A summary of this month's employment news. Read more
Lindsay Uittenbogaard of Mirror Mirror outlines her concept of 'The Fog'; an unseen gap between different workers' perspectives that needs bridging if they are to reach a common understanding and work together to achieve change. Read more
In light of a recent article in The Atlantic criticizing HR over their handling of sexual harassment claims, IPA's Derek Luckhurst looks at the problems that UK HR functions have in being a trusted and effective arbiter of workplace harassment allegations. He suggests that a separation of the investigation / arbitration function of HR from the support and guidance function that could be provided by other trained designated colleagues would be a better approach. Read more
In this article Chris Rees, Professor of Employment Relations at RHUL, lays out the increasingly prominent debate about the role of worker directors in corporate governance reform. Spurred by the FRC Code changes last year, more companies are starting to look seriously at this option, while in the political and policy arena the idea of worker directors as a tool to combat systemic governance problems is looking increasingly attractive. Read more
Philip Sack, who led the team that wrote the Information & Consultation of Employees Regulations back in 2005, shares his thoughts on the new changes to the ICE Regulations and what employers need to do better in order to make ICE forums a success. Read more
To mark the publication of a joint discussion paper with Acas on the winners and losers of technology, IPA's Head of Policy & Research Patrick Brione writes about the major impacts that technology will have on the workforce. From those left behind to those likely to win big, he runs through the opportunities, pitfalls and threats that technology and AI could pose. Read more
In a week when cross-party negotiations on Brexit show signs of breaking down over accusations of bad faith, IPA's Derek Luckhurst takes a look at the process of negotiation, what it means to negotiate in good faith and how employers and employees can best approach negotiations constructively so that all sides can best achieve their aims. Read more
IPA's Derek Luckhurst responds to an article positing a rise in workplace insubordination. Has a flattening of workplace hierarchies and turning managers into coaches really led to a growth of dissent? And is this something to be concerned about, or to welcome? Read more
IPA's Head of Policy & Research, Patrick Brione, outlines a vision of a progressive industrial strategy, to address the economic malaise and sense of being 'left behind' that has been identified as one of the prime causes of Brexit. With new technologies, changing workplace organisation and stagnating wages, he argues, there is lots of work to be done. Read more
In this article Dr Ruth Yeoman discusses the new Oxford Handbook of Meaningful Work and the increased attention being paid to the importance of meaning and purpose in the workplace. She talks about the definition and value of meaningfulness at work and how we can all work to bring it about. Read more
IPA's Training and Development Director, Derek Luckhurst, discusses the upcoming reduction in the ICE threshold needed for a request to set up consultation arrangements. From his experience in supporting employee voice, he makes clear that in order for such arrangements to be successful, they need to properly represent the views of all employees - not just the minority who are disengaged. Read more
Increasing attention is being given to better management as part of the solution to Britain’s productivity puzzle, but there still remains a danger of insufficient attention being paid to the human factor. To address this, Professor Stephen Wood in this article discusses the launch of his new IPA Report on the concept of high-involvement design - an approach that combines role-involvement with more strategic organisational-involvement at the heart of Human Resource Management (HRM). Read more
Kate Dearden of the union Community outlines the big changes that are happening to the workforce in the UK with the growth of self-employment at the gig economy. These shifts pose a major challenge to traditional trade union models of workforce representation, but ultimately, workers in these new sectors still need collective support as much as ever. As she lays out, trade unions will need to adapt themselves to these new practices in order to continue to fulfil their purpose in the years ahead Read more
Patrick Brione, IPA's Head of Policy & Research, discusses the new FRC code coming into force on 1st January 2019. In particular, the change in rules around employee voice at board level, along with changes to I&C regulations announced by the government, offer a major opportunity to improve corporate governance arrangements across the UK - an opportunity which Patrick argues should not be squandered. Read more
In this article, IPA Training and Development Director, Derek Luckhurst, looks at the biggest current threat to UK business - cyber security. He explains why this should be seen not merely as a technical but also as an employee engagement issue with potentially huge costs for UK employers. Read more
In this article, Dr Chiara Benassi of King's College London discusses the findings of her research into employee involvement in lean manufacturing. Through a comparative look at the systems in the UK , Germany and Italy she talks about the risks of work intensification that can come with lean processes and the potential pitfalls of some attempts to involve employees in boosting productivity that don't properly align the incentive and employee voice structures with the intended goals. Read more
With the risk of a no deal Brexit now a serious possibility, IPA's Patrick Brione lays out the impact such an outcome could have on UK employees and their rights at work. He explains how current employment rights, while not immediately lost in such a scenario, would be potentially at risk and why moves to repeal them by a future Conservative government would be a mistake. Read more