A summary of this month's employment news.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
In this article IPA's Patrick Brione discusses the major threat companies face from their own disengaged workforces when it comes to cyber security. In the light of a recent court ruling which could make companies liable for data breaches committed by malicious employees, it is more important than ever that companies have a joined up approach to cyber security, including a strong focus on employee engagement to combat insider threat.Read more
IPA Training and Development Director Derek Luckhurst discusses the problems employers are facing with workforce disengagement as a result of the uncertainty caused by Brexit. He outlines strategies firms can use for providing reassurance and improving communications with the workforce about Brexit, even when much of the outcome of Brexit still remains unknown.Read more
In this article Professor Stephen Wood of the University of Leicester discusses his latest research into appraisal of employees. He demonstrates that regular feedback and a set of clearly defined standards go a long way towards improving the quality of employee appraisals. He discusses the importance of a sense of due process and making sure that the appraisal process is seen as fair by all concerned.Read more
IPA's Patrick Brione discusses two radical policy proposals put forward by the Labour Party at their annual conference this month that, taken together, could transform corporate governance in the UK. The first would mandate employers to appoint employee directors to make up a third of all boards, while the second would require firms to transfer 10% of their shares to employees over a 10 year period.Read more
Reflecting on England's performance at the recent World Cup, Derek Luckhurst examines claims of Gareth Southgate's leadership qualities. By considering to what extent Southgate embodies the four pillars of employee engagement, Derek sets out how his career can offer useful lessons for managers and leaders in other organisations.Read more
Luke Hildyard of the High Pay Centre writes about new pay ratio reporting requirements passed into law last month and due to come into force early next year. He assesses the current problems with high pay inequality in the UK and how these new requirements might help curb excessive executive pay and a lead towards a fairer pay culture.Read more
In this article, Joe Dromey of IPPR looks at the impact that the gender pay reporting regulations have had and how they might help in closing the gender pay gap going forwards. He also discusses how the regulations could be used as a model for increasing transparency in other areas to drive change and reduce inequalities.Read more
Imogen Farhan of IPSE writes about the rise of self-employment and a need to focus on what good work looks like for the self-employed as well as for employees. Previewing the IPA report for IPSE on the subject due out in July, she points out that the self-employed care about far more than money, and other areas, such as developing skills and good client relationships are key to self-employed workers' satisfaction. She also highlights some of the poor client behaviours that need tackling.Read more
In this article, IPA Training and Development Director Derek Luckhurst responds to the popular article by Sturt & Nordstrom about the debate over the difference between employee engagement vs employee experience. In contrast to Sturt & Norstrom's contention that employee engagement is a completely top-down phenomenon, Derek draws on his years of experience supporting employee engagement to argue how it can be a broader and more effective concept than others might think.Read more
Sir Brendan Barber, Acas Chair, sets out the compelling case for employers to work together in partnership with trade unions, to help support and guide the workforce through major change programmes and achieve successful outcomes for both management and workforce, to help adapt workplaces to a fast changing world.Read more
A summary of recent employment news.Read more
Professor Stephen Wood outlines new research on how supporting employees work-life balance can enhance their well-being, both through increasing their autonomy and also boosting their sense that managers are supportive, caring and fair.Read more
In this article, Derek Luckhurst tackles some of the key questions around inclusivity at work. Can the language around diversity itself be a barrier to achieving an inclusive workforce? And, in the light of recent gender pay gap revelations, what are the unconscious attitudes and biases that need to be tackled in order to achieve gender pay equity?Read more