8% of staff admit to ‘interrupting an intimate encounter’ at work
Kit Out My Office, an online retailer of office furniture, have conducted a survey to collate the most awkward office encounters. The survey, which was polled to 2,659 British office workers, found that 1 in 3 have found themselves walking into an awkward situation. What embarrassing encounters did people walk into? 25% said they walked in on a disciplinary or dismissal meeting 21% told how they unexpectedly interrupted an emotional...
Leading Health & Safety professionals urge Government to end deregulation following Grenfell Tower blaze
The UK Government has been urged to scrap its approach to deregulation of health and safety legislation in light of the Grenfell Tower blaze. In an open letter to Prime Minister Theresa May, over 70 leading organisations and figures from the UK’s safety and health profession have jointly called for a political sea change in attitude towards health and safety regulation and fire risk management following the tragedy. The collective has...
XpertHR launches new guide to help HR prepare for the General Data Protection Regulation
XpertHR is marking the one-year countdown to the introduction of the EU’s wide-ranging General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by launching a practical guide to help HR begin their preparations. The new Regulation – which will come into force on 25th May 2018 – replaces the Data Protection Act 1998 in the UK and marks the start of a radical new data protection landscape, with significant penalties for non-compliance. The GDPR will...
Warning over poor driver eyesight prosecutions for employers
It is generally understood that as an ‘at work’ activity, driving for work purposes comes within an employer’s responsibility under the Health and Safety at Work Act. In its latest ‘fit to drive’ campaign, road-safety charity Brake has highlighted that the organisation may be prosecuted if a crash is proven to have resulted from lack of fitness to drive and the organisation is judged to have been negligent in preventing it. Specsavers...
Relax workplace dress codes during this week’s heatwave, says TUC
With temperatures set to hit over 30 degrees centigrade in parts of the UK this week, the TUC is calling on employers to temporarily relax their workplace dress codes so staff can work through the heatwave as comfortably as possible. Where people are working outdoors, employers should consider reviewing working times so that, where possible, work is done in the morning and afternoon, rather than around midday when temperatures are...
Top tips for office moves (what we learned through recent experience!)
All businesses with a physical presence have to move offices eventually. Business shrink and no longer fill the place they have or grow far too big for the space they currently occupy. Moving also affects all kinds of businesses; start-ups often begin life in bedrooms or garages and eventually require a larger working environment. Start-ups eventually grow into SMEs and with that can come further recruitment to meet the needs of a...
Are work perks the secret to workplace success? Study reveals a third (36%) of Brits feel happier in the workplace when receiving perks
40% of Brits feel they are getting a better deal when offered a ‘perk’ Private healthcare is the most sought after work perk (45%) 18 – 24 year olds expect jobs to come with work perks Work perks are revolutionising the way the British workforce views the workplace, according to new research by BankingRefunds.co.uk (1) The packaged bank account claims specialist polled over 1,500(1) Brits on their attitudes towards perks and...
So long, social! Workers spending less time on social media in a bid to restore work-life balance
Technology in the workplace continues to be a hot topic, but according to a recent survey by CV-Library, the UK’s leading independent job board, over two thirds of workers (67.4%) don’t use social media whilst at work, and of those that do, the majority (45%) will only do so for up to 15 minutes. The study surveyed 1,200 workers on their opinions around technology in the workplace, and whether it is a distraction or an enabler to...
HR in Wales? There will be hugs!
Lesley Richards, Head of CIPD Wales, explains how Welsh passion is driving HR in the region – and that includes hugs! As the Head of the CIPD in Wales, my role can be quite varied, but there’s one thing that’s consistent: big, genuine, friendly hugs! Some colleagues based outside Wales find it both amusing and bemusing – no air-kissing for us! However, there’s something else that I share with my Welsh HR colleagues...
A quarter of new dads are missing out on paternity leave and pay, says TUC
As many UK families will be enjoying Father’s Day today, some sobering analysis published today by the TUC found that one in four men who became fathers in 2016 didn’t qualify for paternity leave or pay. In 2016 there were around 625,000 working dads around the UK with a child under one. However, a quarter of them (25%) – more than 157,000 new fathers – did not qualify for the up to two weeks’ statutory paternity leave and...
Grenfell Tower fire highlights fire risk of high-rise buildings
The tragic fire at Grenfell Tower in London has raised serious concerns about fire safety in high rise buildings, which are often used for commercial purposes as well as residential accommodation. The fire, which is believed to have started on the fourth floor, spread quickly to engulf the entire 24 storey building. All floors from the second floor up were affected and seventeen people are known to have died, with police saying they...
Research finds that ‘Dad’s help’ influences career choices & values
New research from the UK’s leading independent job board, CV-Library has found that nearly one in five (18.7%) professionals were influenced by their dad when deciding which career path to take, rising to 29.4% amongst those under the age of 18. The survey, which questioned 1,200 UK workers ahead of Father’s Day, found that one in 10 (9.8%) have followed the career path of their dad , rising to 12.3% amongst millennials. In fact,...
RedArc calls for improved workplace support for stressed-out Dads
Men are less likely to seek medical help for mental health problems and also less likely to disclose mental health problems to friends and family, despite a third of fathers saying they regularly felt burnt out, and so this Father’s Day, RedArc is calling for employers to do more to support dads in the workplace. RedArc knows that alongside the excitement of becoming a new parent, the responsibility can lay heavily on the shoulders of...
European countries putting the UK’s paternity leave to shame – Swedish fathers get an extra 80 days with their newborn
Ahead of Father’s Day, here’s a few facts about parental leave for British Dads: Just 1% of dads in the UK take advantage of shared parental leave “Two weeks is not enough time off for new fathers in Britain and paid leave for dads specifically should be increased!” A total of 28 countries have better paternity leave and pay schemes than the UK Swedish fathers get a huge 80 additional days with their new-born compared to...
Changes to salary sacrifice part of new Finance Act 2017
Aon Employee Benefits, the UK health and benefits business of Aon plc (NYSE: AON), has said that employers who were hoping for a reprieve from the changes to Optional Remuneration Arrangements (OPRA) will be disappointed and must take action to comply. The Finance Bill 2017 has now received Royal Assent, making it the Finance Act 2017 and while many original clauses were cut, the OPRA elements have remained largely intact. Aon...
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