Official figures by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) have revealed that as employers reduced hours to protect jobs, 5.07 million people regularly worked unpaid overtime in 2009, a decline of 168,000 on the previous year. Staff undertaking the overtime worked on average seven hours and 12... read more

Surveys published recently suggest that workplace bullying has increased. Across different jurisdictions, stress and depression contributes to 13.7m working days lost. A large proportion of these symptoms are due to bullying. One workplace bullying charity (the Adrea Adams Trust) defines the... read more

The EAT has recently considered the duty of employers to conduct pregnancy risk assessments under regulation 16 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and held that, pregnant workers are not automatically entitled to a pregnancy risk assessment in the absence of... read more

New specialist coordinators and dedicated advice lines for small businesses are part of a radical overhaul of support for people with mental health conditions and the Government has now published a new strategy for those with mental health conditions who want to work. Increasing job... read more

The continued importance of employee engagement and rewarding talent during the recession has been emphasised by a recent poll of around 950 workers, commissioned by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC).  Researchers found that one in three UK employees (33%) say that they have not felt valued... read more

The 2009 pre-budget report included a one off 50% Bank Payroll Tax payable by banks and other financial services firms on bonuses exceeding £25,000 awarded to any employee between 12.30pm on 9 December 2009 and 5 April 2010. Treasury officials have estimated that the new levy will apply to a... read more

With higher eductation funding expected to be a key election battleground, Tom Bewick, the chief executive of the Creative and Cultural Skills Council, has suggested that the Government should charge employers recruiting a university graduate a ‘hire premium’ of 10% on their first year’s... read more

The heavy snow fall across parts of the UK today has caused chaos for employers.  Many businesses have been forced to shut their doors (for example at least two high street banks in Manchester did so) whereas others are operating reduced hours with only a skeleton staff.   ... read more

A poll commissioned by the National Childbirth Trust has shown that over a third of women find returning to work following pregnancy “difficult” or “very difficult”. Belinda Phipps, Chief Executive of the NCT stated that “it’s time employers got a grip not just of their policies and paper... read more

Many employees who, having accepted a pay freeze this year, were looking forward to receiving a pay rise next year, will have their hopes dashed according to the results of recent survey.  The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and recruitment consultancy Harvey Nash, questioned 240... read more