Wednesday November 17, 2010 at 11:16am
I read that local authorities are warning the government that its own rules mean some councils will struggle to pay for the redundancies that spending cuts are forcing them to make. England’s town halls face about 100,000 job losses following the government’s announcement in last month’s comprehensive spending review that its revenue funding to English councils will be cut by 26 per cent in real terms over the next four years. The Local Government Association, estimates that th....
Friday October 22, 2010 at 3:46pm
As part of the new orthodoxy and with much encouragement from the government, the trend towards merged councils took a significant step today with proposals to create the UK's first "super council" with the the London boroughs of Westminster, Hammersmith & Fulham, and Kensington & Chelsea proposing to merge all their services, from schools and refuse collection to child protection.Andy Sawford, chief executive of the Local Government Information Unit think tank has go....
Wednesday October 13, 2010 at 10:36am
Many of us have heard about Sir Philip Green's report into the waste in the public sector, but what has not been covered are the wasted legal costs in Employment Tribunal which public sector bodies have to deal with.
For example this has been reported in the Driffield Times.
"The level of animosity felt by some injured or sick officers towards their seniors was highlighted at an employment tribunal in Newcastle brought by 44-year-old Pc Alison Doyle against Northumbria Police. She was on ....
Monday October 11, 2010 at 1:42pm
Sir Philip Green's report into public sector efficiency is coming out and is being trawled by him on the media. I am aware that Sky and the BBC have interviewed him.
In his interview with Robert Peston, he is keen to point out that the savings he is suggesting would not involve a single public-sector redundancy: all of the squeeze would be on private sector suppliers. A recommendation - which he made in his interview with Mr. Peston but is not in the report - is that....
Sunday October 10, 2010 at 7:08am
Beyond all of the recent headlines in the public sector, it is worth both government and trade unions thinking about some hard facts. Public sector productivity growth is behind behind productivity growth in the private sector. In short, we are paying a lot more but the extra money is buying less.
Efficiency varies widely between providers. The public sector is not one monolith. Performance varies.
Performance management has in most cases been undermined by its lack ....
Wednesday September 29, 2010 at 11:41am
I have previously put on my firm's ezine about how organisations within the public sector can maintain high morale in a difficult work environment.
Within this context, I read with some dismay the latest leak dealing with projected Defence cuts with Secretary Liam Fox having the prime minister that "draconian" spending cuts while the UK is at war would result in "grave consequences". In a private letter to David Cameron, leaked to the Daily Telegraph, he said....
Saturday August 21, 2010 at 12:28pm
This is a flavour of some of the article and possibly sensationalist reports which you will see in the media.
The Express writes "Half a million public sector jobs in Britain could be slashed without any impact on services because two-thirds of staff time is wasted, research reveals. Minute-by-minute studies of working patterns show that staff productivity is 30 per cent less than in the private sector. Results indicate that almost 70 per cent of the working day of junior staff in local go....
Monday June 14, 2010 at 4:13pm
Something must be seriously wrong when a senior judge is advising people to keep as far away from the law as possible. The comments were made by Lord Justice Mummery in a Court of Appeal decision. He was considering whether to allow an appeal by a restaurant owner who had been ordered to pay £14,777 in compensation to a former employee for unfair dismissal and disability discrimination. The restaurant owner, David Piper, had attempted to lodge his notice of appeal with the Employment Appea....
Wednesday January 20, 2010 at 12:01pm
As has been reported, an NHS manager was reecently awarded thousands of pounds in compensation after bullying at the hospital where she worked led her to suffer a nervous breakdown. Briefly, Nanette Bowen alleged she had been harassed over a three-year period at Llanelli’s Princess of Wales Hospital. Earlier this year a civil case at Swansea County Court decided her employers were to blame for her health problems. She will be awarded £150,000 in compensation. The 55-year-old, fr....
Thursday November 26, 2009 at 8:08am
There has been discussion in the Guardian that a News of the World reporter who suffered from a culture of bullying led by former editor Andy Coulson, who is now David Cameron's head of communications, has been awarded almost £800,000 for unfair dismissal and disability discrimination. The background is that Matt Driscoll, a sports reporter sacked in April 2007 while on long-term sick leave for stress-related depression an d was awarded £792,736 by the East London em....
Monday May 18, 2009 at 9:41am
Human Law Mediation has just published a new FREE White Paper - Negotiating for Excellent Results.
It's a must read for anyone trying to get the best out of business transactions or facing difficult negotiations with employees, customers or suppliers.As well as providing a 10 step plan for effective negotiations which enable you to negotiate with power and persuasion the White Paper has useful advice on when to try and negotiate yourself and when to step away and seek professional help.
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Tuesday February 10, 2009 at 3:06pm
As Real Business highlights:
Some small business owners are being hit with lawsuits because they’ve failed to follow the correct statutory procedures when it comes to making employees redundant. Small business insurer Hiscox says there has been a threefold rise in insurance claims during the last quarter from SME employers being sued by former workers for unfair dismissal. The firm says employers are leaving themselves exposed to significant claims. According to Hiscox, the top three clai....