating a public sector recession by shedding thousands of posts. The warning came as research indicated that the rate at which recruiters filled permanent vacancies slipped last month from […]
Recruitment rates up but gap in private and public sector grows
While hiring by private sector organisations is set to surge this spring, the public sector jobs outlook is the bleakest for six years – although overall the balance is positive for the first time since the winter of 2008. According to the latest quarterly labour market survey of 800 employers undertaken by the Chartered Institute […]
Equality ruling costs Birmingham Council £200 million
More than 4,000 female council workers have won the right to be paid the same as male colleagues in a test case that could lead to pay-outs of £200 million. Following a seven week hearing, a Birmingham Employment Tribunal found in favour of the women, employed by Birmingham City Council in 49 different roles ranging […]
CIPD warns UK must prepare for 10% public sector cut
The CIPD has estimated that the UK should be braced for a 10% cull in the public sector workforce in the lifetime of the next government – whoever wins the May 6 General Election. The cut would bring the current 5.8 million roster of such jobs down by at least 500,000, says the CIPD (Chartered […]
Public sector pensions – an election issue?
Do you want to see ‘an independent commission on public sector pension provosion’ in our HR manifesto wishlist? Bonuses and benefits have been huge stories in the past year, and now we are offically in campaigning pereiod for the 2010 general election any newsworthy issue can become an election issue. In HR we might feel […]
Public sector pensions must be more affordable, says CBI
The ‘final salary’ scheme is unsustainable and is causing a trillion pound black hole burden on the taxpayer, the CBI claims. Their research claims the financial ‘black hole’ for unfunded public sector pensions is £10bn every year. The total overall liability for these schemes has mushroomed to £1 trillion, or £40,400 for every UK household. […]
Female students rule out career in finance due to perceived discrimination
While the UK’s top female students are ruling out careers in the City seeing it as unethical and rife with discrimination, two thirds of healthcare workers are enthusiastic about their jobs, with nine out of ten feeling that they really make a difference. According to a survey of 450 female undergraduates at Oxford University undertaken by […]
