Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Global mobilityEuropeLatest NewsTech sectorEthics

CIPD asks businesses to support employees over Ukraine conflict

by Adam McCulloch 4 Mar 2022
by Adam McCulloch 4 Mar 2022 IT is one of the sectors where the UK has high proportions of workers from eastern Europe
Photo: Shutterstock
IT is one of the sectors where the UK has high proportions of workers from eastern Europe
Photo: Shutterstock

Employers have been urged by HR’s leading body in the UK, the CIPD, to show flexibility and understanding with all workers affected by the invasion of Ukraine.

The CIPD has said that increased flexibility over working hours, compassionate support including bereavement leave, and wellbeing checks were all facets of what employees from eastern Europe with links to Ukraine required.

It also pointed to the difficulties involved with having to make rapid decisions to withdraw businesses from Russia for ethical and reputational reasons.

Companies with strong links to Russia have been faced with difficult decisions over employees with one IT recruitment agency having to cut ties with its founder city after a negative reaction to it from international clients and candidates.

Charles Cotton, senior performance and reward adviser at the CIPD, said: “The terrible situation in Ukraine means business has had to respond from both a moral and reputational standpoint. However, buyers or suppliers will find it easier to extricate themselves from Russia than businesses who have worksites there given the possible consequences for local staff.

“HR teams will need to think about the related people issues of such a move, for example, if they can relocate staff elsewhere.

International HR

Ukraine: ‘I don’t care if I’m fired. You have to do something’

Visas extended for Ukrainians in the UK

ISO standard provides a step up in travel risk management

“Understandably, there is also more interest in pension funds at this time. Employers should be open and transparent about what kind of investments are being made on behalf of their employees, and provide details on any plans to divest funds.”

Ben Willmott, head of public policy at the CIPD, said: “Employers can help by providing flexibility and understanding if they have members of staff who are affected by the conflict in Ukraine, for example, if they have relatives in the country or concerns about anyone in the region as a result of the crisis. Managers should be checking in on their colleagues who are more directly affected by the crisis for any reason and signpost wellbeing and mental health support where it’s needed.

“Providing flexibility over time off or over working hours can help employees balance competing demands on them and aid in managing stress and anxiety, for example, if they trying to establish the whereabouts or safety of loved ones. Organisations should also be prepared to provide compassionate support if staff are affected by bereavement as a result of the conflict.”

IT recruitment agency withdraws from Russia

One previously Russia-based international IT recruitment agency has said it will relocate its business from the country in the next few weeks because of the Putin administration’s invasion of Ukraine. Its founder said Putin’s invasion was completely wrong and that clients and prospective candidates had reacted negatively to the agency because of the war.

Lucky Hunter’s staff in its St Petersburg office are thought to be immediately leaving the country. Company founder Tatiana Melnichuk told the Recruiter website the firm had closed its St Petersburg base and that a new office in Armenia would supplement the company’s London HQ in Covent Garden – which itself only opened last year.

“We are against the policy organised by the Russian government,” Melnichuk said in her statement, adding: “Our company is international. We have colleagues from Ukraine and Belarus, and we are sick at heart when we receive such awful news.”

The firm’s St Petersburg staff were relocating to Armenia and Georgia, among other countries, the company said.

With eastern Europe such a strong area for recruitment in IT, employees at various firms such as giant outsourcer EPAM Systems, have demanded their leaders condemn Russia’s actions.

Melnichuk told Recruiter that her company and candidates from Russia and Belarus had experienced “dismissive” attitudes as a result of the war with some clients “putting co-operation with us on hold while our recruiters receive a lot of unpleasant messages from foreign candidates”.

On LinkedIn, she went further, urging recruiters, IT professionals and candidates not to harbour negativity towards people based on their nationality: “You can see a surge of hatred towards the entire Russian people (as well as the Belarusian, although about just a year ago the whole world almost unanimously supported the citizens of Belarus in their desire to influence the situation and change the circumstances prevailing at that time in their country) in all fields, including the IT industry where I work.

“The IT industry has always been a field where no discrimination takes place based on socio-demographic factors, religion etc. IT is always primarily about a person. Please, let’s keep this in mind today.

“We have always said that in IT you are judged only by your professionalism – I would really like this tendency to continue: so let people be judged by their professionalism, and not by the Russian passport.”

Latest HR job opportunities on Personnel Today


Browse more human resources jobs

Adam McCulloch
Adam McCulloch

Adam McCulloch first worked for Personnel Today magazine in the early 1990s as a sub editor. He rejoined Personnel Today as a writer in 2017, covering all aspects of HR but with a special interest in diversity, social mobility and industrial relations. He has ventured beyond the HR realm to work as a freelance writer and production editor in sectors including travel (The Guardian), aviation (Flight International), agriculture (Farmers' Weekly), music (Jazzwise), theatre (The Stage) and social work (Community Care). He is also the author of KentWalksNearLondon. Adam first became interested in industrial relations after witnessing an exchange between Arthur Scargill and National Coal Board chairman Ian McGregor in 1984, while working as a temp in facilities at the NCB, carrying extra chairs into a conference room!

previous post
More than 10 million workers suffering from burnout
next post
OH urged to take a lead on supporting obesity in the workplace

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

You may also like

Nigel Farage: Diversity and inclusion under fire in...

28 Jul 2023

How can we deal with polarisation at work?

5 Jul 2023

Menopause and sustainability inform HSBC’s uniform designs

2 Feb 2023

What are the models of organisational culture?

19 Jan 2023

How HR can cope with the moral dilemma...

29 Nov 2022

CIPD ACE 2022: Opportunity for HR to help...

9 Nov 2022

Employees are sceptical about corporate ‘purpose’

27 Oct 2022

Home Office shifts modern slavery to immigration brief

19 Oct 2022

Directors’ code of conduct needed to uphold standards,...

20 Jun 2022

Setback for civil servants’ union in bid to...

10 Jun 2022

  • Discover the value of CIPD accreditation PROMOTED | See how the CIPD can increase your earning potential...Read more
  • What does it mean to be an HR professional in 2024? (survey) PROMOTED | The world of HR is changing rapidly...Read more
  • The Contractor Management Mastery Pack: Everything you need to manage and pay global contractors PROMOTED | Answers to cross-border...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2023

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2023 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+