Minimum wage pay changes
This year will see an increase in minimum wages for all groups under the age of 25, under new plans to improve earnings across the board. The highest rise will be for those aged between 18 and 20, with a 4.7% increase up to £5.55 per hour. This is continued with 21 to 24 year […]
Unison Given Go-Ahead to Appeal Tribunal Fees
The Supreme Court has allowed Unison to appeal the Court of Appeal’s recent ruling on Employment Tribunal fees. The announcement, made on the 26th February, relates to Unison’s third challenge of the tribunal fees system. The Court of Appeal rejected this challenge last September. Tribunal fees have been controversial since their introduction by the Coalition […]
UK Pay Increase Predicted for 2016
UK workers look set to receive an average pay increase of 2.3% in 2016. This will be the largest ‘real-terms’ salary rise since 2008. This forecast follows research by Korn Ferry Hay Group. Whilst the rate of pay increase looks set to be at the same as this year (2.5%), the level of inflation is […]
Dangers of Working Holidays
The Christmas period means a seasonal slowdown in some industries, but for many December is the busiest and most stressful month of the year. If it’s not an increase in demand as people rush to get things done before Christmas itself, it’s the need to get everything signed off and finished before the end of […]
Companies Failing to Embrace Flexible Working
It has been one year since the Government rolled flexible working out to all UK employees, but research suggests that employers are still not quite sure how to manage it. A recent survey by workingmums.co.uk found that over a fifth of working mothers believed that they had no choice but to leave their jobs after their […]
Sweden Introduces Six-Hour Working Day
There has been a working time revolution taking place in Sweden as businesses trial the six-hour working day. Employers in Gothenburg, the country’s second largest city, have reduced the length of their working day in an effort to improve productivity and work-life balance. The trial is running as part of a controlled experiment into the […]
Engaged Employees More Likely to Slack Off
Highly engaged staff are more likely to be frequently late for work and to undertake personal activities when they get there. A report by reward provider Red Letter Days for Business compared the time management of highly engaged employees with that of their less engaged co-workers and the results revealed some surprising findings. The headline is […]
Employees Afraid to Blow the Whistle
A third of employees have admitted to being afraid to blow the whistle on illegal or dangerous activities taking place in their workplace. Over half of employees (53%) said that fear of losing their job would cause them to turn a blind eye, whilst 23% stated that they were worried about the impact upon their […]
Glassdoor More Trustworthy than Employers
Prospective employees are more likely to trust Glassdoor for information about a workplace than almost any other source. Careers advice website Glassdoor was found to be the third most trusted source of information (68%) about what it’s like to work in a company. The site came behind only family feedback (80%), and colleague or ex-colleague […]
Employers Limited by Pension Compliance
A report has found that the rate of changes to pension compliance over the last five years has caused organisations to lose focus on their retirement objectives. “Fit for Retirement”, a report by Towers Watson, found that 56% of UK businesses believe they have to prioritise compliance above any other factor when managing pension […]
Effects of Aggression in the Workplace
New research suggests that even just witnessing aggression in the workplace can have a negative effect on individual performance. Research carried out at Sheffield University investigated the impact of workplace factors on employee levels of depression, anxiety, and emotional exhaustion. Dr Sprigg and her colleagues first surveyed 127 employees immediately after they had witnessed aggression […]
Updated Drug-Driving Laws Incoming
On 2nd March 2015 new legislation comes into effect in England and Wales that will make it illegal to drive whilst under the influence of a wider range of substances than at present. The new ‘drug-driving’ law will encompass both illegal drugs and some prescription medicines. Anyone found to be driving whilst over the limit […]
Employment Law Update: Holiday Pay
A court case concluded this week that could have lasting ramifications on UK employment law, as an Employment Tribunal ruled that overtime, commission and other additional payments may now need to factored into employee holiday pay. It is important to note that exactly how employers will be required to enforce this decision has not yet […]
Changes to Paternal Antenatal Rights
This October will see a change to paternal rights as the Government passes legislation granting expectant fathers up to two periods of unpaid leave for antenatal visits. The Government has introduced the changes to paternal antenatal rights as part of their scheme to involve both parents from the start of the pregnancy, which forms part […]
BBC Severance Packages & Employment Law
The BBC’s 2013/14 annual report showed that the culture of high severance packages was still present in the 12 months up to the end of March, with a total of £2.76m awarded to just twelve former employees – not a bad redundancy package when we compare it to the statutory rates. Tony Hall, director general […]
Staff Entitled to Holiday Commission
British sales staff can now expect to receive their commission whilst taking annual leave, thanks to a ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union which will change employment law within the UK. Sales workers have previously only been allowed to receive their basic salary from their employers, even if their commission makes […]
Government to Tackle Zero Hours Contracts
Tougher action will be taken against businesses who abuse zero hours contracts thanks to new legislation introduced during this year’s Queen’s Speech. Just last month the business secretary Vince Cable outlined the government’s plans to tackle zero hours contracts due to alarming figures from the Office for National Statistics, which revealed that there are approximately 1.4m […]
Woolworths Collective Redundancy Outcomes
The Government has been given leave to appeal against an Employment Appeal Tribunal ruling that has moved the goalposts for employers planning company-wide redundancies. The tribunal found in the Usdaw v Woolworths case that administrators Deloitte had not followed the correct consultation procedures when closing the UK’s 800-plus Woolworths stores in late 2008/early 2009. In […]
Voluntary work experience going unnoticed
Employers are failing to ask candidates about voluntary work experience, meaning that they might be missing out on skilled potential employees. The CIPD published a study that found that less than a fifth of employers asked about voluntary experience at the application stage, whilst only a third of recruiters asked about it at interview; and […]
Employers need to be more approachable regarding sexual harassment complaints
Research has found that victims of sexual harassment at work, are put off reporting it to their employers and HR departments, and when they do, they feel that they are not adequately supported. A Every Day Sexism conducted by the TUC and the Everyday Sexism Project, has discovered that 63% of women aged between 18 […]
