Feature Articles

Employees organising together and disrupting their employer’s business has a long history in the UK, and this is not the first time our streets have seen picket lines and placards. However, summer 2022 seems to have brought with it a large amount of discontent.

When people are your biggest asset as a business, making sure they have the right skills is a top priority. Employers have two options to fulfil this need: grow their own, developing existing employees, or hiring in talented people who have what you need now. Option one is a slow burner, and as far as option two goes, UK employers are currently seeing a “recruitment crisis” with a lack of available quality candidates. So, what can employers do?

Rewind two years (and a few months) to before the start of the pandemic. According to research from the CIPD, 18% of employees worked from home on a regular basis. Now, however, the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN), undertaken in spring 2022 (27 April to 8 May), says 38% of working adults reported having worked from home at some point over the past seven days.

Whether it is called instructional design or learning design matters not a lot. What does matter though is that for all forms and types of learning, be it via face-to-face, virtual or asynchronous digital formats, it matters a considerable amount. So what does learning design involve and what is required to be a successful instructional or learning designer? In the first of several articles, Judith Christian-Carter takes a look at what is involved in getting started in this important area.

As England’s Lionesses celebrated their historic 2-1 win over Germany in extra time in the final of Euro 2022 last night, they became the first English football team to win a major trophy since 1966. Their success can be attributed to the team’s manager, Sarina Wiegman who won the last European Championships in 2017 and 2019 World Cup final with the Netherlands, in a clear example of the difference strong leadership can make to a team’s performance.

Brazel (the employee) was employed as a visiting music teacher on a permanent zero-hours term-time contract. This means she would only work during school terms (typically 32–35 weeks per year) and was not guaranteed minimum hours; her working time varied depending on the needs of the school pupils she taught instruments to.

On 28 July 2022, the XXII Commonwealth Games will start with a bang at an opening ceremony at Alexander stadium. With 1.2 million tickets sold and action taking place across 15 West Midland (and one London) venues, involving 6500 athletes and 72 teams, these games set to be a thrilling round up of the best sporting talent in the Commonwealth. But what has this got to do with businesses and HR specifically?

In the UK, the minimum statutory requirement for paid holiday each year is 5.6 weeks — this can include public holidays and is capped at 28 days. There have been significant changes to the law surrounding holiday pay in recent years, with regulations now stating that regular overtime and commission payments need to be included.

After seven years, we finally have a conclusion in the case of Harpur Trust v Brazel. As handed down in the Supreme Court yesterday morning, the Court of Appeal’s judgment in this matter has been confirmed.

You may recall that the Queen’s speech contained a few surprises for organisations, the biggest being the absence of the Employment Bill. This caused many within the HR and employment law community to question when, if ever, certain rights would come into force. Now, however, through the more unusual route of a “Private Members Bill” in parliament, at least two of those rights look set to go ahead: neonatal leave and protection for hospitality workers tips.