Monthly Archives: October 2011

Can we just clear something up? There is no special legal employment protection for the public sector. Public and private sector workers are covered by the same legislation and case-law. Some public sector workers, such as civil servants, are technically … Continue reading →

This weekend, the UK and Ireland will put the clocks back by one hour and revert to GMT for the next five months. We do this every year – and it’s completely bonkers. By moving our clocks back to GMT … Continue reading →

Yesterday was a day for meddling with employment law. As well as Adrian Beecroft’s proposal to scrap unfair dismissal (see yesterday’s post) Nick Clegg suggested that employers should have the right to off-the-record conversations with employees which could not be … Continue reading →

A leaked report for the government by venture capitalist Adrian Beecroft claims that unfair dismissal law is holding back economic growth. The report says that employers should be given the right to dismiss underperforming employees without explanation. This report forms part … Continue reading →

Sorry for the lack of posts over the last couple of weeks. (Yes, I know that’s on John Rentoul’s Banned List but screw him!) A hectic schedule was followed by a heavy cold, during which I was too busy to take any … Continue reading →

John Naughton interviews Steven Pinker in today’s Observer. This is spot on: I think that a failure of statistical thinking is the major intellectual shortcoming of our universities, journalism and intellectual culture. Cognitive psychology tells us that the unaided human mind … Continue reading →

Because of the work I do, I meet quite a lot of people who have set up their own businesses or who have made the perhaps more difficult step of turning a small business into a medium-sized one. When I … Continue reading →

Everyone is talking about debt at the moment. “The only way out of a debt crisis is to deal with your debts,” said David Cameron on Wednesday. He was going to tell us all to get into the spirit by … Continue reading →

I’ve recently come back from a trip to Ireland. It was my first proper visit to the country and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Ireland is like being abroad without being abroad. The Irish have funny road-signs, kilometers and different money … Continue reading →

First up, the next ConnectingHR unconference on Thursday 20 October. The theme will be HR and the New World of Work – including such questions as: Are Jobs Obsolete? Are existing organisation models sustainable? Will the unskilled of today be the skilled of … Continue reading →