Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • 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
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • 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
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

ApprenticeshipsCIPDEmployee engagementIndustrial action / strikesGender pay gap

HR news you may have missed over the Christmas break

by Personnel Today 4 Jan 2016
by Personnel Today 4 Jan 2016

Today is the first day back at work for many people after as much as a fortnight away from the office. We look back through the past two weeks’ employment and HR news for the stories you may have missed over the festive period.

Living wage campaign creates commission
The Living Wage Foundation is creating a commission of experts to lead efforts to encourage more employers to pay the living wage, three months ahead of the introduction of the Government’s compulsory national living wage. TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady, the bishop of Edmonton, Rob Wickham and Nestle UK chair and CEO Fiona Kendrick are among those on the eight-member commission to be chaired by Gavin Kelly, chief executive of the Resolution Trust.

Sports Direct bows to pay pressure
Following criticism of its employment practices, Sports Direct announced that it will pay its staff more than the minimum wage. Controlling shareholder Mike Ashley declared: “I want to see Sports Direct become the best high street retail employer after John Lewis.” But trade union Unite accused the company of a PR stunt.

CBI warns of apprenticeship levy impact
The new boss of the CBI, Carolyn Fairbairn, has warned that George Osborne’s apprenticeship levy could cause significant job losses in sectors such as retailing. She also warned that increased costs caused by the national living wage could stall economic growth.

Junior doctors’ strikes back on the cards
This week saw last-ditch attempts to resolve the pay and conditions dispute between the Department of Health and the British Medical Association (BMA) break down, with the BMA’s announcement that junior doctors will go on strike on 12 and 26 January and 10 February.

Immigration is driving down wages
Economists at the Bank of England have found that increases in immigration have reduced pay on offer to care workers, waiting staff and cleaners, as competition in these sectors has risen. The bank calculated that a 10 percentage-point rise in the proportion of immigrants would reduce the average pay received in these semi-skilled and unskilled service sectors by nearly 2%.

Employee engagement strong at six out of 10 organisations
Three-fifths of organisations have employee engagement levels that are either good, very good or excellent, according to new research by XpertHR. More than a quarter (29%) of organisations described engagement levels as “reasonable”, while they are described as “poor” or “very poor” at 11.3% of employers.

Women’s academic success not affecting gender pay gap
The UK’s gender pay gap remains “stubborn”, with women’s educational success not being carried through to the workplace, the Equality and Human Rights Commission has warned. Female graduates will earn less than men, even if they have studied the same subject.

CIPD warns of optimistic pay forecasts
Predictions by the Bank of England and the Office for Budget Responsibility that average earnings will grow by 3.5% in 2016 are optimistic. Mark Beatson, chief economist at the CIPD, predicts a figure of 2%, in line with XpertHR’s forecast for pay awards among UK employers.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Number of job vacancies hits post-recession record
The number of job vacancies in the UK has hit 1,244,772, the most since the recession. The number of advertised vacancies in November 2015 was almost one-third higher than the same month in 2014, according to data from jobs search engine Adzuna.

Dutch city plans to pay citizens a basic income
The Dutch city of Utrecht is taking steps towards paying people a salary whether they work or not, an idea also floated by the UK’s Green Party. Advocates say it would allow people to choose what sort of employment they take, and to retrain when they wish.

Personnel Today

Personnel Today articles are written by an expert team of award-winning journalists who have been covering HR and L&D for many years. Some of our content is attributed to "Personnel Today" for a number of reasons, including: when numerous authors are associated with writing or editing a piece; or when the author is unknown (particularly for older articles).

previous post
“Increase in older women at work will cause health problems”
next post
Museum worker fairly dismissed for persistent lateness at work

You may also like

Public sector workers gain pay rises of up...

22 May 2025

UK net migration slashed by half in one...

22 May 2025

How neuroscience can unlock employee recognition

22 May 2025

UK universities fret over fall in international students

22 May 2025

Pay awards in real terms could fall for...

21 May 2025

Ryanair demands flight attendants pay back salary increase

21 May 2025

Immigration white paper: which jobs will be affected?

19 May 2025

Minister defends Employment Rights Bill at Acas conference

16 May 2025

Workers ‘wait and see’ as companies struggle to...

16 May 2025

Next to improve wage-setting transparency after shareholder pressure

16 May 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...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 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • 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
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+