Bryan Stevens, Director of the IPA in the 1990s, sets out his reflections on how the world of work has changed over the two decades since his retirement. He looks at how the IPA's purpose remains relevant today compared with the 1990s, how it may be shaped by the current COVID crisis and what role the IPA can play into the future. Read more
Dr Duncan Brown writes about the revelations of poor employment practices in the Leicester garment industry, which are thought to have contributed to the spread of coronavirus in the city, and what lessons we can learn from this episode. He points to the importance of protections for casual workers and the need to continue to push the Good Work agenda started by Matthew Taylor forwards rather than see a return to the pre-COVID orthodoxy. Read more
Jasmine Gartner discusses the problem that confirmation bias can pose for both managers and reps during workforce consultation, if both sides go into a consultation with preconceived assumptions about the beliefs and intentions of the other side. She points out the importance of ensuring the focus of consultation remains on the strategic narrative and the use of key questions to ask during consultation in order to challenge these biases. Read more
IPA's Lorraine Modeste examines the response of major UK organisations to the Black Lives Matter movement and the attention it has brought to racial unfairness in the UK and abroad. She makes clear that organisations wanting to demonstrate they are on the right side of these issues need to reflect seriously on their own efforts to improve racial inequalities in recruitment, retention and representation of staff at all levels and, crucially, sustaining these efforts over the long term. Read more
IPA's Patrick Brione speaks to Derek Luckhurst about employers' approaches to the safe return to work during the COVID-19 pandemic, dealing with possible redundancies and how to maintain employee engagement with a remote workforce. Watch the full interview. Read more
With many employers grappling over return to work issues as the economy slowly reopens, Sheena Thomson, Founder and Director of Conduit Associates, lays out her thoughts on how to keep your organisation afloat and guide it back to calmer waters. She points on the key role of engaging with union representatives, understanding anxieties and creating a strategic narrative about the return to work that is rooted in both evidence and empathy. Read more
To address part of the challenges organisations are currently facing, IPA's Derek Luckhurst looks at the difficulty that employee representatives have when the people they represent are all working remotely. Laying out the importance of clear policies, regular contact and clear two-way communication, Derek provides some helpful guidance for employee reps to consider how best to approach these difficult times. Read more
With the current global pandemic driving a huge growth in remote working, IPA's Derek Luckhurst discusses the best ways for firms to keep in touch with their workforce during this period of increased working from home. He makes clear the importance of tackling fake news, maintaining two-way conversations to keep up engagement and allowing workers to continue to feel that they have a voice. Read more
IPA's Derek Luckhurst lays out advice, based on his years of experience, for how organisations should approach the question of redundancies if and when they reach the unfortunate stage of there being no other alternatives. As Derek makes clear, it is not simply a case of making sure statutory obligations on consultation are fulfilled - rather the way in which employers approach these conversations with workers could shape their employability for the rest of their careers. Read more
With many employers facing significant financial pressures from the current coronavirus crisis as large parts of the economy are shut down, IPA has put together vital guidance for organisations to consider before they make big decisions that might impact staff wages or jobs. Please have a read through, share this guidance and don't hesitate to contact IPA for support if you want further advice. Read more
A summary of this month's employment news. Read more
IPA compiles the most important advice for employers and HR professionals when considering how to prepare their workforces for a potential coronavirus outbreak in the UK, including the need to review remote working policies, sick leave and the importance of providing clear and transparent leadership that keeps workers informed and engaged. Read more
IPA Director Nita Clarke looks at the six key issues that are shaping the changing workplace - climate change, new technology, good work, innovation, diversity & inclusivity and regulation & ethics - and considers the vital role that employee voice has to play in organisation's response to these challenges. Read more
IPA's Patrick Brione outlines the case for a greater workforce role in helping organisations meet their net zero carbon emissions targets. With companies under increasing pressure from all sides to demonstrate action on climate change, it is more important than ever that they properly engage with their workforce around the changes they need to make, as well as considering the role that more carbon-friendly HR policies could play. Read more
With the forthcoming Employment Bill due to include provisions around parental bereavement leave and pay, IPA's Derek Luckhurst takes a look at where the new government stands on employment rights more broadly. Read more
Luke Hildyard from the High Pay Centre discusses their latest research, looking at shareholder returns. They find a picture of consistently rising shareholder returns, a trend which seems to continue even amid falling corporate profits and flat or falling real wages at some companies - a clear warning sign for the UK's corproate ownership and governance regime. Read more
As the dust settles on the 2019 general election and the end of a year of unprecedented chaos and uncertainty, IPA's Patrick Brione looks ahead to 2020 and what the year may hold for the future of employment regulation in a post-Brexit world. Read more
IPA's Training and Development Director, Derek Luckhurst, analyses a recent article on ten signs to identify toxic workplace cultures. Going through each in turn, Derek explains how they are symptoms of a wider problem of employee disengagement and poor leadership, the solutions to which remain a strong focus on the four enablers of engagement. Read more
In this article AB's Katie Macaulay makes the case for a more conversational approach to internal communications, as a way of boosting engagement and heading off potential crises and disasters. She draws on a range of evidence to show how a focus on honest, meaningful conversations can create a culture of trust and openness where workers feel 'psychologically safe' to speak up. Read more
In the aftermath of the ousting of yet another founder from a start-up behemoth with a toxic workplace culture, IPA's Patrick Brione shines a light on the importance of ethical leadership from CEOs in setting a culture of integrity, particularly for new start up businesses. Read more