All articles by Jessica Bird – Page 33
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OpinionDr Daniel Bailey: The impact of office life on employee health
Office life is often not good for our health. This is because our blood sugar levels, cholesterol and blood pressure can increase when sitting for extended periods, due to very limited muscle contractions, which help to control risk markers that lead to certain conditions.When sitting for long periods each day, ...
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OpinionHelen Smith: Managing the wellbeing needs of a multigenerational workforce
Demographic change is expected to profoundly affect the UK labour market over the next two decades, and organisations today often have five different generations working side by side.Research shows that focusing on health, wellbeing and flexibility will help employers to improve employee satisfaction. However, it is crucial for organisations to ...
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OpinionElaine Gibson: Data management challenges for payroll post-Brexit
Payroll professionals have to decipher and adapt what guidance is out there. When considering management of data transfer, Brexit is no exception.Data Protection Regulations have been around for a long time, and most organisations are compliant, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) being an extension of existing regulations. When it ...
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ArticlePimlico Plumbers' employment status appeal dismissed by Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has ruled that, in Pimlico Plumbers and Charlie Mullins v Gary Smith, Smith qualifies as a worker, dismissing an appeal put forward by Pimlico Plumbers and its CEO and founder, Charlie Mullins.Between August 2005 and April 2011, Smith worked for Pimlico Plumbers as a plumbing and heating ...
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ArticleBBC unions vote to accept pay deal and new terms and conditions
The BBC will introduce a new minimum salary of £20,000 from 1 August 2018, and will modernise its terms and conditions, in a new deal negotiated by The Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union (Bectu), the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) and Unite.This landmark agreement includes a three-year pay deal, ...
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AnalysisClosing the gender pay gap: next steps and key challenges
Need to know:Diversity of gender, background, experience and opinion is key to business success, and closing the gender pay gap would have significant economic benefits for the UK.Coaching, mentoring and sponsorship of women is an important way of ensuring female employees do not get stuck in the talent pipeline.Flexible working, ...
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Case StudiesEY Reconnect harnesses untapped talent to tackle the pay gap
When financial services firm EY reported its gender pay gap statistics, which included a median hourly gap of 14.8% and a mean hourly gap of 19.7%, it noted the significant role played by the unequal distribution of women in senior positions.One of the numerous aspects of its approach to closing ...
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ArticleInfographic: Should employers worry about retaining talent post-Brexit?
An infographic showing concerns about UK-based talent following a potential Brexit agreement, illustrating why retaining top talent may become a key priority for employers:31% think that the UK workforce will be lower skilled and less talented post-Brexit20% feel that working in the UK private sector post-Brexit is less attractive than ...
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OpinionJonathan Swan: How flexible working can help close the gender pay gap
Many organisations are thinking about how they can close their gender pay gap. Fortunately for most, they have a powerful tool at hand in the shape of flexible working. Using flexibility strategically, as part of a wider approach to work-life balance, provides an opportunity to tackle some of the stubborn ...
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ArticleNHS staff from 14 unions vote to accept three-year pay deal
Every NHS worker in England will now be paid at least £8.93 per hour, or £17,460 per year if they work full time, as part of a three-year deal and changes to the pay structure of the organisation, collectively endorsed by NHS unions as of Friday 8 June 2018.The pay ...
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ArticleOutsourced workers continue industrial action against University of London
Following a two-day strike on the 25 and 26 April 2018, outsourced workers from the University of London are taking further industrial action today (6 June 2018), in an ongoing fight to end outsourcing and zero-hour contracts.The protesters aim to gain better access to pensions, holiday and sick pay, and ...
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AnalysisInfographic: Common traits in organisations with thriving employees
These figures demonstrate the extent to which certain traits can be found in organisations whose employees feel they are thriving, compared with the extent to which the same traits are found in organisations whose employees do not feel they are thriving.!function(e,t,n,s){var i="InfogramEmbeds",o=e.getElementsByTagName(t)[0],d=/^http:/.test(e.location)?"http:":"https:";if(/^\/{2}/.test(s)&&(s=d+s),window[i]&&window[i].initialized)window[i].process&&window[i].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var a=e.createElement(t);a.async=1,a.id=n,a.src=s,o.parentNode.insertBefore(a,o)}}(document,"script","infogram-async","https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js");
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AnalysisHarnessing employee insights to improve engagement strategy
Need to know:Annual surveys are a popular choice for gathering employee insights, when used effectively and alongside other methods.Online forums, social media and digital platforms can provide easy, anonymous methods, but face-to-face conversation is still important.Empowering local managers to enact change is an important aspect of effective follow-up after canvassing ...
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Case StudiesVirgin Trains conducts in-depth investigation into employee experience
From 2006 to 2015, Virgin Trains conducted traditional annual engagement surveys. However, the process itself wasn't necessarily engaging, says Den Carter, head of colleague communication and engagement. "People were really highly engaged and really passionate about what they do, but saw doing that kind of survey as a duty," he ...
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OpinionKsenia Zheltoukhova: What (new) challenges do organisations face when engaging millennials?
While academic research frequently dispels the myth of generational differences at work, there is an appreciation that the role of employment changes across the different stages of our lives. As some 'millennials', who first entered the workplace two decades ago, are reaching their 40s, employers would be wise to revisit ...
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Case StudiesOvo Energy uses multiple avenues to measure and boost engagement
Ovo Energy has seen rapid growth since its inception in 2009, from approximately 100 employees to over 1,300. Throughout, a key aim has been to strive to be a top employer, explains Libby Townsend, HR director at Ovo. "As well as customer satisfaction, making this a great place to work ...
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AnalysisBest practices for measuring employee engagement
Need to know:Traditional annual surveys are still an effective way of measuring employee engagement, especially when used alongside other methods.Frequent pulse surveys and the use of digital platforms and social media can create a continuous listening strategy.External benchmarking, used carefully, can help an organisation understand its scores, while internal benchmarking ...
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OpinionDuncan Brown: Remind me again, why do we measure employee engagement?
Employee engagement is not an ideal concept. There are dozens of definitions, confusion and controversy as to its origins and meaning, and considerable hype and exaggerated claims as to its impact. Studies show that far more HR departments simply survey it rather than making any policy changes to raise it.So ...
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ArticleOnly 15% of manufacturing organisations assess mental health risks
Although over 60% of manufacturing organisations carry out a physical risk intervention, less than 15% currently assess risks to mental health, according to research published by Westfield Health and manufacturers' organisation, EEF, and carried out by the Institute of Employment Studies (IES).The Unlocking employee productivity: The role of health and ...
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ArticleBEIS committee to question employers on gender pay gap
The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee is to question organisations on what actions they are taking to address the gender pay gap.The select committee was appointed by the House of Commons to examine the administration, expenditure and policy of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).This particular ...