Opinion – Page 3
-
OpinionAndrea London: Is there is a real risk of ageism in our hybrid future?
New hybrid working models are quickly becoming the norm, with their constant requirement for online productivity, virtual working and remote meetings/presentations. However, are our older generation cognisant of these technological advances and are they able to keep up?We seem to be noting an increased polarisation of the labour market in ...
-
OpinionKatie Ash: Protecting employee mental health is more than just a workplace perk
As such a large part of an employee’s life is spent at work, it’s important that employers play an active role in ensuring that their workers develop and maintain a good quality of life and a healthy relationship with their place of work.This is particularly important post pandemic, when it ...
-
OpinionDanielle Ayres: Communication is key when considering a four-day week
As news circulates of the four-day working week trial set to get underway in the UK in the second half of this year, co-ordinated by 4 Day Week Global, both employees and employers alike are starting to wonder whether this would work practically for them.There are multiple factors to look ...
-
OpinionAlan Lewis: What a recent court case can teach us about vicarious liability
Whilst employers can draw some comfort in terms of defending vicarious liability claims from the recent Court of Appeal case of Chell v Tarmac Cement and Lime Limited [2022] EWCA Civ 7, they ought not be complacent and there are lessons to be learned.Chell was a fitter employed by a ...
-
OpinionVickie Graham: There are clear benefits to introducing self-service pay systems
A self-service pay system enables payroll departments to redistribute some administrative tasks, for example updating employee data online and printing payslips if required, putting ownership on the employees themselves.There are clear benefits. For payroll professionals these benefits are associated with efficiencies and time savings. By empowering employees to take ownership ...
-
OpinionTom Moyes: Encouraging conversations with employees around mental health
At any one time, one-sixth of the working age population of Great Britain experiences symptoms associated with mental ill health, and this causes around 40% of all days lost through sickness absence, according to the Mental health and work report published in 2008 by the Royal College of Psychiatrists.So why ...
-
OpinionHenicka Uddin: Employees should be involved in updates to absence policies
If employers are considering introducing or updating absence policies, it is good to include staff in the process by consulting with them on plans. There might even be an agreement in place to consult on changes, in which case this will need to be adhered to. Either way it is ...
-
OpinionChris Roberts: Employee feedback is crucial for engagement and motivation
At ClickThrough Marketing we have always made staff engagement a priority but in the last 18 months, we’ve really stepped up our efforts to drive motivation. We have adopted hybrid and flexible working to allow people to work from wherever they feel most productive and, at the moment, ultimately safe. ...
-
OpinionIan Hodson: 2022 will be the year to reset reward strategies
Covid-19 (Coronavirus) has certainly impacted the last couple of years, and for many agendas has served as an accelerator in respect of its impact on the ways we work, our wellbeing priorities and how we interact with our colleagues and balance work and home.I believe 2022 will give reward professionals ...
-
OpinionEmma Clark: Breaking the staff menopause taboo
All women will experience the menopause at some point during their life. It can also impact both trans and non-binary people who may not identify as female. Most of those who experience the menopause will do so between the ages of 45 and 55, and between 75% and 80% of ...
-
OpinionRichard Freedman: Government launches consultation on making flexible working the default
The UK government has launched a consultation considering various reforms to the existing flexible working legislation.The consultation sets out a number of proposals for reshaping the existing regulatory framework to facilitate the objective of expanding the ability to work flexibly. The most striking element is the proposal to give all ...
-
OpinionStephen Perkins: Can an agile reward strategy deliver an employer’s philosophy?
My answer about whether an agile reward strategy can deliver an employer’s philosophy is yes, provided there is honesty and openness among all concerned about what holding fast to the corporate reward philosophy means. The offer may be to recognise predictably what workforce members contribute over the longer term.Alternatively, offer ...
-
OpinionJames Delves: Effective communication is vital for boosting employee engagement
The past 18 months have underlined the importance of internal communications. Since the first lockdown started, employers have had to adapt quickly, helping staff to embrace working from home and adopting new technologies seamlessly to help organisations survive these uncertain times.For many of us, it was the most intensive ...
-
OpinionSarah Henderson: What pension scheme employers should be prioritising in terms of GDPR
Pension scheme employers and trustees spent many hours getting ready for the revamped data protection regime that came into force on 25 May 2018. What’s new in the data protection landscape and what should pension scheme employers and trustees be prioritising three years later?First, mapping your data footprint remains a ...
-
OpinionHayat Rafique-Fayez: Employers must follow regulations when collecting employee health data
Employers must make sure they are acting in line with the Data Protection Act 2018, which incorporates the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), when collecting any data from their employees.Gathering information on an employee’s health would be considered as ‘sensitive data’ and lawfully allowed if it is for ...
-
OpinionKavitha’s keynote: A year of home working
This week marked the one-year anniversary of the UK’s first lockdown and, for many employees, it was also the first anniversary of their unexpected shift to full-time home working.While there is no doubt the pandemic has presented numerous challenges for employers – largely due to the very sudden need to ...
-
OpinionDr Carolyn Axtell: Remote working requires regular wellbeing conversations
As a result of restrictions during the pandemic, more people are working from home and are using online meeting platforms to collaborate with others. There are some efficiencies and benefits related to this way of working as people don’t have to travel between meeting rooms and can flip from meeting ...
-
OpinionKerry Shiels: An effective pensions communications strategy needs a winning formula
Trying to talk about pensions to 65,000 employees proves to be a difficult task. Some have different levels of knowledge and understanding, across different age profiles, and all have different work modes; be that at home, in the office, at contact centres, in shops or in the field. It is ...
-
OpinionJonathan Mansfield: Managing benefits technology in a changing world
UK businesses have shown impressive adaptability during the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic; driven by necessity and helped by technology, employers set up millions to work from home at short notice.Coming out of the crisis, an increasing number of businesses will be looking to maximise flexibility in the range of benefits offered ...
-
OpinionKathryn Barnes: Returning to work on good terms
Many employees are living through profound and possibly permanent changes in workplace culture, processes and conditions. The situation for traditional office-based work remains difficult to predict. While the office culture many of us know is not disappearing entirely, neither is it likely to return in full to pre-pandemic levels.Employers and ...