The government has announced a moratorium on Jobcentre Plus closures and pledged to find 6,000 extra front-line staff to help people made redundant get back into work. Work and pensions secretary James Purnell told Parliament that no more Jobcentres  More...
25 November 2008 16:12

The government is preparing for huge job losses because of the economic crisis, with emergency plans revealed yesterday. Speaking at a conference for Jobcentre Plus staff, work and pensions secretary James Purnell highlighted the concerns of emplo  More...
10 October 2008 12:22

One in five employers offering a defined benefit pension is considering changing to a defined contribution scheme, according to a comprehensive study. The 34th National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) Annual Survey, which polled more than 500   More...
08 October 2008 08:00

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29 September 2008 09:34

Gordon Brown will today (Tuesday) pledge to provide free nursery places for UK toddlers in a bid to get parents back to work. A package of measures unveiled by the government will include free places for all 600,000 two-year-olds, estimated at a £1b  More...
23 September 2008 08:01

Employment and welfare reform minister Stephen Timms has welcomed a hotel chain's pledge to create hundreds of new jobs for the long-term unemployed by building 55 new hotels along the British coast by 2015. Travelodge said it intended to recruit  More...
07 August 2008 14:00

The vast majority of workers with health problems can be helped back into employment with simple support, according to research . A review into vocational rehabilitation found that more than 90% people with health problems could be helped to return to  More...
07 August 2008 09:00

Business groups have backed the government's new welfare reform plans which signal an increased role for private sector and voluntary providers. Work and pensions secretary James Purnell has announced the Welfare Reform Green Paper, which aims to   More...
22 July 2008 11:21

Nissan's HR director has hailed the value of Local Employment Partnerships (LEPs) after scooping the prize for Best Practice in Partnership Working at the scheme's inaugural awards. Danny Griffiths, Nissan's HR Director, told Personnel Today t  More...
04 July 2008 08:42

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 ceremony acknowledged the har  More...
03 July 2008 10:56

The government's decision to ban employers from encouraging their staff to opt out of a workplace pension scheme has been branded self-serving. Pensions reform minister Mike O'Brien last week proposed an amendment to the Pensions Bill to stop employ  More...
30 June 2008 15:55

Calls for a formal timetable for the removal of the mandatory retirement age have come after a national survey found workers in the UK wanted to work longer. HSBC's Future of Retirement study, conducted by the Oxford Institute of Ageing (OIA), foun  More...
16 May 2008 11:00

Gordon Brown used the draft Queen's Speech to announce a new right to request time off work for training. Revealing his plans for the next parliament, Brown said every adult should have the right "to make the most of their potential". He sai  More...
14 May 2008 14:00

The number of adults participating in learning in the past year has fallen, according to research published to coincide with Adult Learners' Week. A survey by the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) found that the proportion   More...
13 May 2008 10:00

Just what is the government's position on increasing workplace rights for temps and agency workers? Ministers will insist that the government is committed to finding a solution at European level through the Agency Workers Directive. But with negotia  More...
12 May 2008 10:00

Work and pensions secretary James Purnell has warned chief executives that good people management is vital to avoid disasters such as the Buncefield oil explosion. Purnell told high level delegates at a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) conference  More...
30 April 2008 12:30

Government departments are continuing to spend millions of pounds of public money on consultants for projects despite warnings over spiralling costs. Figures released by three of the largest Whitehall departments in response to a series of parliame  More...
16 April 2008 17:41

Immigration experts have told the government to accept defeat on changes to the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP) and concentrate on getting its new points-based system right. The High Court last week ruled that the Home Office acted unlawful  More...
14 April 2008 08:12

Dame Carol Black, author of Working for a Healthier Tomorrow , talks to Noel O'Reilly about what her government - commissioned report means for employers. How could her proposals affect line managers? Should the health of an organisation's workf  More...
11 April 2008 10:02

Work and pensions secretary James Purnell has insisted that employers should keep faith with the government's employment ambitions despite the closure of the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). He called on more firms to sign the Local Employment Par  More...
31 March 2008 09:00