News - WorkScales

Friday podcast: absence costing tools, tax breaks for diverse employers and training cuts
HR news and analysis including: what employers can do to help tackle violent crime and help inner city youths find employment how a new tool for HR directors can show how much money illness is costing the workpla

Migrant worker ban looms for unregistered employers
Thousands of employers could be banned from hiring migrant workers for certain jobs within weeks, legal experts have warned. From this autumn, organisations wishing to hire foreign staff covered by tiers two and five of the

NHS must come clean on training says Darzi
Every NHS organisation that receives government cash will have to publish how much it spends on staff training each year, under plans unveiled in Lord Darzi's flagship report on the future of the health service last week. A

Local Employment Partnerships a winner for Nissan
Nissan's HR director has hailed the value of Local Employment Partnerships (LEPs) after scooping the prize

Another racism review will just slow progress, warns Tiplady
Another review of institutional racism in the Police Service is not needed and will only stand in the wa

Spoof retirement letters sent to MPs by Employers Forum on Age
MPs have received spoof retirement letters as the Employers Forum on Age (EFA) ramps up its campaign to scrap th

Minimum wage prosecution leaves butcher with large bill
Another employer has fallen foul of the government's crackdown on enforcing the National Minimum Wage. The owners of a Sheffield butcher's shop have been ordered to pay more than £11,000 to two former employees after they f

Vodafone Foundation offers chance to work for charities
Vodafone HR director Matthew Brearly will get involved in a new kind of recruitment activit

Whistleblower guidance marks decade of Public Interest Disclosure Act
Employers have been urged to adopt a new code of practice launched to mark the 10th anniversary of landmark legislation designed to protect staff who blow the whistle on organisations' wrongdoing. The <A href="http://www.

Welfare-to-work partnership scheme threatened by economic uncertainty
Stagnating job growth is threatening the success of a government-backed welfare-to-work programme - and high-profile names have called on

Employment partnership success acknowledged
Awards recognising outstanding contributions made by employers and employees working with the Local Employment Partnership (LEP) were handed out to Tesco, Mariott Hotels and Debenhams this week. The inaugural awards ce

Tougher safety laws would save lives, says construction union
A leading construction union has accused the government of complacency about workplace safety which is putting employees' lives at risk. Ucatt warned that the government's failure to toughen up company directors' responsibi

European Works Councils restructuring to boost unions’ power
Trade union power in Europe could be boosted by the European Commission's plans for European Works Councils. The commission has unveiled plans to overhaul laws on European Works Councils<

Occupational pensions in sharp decline
A dramatic fall in the number of private sector employees paying into workplace pension schemes has been revealed. Figures released by the Office for National Stat

Trauma management needs a rethink by HR professionals
HR professionals need to rethink the way they manage staff after a disaster or traumatic event<STR

Employment relations minister pledges to save HR £1m per day in legal fees
Employment relations minister Pat McFadden this morning pledged to save HR professionals across the UK £1m per day in consultancy fees.</

Sexual harassment of men rife in the UK workplace
The fairer sex may not be playing fair after all, with four out of five male workers being harassed by women at work, according to researchers. According to a study by employment law firm Peninsula, 77% of male workers had

Company car scheme slump mirrors economic downturn
The number of employers offering company car schemes has fallen dramatically, according to a survey by Personnel Today's sister publication Employment Review. The benefit is now provided by just 24% of org

Unite union to merge with US-based United Steelworkers’ union
Trade union Unite is to merge with the US-based United Steelworkers' union (USW), creating a new body called Workers Uniting. The new labour body will have a combined membership of about three million workers. The merger i

Flexible working finds favour as 40% of engineering firms adapt to change
Half of the UK's engineering firms are now offering flexible working, with 40% allowing homeworking, according to research by the UK's biggest engineering consultant. The study by Atkins found that holiday entitlement coul

New Networking Group for Women in Business