Editors Blog

Equality campaigners call on government to improve the gender imbalance

Two weeks after the cabinet reshuffle which caused six women to walk out of Gordon Brown's inner circle of ministers, equality campaigners remain concerned the government is sending the wrong message to employers about gender equality. Lynne Featherstone, the Liberal...

Posted by Kat Baker on June 19, 2009 11:20 AM

APSCo unhappy about 'miserable' agency worker posters

The Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) has written to employment relations minister Pat McFadden to complain about the negative image of agency workers it is pushing in its new publicity campaign. APSCo claims the poster campaign, which is running...

Posted by Mike Berry on February 27, 2009 2:15 PM

Whitehall bosses forgo their bonuses

The decision by the permanent secretaries of government departments to give up their 'bonuses' this year has been hailed as "an act of leadership" by the FDA, the union for senior managers and professionals in the public service. FDA chief...

Posted by Mike Berry on February 18, 2009 8:27 AM

Employee engagement | Hutton puts HR firmly on the government's agenda

"Employee engagement is not just a buzzword - it has a clear link to increased business success". Not the words of a leading thinker or top practitioner at the latest HR conference, but of a cabinet minister. Recently resfuffled business...

Posted by Mike Berry on October 6, 2008 8:14 AM

Bank Holidays | Calls for more go simply unanswered

Surprise, surprise, unions have yet again urged the government to introduce another bank holiday - in late October as always - to bring the UK more into line with European countries. A 'new' report by the TUC out today (more likely a re-hash from reports...

Posted by Louisa Peacock on August 22, 2008 12:36 PM

HR | Keeping an Eye on HR outsourcing

It's not often HR makes it into the pages of top satirical mag Private Eye. But in the latest issue hacks at the magazine have taken issue with the government's latest initiative to help smaller firms with employment law. The...

Posted by Mike Berry on August 21, 2008 2:05 PM

Flexible working | BP's nine days' disappear

News that employees at BP are to lose their option of working a nine-day fortnight is an embarassment to the company and the government. The policy allows staff at various BP offices in the UK to take every other Friday...

Posted by Mike Berry on August 19, 2008 3:46 PM

Equal pay | Clarity needed as the elephants stampede

The equal pay saga dominating the local government landscape continues to rumble on its destructive course. Equal pay is now not so much the elephant in the room but a stampeding herd of angry pachyderms. Last week the Court of...

Posted by Mike Berry on August 1, 2008 8:12 AM

Reward | Boosting visibility of benefits is now key priority

Gordon Brown last week called for restraint and ordered the Cabinet and all ministers to forgo their pay increases this year as part of government attempts to control public sector wages. The move was intended to set an example...

Posted by Dawn Spalding on June 23, 2008 9:46 AM

Agency workers | Old enemies die hard

I forgot exactly how much the two sides hate each other. They're up there with Hamas and the Israeli government, with Fischer and Spassky, with Wile E Coyote and Roadrunner. My predication last month that a new one-off commission comprising...

Posted by Rob Moss on March 6, 2008 4:53 PM

London Olympics | Jobs for the (local) boys?

The body responsible for planning and building the London 2012 Olympics has published its employment and skills strategy for the Games. The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has set itself a target of at least 10-15% of the contractor workforce to...

Posted by Mike Berry on February 20, 2008 3:00 PM

Skills | Brown-sky thinking

The papers are full of Gordon Brown's latest initiative to boost the skills levels of the UK workforce. Poor families are to be paid extra cash if they commit to training or work. Ministers are apparently off on a little...

Posted by Mike Berry on February 15, 2008 10:15 AM

Cabinet reshuffle | It's just a jump to the left

The latest cabinet reshuffle reminds me of a song in the cult classic - The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Of course we all know the lyrics to 'Time Warp'...er don't we?...It's astounding, time is fleeting. Madness takes its toll! Now...

Posted by Gareth Vorster on January 25, 2008 12:16 PM

Data security | Employees banned from removing laptops

The fact that public sector employees will be banned from taking their laptops outside of the building is a typical government knee-jerk reaction. Surely the whole point of a work laptop is to work on it whilst on the move...

Posted by Louisa Peacock on January 23, 2008 7:00 AM

NHS hospitals | Wash your hands

The NHS should go further than disciplining staff for not washing their hands when walking between wards or as part of their day-to-day role. What about all the visitors? On the numerous times I've visited people in hospital recently absolutely...

Posted by Louisa Peacock on January 16, 2008 10:30 AM

Civil Service | Riding out a storm

It's not often that the world of human resources gets a mention in the distinguished pages of Private Eye magazine. But in the latest edition, Civil Service HR chief Gill Rider gets the treatment from the notorious hacks on the...

Posted by Mike Berry on November 14, 2007 8:00 AM

Skills crisis | Government plans light on detail

The government has been talking about setting up yet another skills agency, this time targeting low-paid unskilled workers that lurch between employment and benefits. Skills secretary John Denham said yesterday that the government planned to create an "advancement agency" to...

Posted by Mike Berry on November 13, 2007 8:00 AM

Flexible working | Human resources gets a lead role

Prime minister Gordon Brown announced a review on how the current right to request flexible working can be extended to parents of older children, as part of the Queen's Speech yesterday. And he has appointed a top HR director to...

Posted by Mike Berry on November 7, 2007 10:01 AM

Leadership Development | Sir Gus lifts the lid on Civil Service training

I was fortunate enough to attend an event last night marking the 21st anniversary of the National School of Government's Top Management Programme. The programme is for those in senior management positions, across the public, private and voluntary sectors, who...

Posted by Mike Berry on October 5, 2007 11:42 AM

Labour Party Conference | Gordon Brown's silence is golden

A trip to the seaside is usually cause for relaxation, but down in Bournemouth this week it has been incredibly difficult to get away from work. As I left my hotel room yesterday morning, the first person I saw was...

Posted by Greg Pitcher on September 25, 2007 3:46 PM