On Friday (21 August) Prime Minister David Cameron outlined the Government plans to increase the number of quality apprenticeships across England and give businesses a say on how they are run and what they offer. Employers across the country will be asked for their views on the introduction of an apprenticeship levy set to be…
The Trade Union Bill, containing the Government reforms designed to end what they describe as ‘unjustified disruption to working people’s daily lives’ received its second reading in Parliament yesterday amid strong criticism from union leaders. The bill proposes a time limit on ballots so that mandates for industrial action are always recent. One of the major…
Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the TUC, is today expected to strongly criticise the government’s new measures on strike action in a keynote speech to the TUC Congress 2015 ahead of the second reading of the Trade Union Bill. The TUC have released a statement in which they state that Ms O’Grady will say that history…
Government statistics cited by the Universities Minister this week disguise the extent of graduate over-qualification in the UK according to the CIPD and the Edge Foundation. Universities Minister Jo Johnson said in a speech on Wednesday 9 September at the Universities UK Annual Conference that “official statistics show that in fact only 20 percent of recent…
The Government’s proposals on strike laws are an outdated response to industrial relations issues currently facing UK employers and could prove counter-productive, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the professional body for HR and people development. The Government’s proposed changes to existing laws on industrial action centre on raising the bar on thresholds…
The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) has today published its submission to the Government’s consultation on closing the gender pay gap. The consultation seeks views on the Government’s manifesto commitment to require larger employers to publish gender pay information. The regulations would cover private and voluntary sector employers in England, Scotland and Wales…
According to a government statement released today, young people make on average around 2,000 starts a week to government work experience or the training element of a sector-based work academy. The latest statistics released by the Department for Work and Pensions also show there were 337,000 starts to work experience or pre-work training delivered as…
Elizabeth Marshall believes that it is starting to become clear what we can expect from the Conservative Government in terms of changes to UK employment law during this Parliament.
The government has launched an investigation to ensure more people can take advantage of new pension freedoms introduced in April.
The government’s productivity plan is flawed unless the increasing skills shortages businesses are struggling to fill are tackled, warns CIPD.
The government ‘fit note’ scheme is failing to deliver on its promise to help more people back into work five years on.
The government has announced over the weekend that the term ‘apprenticeship’ will be protected in law and that apprenticeships will be given equal treatment under law as university degrees. The government has made a commitment to create three million new apprenticeships by the end of the current Parliament in 2020, a commitment which will also…
Prime Minister David Cameron has today welcomed radical business-led proposals to cut back EU regulation and to unleash the potential of the EU single market, helping European businesses to thrive in the global race. Thirty recommendations, drawn up by a taskforce comprising 6 heavy-hitters from the UK business community appointed by the Prime Minister, were presented to Cabinet this…
The UK Government has become highly serious about health and safety at workplaces. Laws have been introduced to turn it mandatory for the employers to take precautions preventing the occurrence of work accidents. If a worker sustains an accident at work, he is legally entitled to file compensation claim against his negligent employer. However, he…