This week’s news in brief
Fraud reduced by Act
The Act that protects whistleblowers is preventing frauds worth £2.5m a year
in Government, according to new research. The charity Public Concern at Work
said there had been a 30 per cent increase in the number of frauds in Whitehall
stopped by whistleblowers since the Public Interest Disclosure Act came into
force in 1998. www.pcaw.co.uk
Sleeping on the job
A survey of 2,000 staff shows seven in 10 admit to sleeping on the job,
while 78 per cent admit to taking time off work to nurse a hangover. Peninsula,
the employment law firm that carried out the survey, said if an employee is
overtired "then the employer has a legal responsibility to ensure they do
not operate machinery or any other equipment". www.peninsula-uk.com
UK leads in offshoring
UK companies are leading Europe in sending service operations offshore,
according to a UN survey. It shows nearly half intend to move more services
offshore in the next few years to cut costs. UK companies were the source of 61
per cent of all service jobs moved offshore. Germany and the Benelux countries
came second highest with 14 per cent each. www.unctad.org
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Hewitt takeover deal
Global HR consultancy Hewitt has announced plans to buy HR outsourcing
provider Exult for around US$690m (£376m), a deal that will create a company
worth around US$3bn (£1.63bn) in joint annual revenue. Hewitt claimed the deal,
which is expected to close in September, will make it the only organisation
capable of offering total HR business process outsourcing services – covering
benefits, payroll and IT systems – with consulting services. www.hewitt.com
