Targeting effective support at NEETs with low qualifications offers the best chances of reducing the most long-term scarring effects of youth unemployment, says CIPD.

The government is right to target support at the hardest-to-reach amongst the young unemployed – 16 to 17 year old NEETs with poor qualifications – as these are the people most at risk of the scarring effect of youth unemployment, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

Welcoming today’s announcement of a £126m scheme targeted at 55,000 teenagers who fall into this category, the CIPD highlighted the fact that this group are likely to fall into unemployment even in better economic times – and pointed to research showing that early contact with employers has a significant beneficial impact on future employment prospects.

Katerina Rüdiger, Skills Policy Adviser at the CIPD, said:
“The CIPD has consistently warned that overplayed ‘lost generation’ rhetoric around youth unemployment risks diverting attention away from the persistent and serious structural element of youth unemployment – affecting around 10% of young people in good economic times and bad. In that context, we welcome today’s announcement of a scheme specifically targeted at the most difficult-to-reach groups with the poorest qualifications.

“Well before the recession hit, the CIPD was finding a marked preference amongst employers to recruit people with more experience, even to entry level jobs – to the detriment of young school leavers. However, we’ve also seen, through initiatives we’re running to give young people access to voluntary guidance and mentoring from our members, that young people can quickly have their confidence and ability to impress employers boosted sufficiently to find work. We also know that employers who do hire young school leavers have far more positive views of the potential of younger employees than those who do not.

“If we can break the cycle of no experience, no job, there is a real opportunity to boost employer perceptions of young people, and spare the economy the negative consequences of a significant minority of young people who grow up with little experience of work. Research shows that the more contact young people have with employers, the better their chances of finding themselves in stable employment. Targeting employability support at people who’d likely struggle to find work even in times of stronger economic performance is the right approach. Those with very low qualifications and no experience of the workplace are the ones genuinely most at risk of the scarring effect of youth unemployment. The earlier government and employers working together can get to these people and give them genuine support and experience of the workplace, the better. The enduring challenge, of course, is creating the economic performance necessary to create more jobs for all categories amongst the growing ranks of the unemployed.”

· 73% of UK HR directors concerned about losing key staff
· Remuneration and work-life balance cited as primary reasons UK employees look for new opportunities

Britain is leading the way in Europe with regards to how employees view work-life priorities, according to new global research1 from Robert Half International. The research, which surveys executives from across businesses in South America, Continental Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia/New Zealand, shows that nearly three in 10 (29%) HR executives in the UK – the highest across Continental Europe – cited work-life balance as the primary motivation for employees leaving their company for other opportunities.
Employees in Switzerland are less concerned about this balance, with a low 4% stating that ‘work-life’ was a priority, followed closely by the Czech Republic (8%).

Remuneration is still the top reason for employees to leave their jobs, according to 32% of UK executives, although work-life balance is the top response amongst London-based respondents, with nearly four in 10 (38%) indicating so. Worldwide, remuneration remains a primary motivation for employees sourcing other jobs, with Singapore (58%), China (52%), Brazil (50%), Italy (45%) and Australia (40%) all favouring salary benefits. Conversely, career advancement is moving up the ranks with countries such as Germany (39%), Luxembourg (34%) and Netherlands (33%) all preferring this factor. On the other hand, career advancement is not seen as a deciding factor in countries/states such as Dubai (11%), China (12%), Singapore (12%) and Italy ( 13%), instead salary is seen as the main factor when choosing a new role.

Phil Sheridan, Managing Director, Robert Half UK said: “The work-life balance topic has always been highly debated – with many employees looking for ways to balance both professional and personal commitments. Companies looking to attract and retain the best staff need to stop focusing solely on remuneration but on other aspects of the work-life environment which are important to employees, such as career development and flexible working.”
Interestingly, Britain comes a close second in the international rankings next to Chile, with one in three (32%) HR executives admitting that work-life balance was a priority for employees when evaluating other jobs.

Countries listed in order of primary motivation to move jobs for work-life balance:

Sheridan continues, “Employee retention has become one of today’s most critical staffing challenges in a fast changing environment and nearly three in four (73%) UK HR directors are concerned about losing top employees in the coming year. Stable employment and lucrative compensation no longer have the influence they once did to keep workers with a company for the long-term.
“Employees are looking for more. They want varied and meaningful work, challenging assignments, opportunities for career development and help with balancing work and their personal lives. If most of these boxes are not ticked, then organisations run the risk of losing that ‘star employee’. While the tendency to retain employees through counteroffers is on the rise, this is often only a temporary fix.”
Robert Half offers the following 6 tips to retain business-critical professionals:
· “Re-recruit” top performers: Before your competitors have a chance to lure those workers away, you must “re-recruit” them yourself. This means “selling” them all over again on the advantages of working for your company, highlighting what’s unique and special about it.
· Provide well-defined career paths: In the context of performance reviews, talk to your employees about their aspirations and goals. Using their input as a point for discussion, brainstorm ways you might structure job descriptions and positions to accommodate and advance those goals.
· Foster skill building through cross-training: If your company is a small one with limited upward mobility, you may want to offer cross-training as a way to help staff develop new skills and stay motivated and interested in their work. Your employees will value opportunities to gain exposure to roles and projects not necessarily in their job descriptions or current competency areas.
· Institute comprehensive mentoring programmes: In addition to traditional one-on-one mentoring relationships, consider setting up groups of mentors from various areas of the company who will focus on high-potential employees. Each group will meet regularly to brainstorm ways to help a specific top performer build on key strengths and achieve professional goals.
· Explore flexible work arrangements: A strategy best reserved for top performers, flexible work options can help you hold on to valued employees who might otherwise be tempted to leave. While some employers are wary of non-traditional arrangements, it is possible to set up mutually-beneficial situations.
· Improve and adjust remuneration: Money isn’t everything, but it still holds considerable importance for most employees. Periodically review your salary and benefits structure to ensure that you are offering competitive wages and the types of benefits that are most valued by today’s workers.

Local councils are spending millions of pounds performing criminal background checks on everyone from tree surgeons to burger van sellers, it has been claimed, despite promises from the government to scale back the CRB system.

According to a report by the Manifesto Club, 490 councils across England and Wales carried out nearly one million CRB checks in a single year, with the rate of checks increasing by 51 per cent since 2004-2005.

The report said some councils were checking thousands of volunteers and that local authorities were “over-vetting” and “wasting millions on unnecessary CRB checks” when frontline services were being cutback due to strained finances.

In the highest checking authorities, CRB checks were said to have been carried out on parent volunteers, arboreal assistants, burger van sellers, art therapists, countryside wardens, sewage pump engineers and foreign exchange hosts.

Hertfordshire County Council was identified as having the highest rate of checks, with 21,680 carried out in 2010-2011. And this was closely followed by Essex at 21,610 and Devon at 20,095.

David Lloyd, Hertfordshire’s cabinet member for resources and economic wellbeing said the council applied a “safe staffing policy” to all employees and that it worked closely with the CRB.

“Hertfordshire is a densely populated county with over a million residents,” he said. “The county council employs around 30,000 people, which includes all the staff for over 500 schools. The county council carried out approximately 18,000 CRB checks in 2011 – a reduction from 25,000 in 2010. This reflects how we have taken on board the new guidelines from the CRB.”

A spokesman for Essex County Council added: “Being a registered CRB umbrella organisation, Essex County Council undertakes CRB checks for many organisations and services such as other public sector organisations, charities, social care providers and schools.”

And a Devon County Council spokesman said they took safety and welfare “extremely seriously”. “As part of that we have to ensure that the right checks are carried out prior to filling certain posts,” he said. “Devon’s figure is proportionally higher because we act as an umbrella agency and provide the service for a number of organisations such as charities, external companies, schools, academies, and district councils.”

The total cost of local authority CRB checks since 2004 was nevertheless said to stand at more than £284m.

This follows news from just days ago that nearly three million CRB checks had been carried out in 2011, the equivalent of one in 17 of the country’s adult population.

At the time a spokesman for the Home Office said the current system of employment checks was “too bureaucratic and intrusive”.

“That is why we are reforming the regime to scale it back to common sense levels so that the public are properly protected but the number of excessive checks are substantially reduced,” he said.

Gordon Brown had his ‘British jobs for British workers’ slogan which many dismissed and now the current employment minister Chris Grayling has said that young British people looking for work should be given priority over immigrant applicants, including those from Eastern Europe.

According to employment law, however, discriminating against applicants on the basis of where they come from is illegal.

It was pointed out last week that official figures showed while unemployment was going up, reaching around 1m in those aged 16-24, the number of foreign nationals with jobs had also gone up – by 166,000 in one year.

Grayling said of UK-born jobseekers: “They come out of school or college, they don’t have previous experience, they may be up against someone who has come to the UK from Eastern Europe, who is five or six years older, who has got work experience already and are quite an attractive recruitment option for the employer.”

He told Sky News: “It is my hope that every employer in the UK, in deciding if they are going to recruit in the next few months, will put young UK unemployed people at the top of their priority list … we’ll do everything we can to encourage them to do so.”

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has missed more than half of its own targets, according to an internal audit that revealed that 243 HSE staff had had accidents while working at the Bootle, Merseyside, headquarters.

The audit found that the HSE failed to achieve seven out of its 11 targets for workplace safety. Among the areas that the executive let itself down were providing adequate training for employees on long-haul road trips, acting on risk reports inside 30 days, and assessing staff who regularly do computer work.

The number of accidents and injuries in the HSE’s offices is said to have risen by 16 per cent in one year, with 29 members of staff having problems due to looking at PC monitors, 22 taking time off due to stress, 13 having slips or trips, and five having accidents. The average annual sick leave for 2010/11 was 6.8 days and a total of 24,000 hours were lost through poor health.

The HSE told the Daily Telegraph: “The HSE consistently has a very low level of reportable incidents, which already puts it in the very best class of performers when compared with similar organisations. Despite being a high performer, we seek continuous improvement across all fronts, irrespective of performance at one point in time against any annual target.’

However, Sally Thompson of the Adam Smith Institute was quoted as saying: ‘We need a good dose of common sense in this area – if HSE can’t comply with the rules then entrepreneurs and small businesses have no chance.’

One of the longest-standing members of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has been awarded for his dedication to saving lives in the workplace.

Edward Slater, from Waveney, known to his friends and family as Ted, was awarded and praised by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) and Waveney District Council at a small ceremony, at Lowestoft Town Hall.

The 84-year old, who was evacuated to Suffolk at the age of 11 during the Second World War, always wanted to save lives, so he followed a career path in occupational health and safety, joining the Institution in the 1950s.

He said:

“It’s good, as far as I’m concerned, that IOSH and Waveney District Council have recognised me. I feel that the work I’ve done is valued and that’s an honour.

“Since starting my career back in 1948, I have seen a number of changes in the industry. Workplace accidents and fatalities were high when I first started out, but now the UK has one of the best records in the world – it’s nice to think I may have made a small contribution to that.”

He began his career as an assistant to the health and safety officer and went on to work for the likes of the Air Ministry, beans manufacturer, H.J Heinz, and RAF Orfordness, Suffolk Radio Research Station, before moving on to health and safety in the construction of nuclear power stations.

Ted added:

“Working for Heinz was quite an experience. Heinz was opening a new factory in Wigan – it was to be the largest food factory in Europe. As senior safety officer I was tasked with ensuring the production machinery was UK compliant and that 4,000 new members of staff received health and safety training.

“One of the perks of the job was the staff sales where you could pick up tins of baked beans for a fraction of the price – I still eat Heinz beans now, nothing beats them.”

Andrew Bagworth, Chair of IOSH’s East Anglia Branch, said:

“This is a tremendous achievement. Ted’s dedication and passion for health and safety has no doubt helped save lives and prevented people from being injured. He’s an inspiration to the younger members of our profession, we’re delighted to have awarded him for 60 years of service to IOSH and we’re proud to have him as a member.”

The recognition of creative and impactful recruitment marketing campaigns that effectively utilise an ever growing variety of media channels will be highlighted at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) Recruitment Marketing Awards (RMA). Organisations wishing to take part are now invited to enter.

This year’s awards will feature two new categories; best use of video, which recognises the increase in visual communications, and best in-house recruitment marketing team. The latter will demonstrate best practice in direct recruitment. There are 16 categories in total, including campaign of the year, best graduate initiative and best use of social media (launched in 2011) – as well as the grand prix award, which will be presented to the overall winner.

The awards, produced in association with People Management, will be presented at a ceremony to take place on Wednesday 11 July at The Brewery, London.

The closing date for entries is Friday, 23 March 2012.

Natalie White, head of corporate marketing, CIPD, says: “We are looking for the most effective and impactful examples of where agencies and organisations have pushed the boundaries to engage with their target audiences and deliver results. It is important to recognise emerging marketing channels and trends as the recruitment environment continues to change. Responding to this in an agile way is key to securing the best talent. We’re looking for recruitment campaigns that effectively connect with today’s business needs, delivering something that stands out and promotes the employer’s brand.”

Anthony Moran, head of marketing & client services development, Redactive Media Group, says:
“Economic uncertainty, increasing unemployment levels and what seems like a new media platform launch every few months have all combined to make an interesting year. If you look at an agency’s current business model or financial makeup in comparison to 10 years ago, they are worlds apart. It is truly survival of the fittest out there and the most adaptable seem to come out on top; the two things that remain a constant in their success are creativity and effectiveness.”

Christians who believe that they are exempt from equalities legislation are no different from Muslims trying to impose Sharia law in Britain, Trevor Phillips has declared.

Speaking at a debate in London on diverse societies, the chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) backed new laws that led to the closure of all Catholic adoption agencies in England.

“You can’t say because we decide we’re different then we need a different set of laws,” he said.

“To me there’s nothing different in principle with a Catholic adoption agency, or indeed Methodist adoption agency, saying the rules in our community are different and therefore the law shouldn’t apply to us.

“Why not then say Sharia can be applied to different parts of the country? It doesn’t work.”

Mr Phillips argued that Catholic adoption agencies were providing a public service so should adhere to sexual orientation equality laws and not put up opposition to gay couples even if it conflicted with their religious beliefs.

He added that faith groups should be free to follow their religious rules in their own settings but that these should be left “at the door of the temple” to give way to “public law” as laid down by parliament.

While secular groups have welcomed the comments, the chairman’s remarks have been met with condemnation by religious leaders who have branded them “totalitarian”.

“Trevor Phillips in the past has argued for respect for Christian conscience,” former bishop of Rochester, The Right Reverend Michael Nazir-Ali, told the Daily Mail.

“I am very surprised that here he seems to be saying there should be a totalitarian kind of view in which a believer’s conscience should not be respected.”

However, Keith Porteous Wood from the National Secular Society agreed with Mr Phillips, stating that for an equal society there cannot be “endless exemptions” for religious groups.

He added: “There is no such thing as partial equality, and every time an exemption is made, someone else’s rights are compromised.”

Cutting consultation periods for group redundancy risks unemployment, warns the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

The Government is considering scaling back the 90-day time frame to make the process of dismissing staff easier, quicker and cheaper. However, the TUC claims that this would be detrimental to employers, employees and the economy.

Currently businesses planning to cut 20 to 99 jobs must discuss the matter with unions or workplace representatives for at least 30 days. This rises to 90 days if more than 99 members of staff are to be relieved.

The union argues that the existing allocation of time allows for negotiations to help find ways of avoiding redundancies and to re-train staff. It also ensures that the process is transparent and fair. A cutback in the 90-day period could signal to employers that the priority of exploring ways of reducing job losses had lessened.

Along with trying to prevent a dilution of the current legislation, the TUC believes that the rules should be strengthened to ensure that situations such as the recent case with Woolworths are not repeated.

Here payouts were won for employees as the insolvency practitioners failed to consult. However, those who worked in stores with fewer than 20 members of staff did not receive compensation. For more on this case please click here.

TUC General Secretary, Brendan Barber, said: “Rather than cutting back on consultation rights, now is the time for ministers to strengthen collective redundancy arrangements and protect working people and employers.”

The Coalition’s call for evidence over this issue has now closed. It will launch a full consultation later this year if the findings suggest this is necessary.

The banking firm will be clawing back bonuses worth £2 million from four board directors and six other executives.

According to the BBC, the former chief executive Eric Daniels will lose between £600,000 and £700,000, as the bank prepares to take between 40% and 50% of a £1.45 million bonus.

Three other board directors are expected to lose around £250,000, while six executives that don’t sit on the board will have £100,000 each clawed back.

Executives at the bank are being penalised for their role in the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI), after the bank was forced to set aside £3.2 billion for customers that were mis-sold.

Clawback arrangements were introduced in 2008, following pressure from politicians and the Financial Services Authority (FSA). This is the first time that a British bank has clawed back bonuses from executives.

The bank’s current chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio turned down his bonus for last year.

The last quarter has seen pay intentions reach their highest level since spring 2009, according to newly released data from survey of more than 1,000 employers, commissioned by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). The survey asked employers if they planned to increase, freeze or decrease pay in the 12 months to December 2012 and found that the expected mean basic pay settlement* was 1.7%, compared with 1.5% in the previous quarter and 1.3% at the same time last year.

In the private sector, 35% of employers predict a pay rise (unchanged from last quarter), with the average increase creeping up from 2.1% to 2.2%. Among those planning to increase pay, manufacturing and production firms are forecasting the highest rises (2.9%), followed by those in the service sector (2.7%). The replacement of a pay freeze with a 1% pay cap in the public sector has seen the proportion of employers forecasting a pay increase in this sector jump from 12% to 30%, with average public sector pay increases jumping from 0.3% to 0.8%. On average, 16% of all employers predict a pay freeze for the coming year, but this ranges from 9% in the private sector to 40% in the public sector.

Despite the upward movement in pay predictions, the survey also revealed that a level of uncertainty prevails amongst many employers, particularly in the private and voluntary sectors, with 55% and 56% respectively feeling unable to predict the outcome of their pay decision, as it is too early to say.

Charles Cotton, CIPD rewards adviser, comments: “While the predicted increases in pay settlements reflects a cautious optimism among members in the private sector that the worst may now be over, uncertainty about how fast the economy will improve is acting to moderate pay forecasts and leading many employers to hedge their bets on the outcome of the final decision. As we move further into the pay round and as organisations get a better idea of how well they and the economy are likely to perform, we should see fewer feeling unable to predict the outcome of their annual pay decisions.

“Across all sectors, and whatever pay decisions are predicted, it’s vital that employers maintain an honest line of communication with employees in order to keep staff motivated and engaged; previous CIPD research has shown that employees are satisfied with their employer’s pay decision if their employer has taken the time to explain the rationale behind that decision. The same research also showed that even among those employers that do talk to employees about the basis of their pay rise, few took the opportunity to explain to staff what needed to happen in the next 12 months for staff to get another increase.”

* This figure is the average across all firms surveyed, and therefore includes pay increases, freezes and decreases. It excludes bonuses, incremental increases, overtime and impact of regrading exercises.

New survey results released today by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) reveal around one in three UK workers (35%) say bosses don’t care about their happiness and wellbeing in the workplace, with more than two-thirds (67%) claiming their organisation doesn’t offer any opportunities to get fit and healthy (1). As part of National Heart Month the BHF is now urging employers to think more about workplace health and join their free Health at Work programme (2).

Over 2000 workers from bankers to healthcare professionals were surveyed for Health at Work which is sponsored by Legal & General (3). Almost a fifth (18%) of employees rated their daily stress levels as seven out of ten or above. Respondents reported that stress from work spilled over into their home life and free time. Over a third (39%) claimed stress from work made them feel more tired than usual, and more than a quarter (29%) said they find it difficult to sleep.

The survey also found that more than one in 10 (11%) workers fail to do any exercise on an average working day and over a third of workers (34%) also admit to taking one or more sick days during an average month.

Lisa Purcell, Project Manager for Health at Work at the BHF said:

“These survey results paint a worrying picture of workplace health. Workers seem to be suffering a toxic combination of unhealthy foods, lack of exercise and high levels of stress. Many of us spend 60% of our waking hours at work and the daily grind can have a serious impact on the health of workers across the UK (4).

“In the current financial climate it’s clear that the focus must be on productivity in the workplace. But employers must realise that a healthy workforce is key to less stress, better team work and improved motivation, which results in increased productivity and fewer sick days.

“This National Heart Month we’re calling on the bosses of Britain to help get their employees fit and healthy. When it comes to thinking about your health, your heart is the best place to start and a few small changes can make a huge difference.”

The BHF’s Health at Work programme is free to join. To help employers get their workforce fit and healthy the BHF has launched its Mission Very Possible resources. The free resources include a quick start guide, posters, keep fit guides and much more bhf.org.uk/healthatwork.

The charity is also asking workers to wear red on Friday 24th February to help raise vital funds for the heart charity.

Jobseekers underestimate the importance of workplace skills according to new research by learndirect

New research by learndirect reveals there is a perception gap between the skills employers are looking for from prospective employees and the skills jobseekers believe to be important. There is a particular divergence of views when it comes to workplace skills such as teamwork, communication and dealing with customers.

The findings show just one in ten jobseekers think workplace skills are important, whilst 88% of employers say they are a top priority. Getting through recruitment is also a challenge: a quarter of jobseekers sat they don’t know how to create a good impression in interviews; and 42% of employers say the majority of interviewees fail to impress them at this crucial stage.

This research was conducted as part of the learndirect Make it Count campaign, which aims to help improve the nation’s job prospects. learndirect is teaming up with partners including the National Apprenticeship Service, NHS Direct and Totaljobs to encourage more people to learn the skills they need to stand out to employers and get a job.

John Hayes, Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning said: “The social and economic importance of practical learning cannot be overestimated. learndirect’s campaign will play a valuable role in inspiring people from all walks of life to learn new skills, as well as offering vital guidance to help translate aspiration into action. Building lives by building life chances.”
Peter Shufflebotham, Head of Skills at learndirect, said: “For years employers have been very vocal about the importance of basic skills, such as maths and English, as well as the ability to demonstrate skills for the workplace, such as good communication and teamwork. We wanted to see if this message is reaching the people applying for jobs. Unfortunately the answer seems to be no as our research reveals jobseekers remain confused about what employers are looking for.

“Apprenticeships, online courses and other learning programmes are all great ways to help develop those key skills for work. With our campaign partners, like NHS Direct, the National Apprenticeship Service and Skillsmart Retail, we’re spreading the word about the learning opportunities out there and helping people understand what they need to do to improve their job prospects.”

Other findings from the research include:

* Back to basics: jobseekers need to brush up on their basic skills – 40% say poor spelling is the area they have been criticised for the most in previous jobs, whilst 56% of employers rate proficiency in English as a top priority when recruiting
* Job preparation: jobseekers blame the education system for letting them down with 38% of jobseekers and 37% of employers saying schools and colleges need to better prepare students for the job market.

A survey conducted by Cisco, the official network infrastructure provider to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, has revealed that although SMEs believe they will have to reassess certain areas of their business ahead of London 2012, nearly half of the companies surveyed have yet to make the necessary preparations.

The survey asked SME decision makers from across the UK about the key areas they would have to consider in light of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The research looked at a range of considerations including staffing and technology.

Staffing

When asked about the effect London 2012 could have on their businesses, SMEs recognised that staffing could be affected.

· 22 per cent of businesses surveyed expect that London 2012 will directly or indirectly cause them to have less staff on hand
· With increased tourism and travel at peak times during the Games, nearly a third of businesses (29%) are aware that they will have to think more about transport and traffic affecting their staff
· 14 per cent of businesses feel they will have to think more about staff morale and motivation to include their workers in London 2012

To address these possible staffing issues during the Games, 22 per cent of businesses surveyed are considering implementing flexible working procedures during Games time. Promisingly, over half of those surveyed (59%) have either some or all of the necessary collaboration technology in place to offer flexible working, but that still leaves a sizable proportion (41%) without any strategy in place to cope with the possible disruptions the London 2012 Games may cause.

Legacy/ Opportunities

Despite the changes SMEs may have to make in light of London 2012, when surveyed, small businesses still acknowledged both the short and long-term benefits the Games will offer. 36 per cent of SMEs surveyed expect that the Games will generally have a positive effect on UK smaller businesses. Additionally, the survey revealed that small businesses believe that the Games could help increase the number of tourists and customers in the UK and, in the long run, improve infrastructure and road networks.

However, SMEs need to ensure that they have the correct procedures and facilities in place to maximise on this opportunity. To help businesses capitalise on the event, Cisco is hosting a series of free live webinars which will offer advice to businesses on how to be Games ready ahead of London 2012. Visit http://www.ciscolondon2012.co.uk for further details.

Neil Crockett, MD Cisco London 2012, said:

“With so many SMEs still unprepared ahead of the Games, now is the time for businesses to take action. London 2012 can offer many opportunities for UK SMEs, but only if they have the correct business strategy in place. Organisations need to prepare in a wide manner of ways to ensure they are business ready – from evaluating their network infrastructure to preparing for flexible working through effective collaboration technology.

The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games can and will offer a lasting legacy to those businesses who understand the necessary preparations. With a viable business strategy, alternative travel plans and flexible working in place, London 2012 can help build a brilliant future for businesses next summer and in the long term.”

The Chief Executive of Cable & Wireless, stands to make £600,000 after working for the company for less than three months.

The technology company could be sold to Vodafone, which would reportedly trigger a clause in Gavin Darby’s contract. In the event of a change of ownership the executive is entitled to receive a year’s base salary – regardless of whether or not he joins the new firm.

As part of Darby’s remuneration package he was also given a “golden hello” of £600,000 in shares, in addition to the £300,000 worth of shares he gained when the company matched his purchase of the same cost. Since he joined in December, the value of those assets has increased by 35 per cent.

In the event of a sale it is unlikely that Darby will join Vodafone after he leaves Cable & Wireless, as he left the former company after disagreeing with Chief Executive Vittorio Colao.

Darby will today outline to shareholders how he intends to turn around the organisation, which had three profit warnings last year and a string of chief executives.

Vodafone has not, as yet, made a firm offer to buy the business.

A “race to the bottom” for pay could be created if the Transfer of Undertakings and Protection of Employment (TUPE) regulations are changed, according to the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

Following a call for evidence over an amendment to TUPE, the union responded by arguing that any weakening of the rules would risk driving down pay and benefits and increase unemployment.

Despite the fact that the current legislation complies with a European Directive to provide protection for both employees and employers, the Government is concerned that the legislation is “gold-plated” and over bureaucratic.

TUPE regulations are designed to protect workers’ terms and conditions when a business is transferred from one owner to another. Continuity of service is therefore also sheltered.

TUC General Secretary, Brendan Barber, said: “Weakening the guarantee on pay and conditions would encourage companies to compete for contracts based solely on wage and other employment costs, and not on the quality of service.”

The call for evidence has now closed. Depending on the findings of this initial investigation, the Government may announce a formal consultation on any proposed changes later this year.

Companies cannot afford not to improve female representation in UK boardrooms, according to one industry figure.

Following the prime minister’s comments on gender equality at the Northern Future Forum Summit in Stockholm, Piya Khanna, founder and executive coach at Change to Succeed, has spoken out about the effect female directors could have on companies and the economy as a whole.

“It makes good business and economic sense to have gender diverse boards,” she said.

“If the UK wants to be a force in the global economy going forward, it’s imperative that our companies outperform their rivals in all sectors – and one way to achieve that is to ensure gender diversity at board level.”

Speaking at the summit in Sweden, Mr Cameron said he hopes to accelerate the increase of women in top executive roles without resorting to quotas, but he will not rule them out.

The Prime Minister also discussed the effect of lack of female representation on the economy, emphasising that the drive to improve female representation is not just about gender equality but is also about “effectiveness”.

He said: “The evidence is that there is a positive link between women in leadership and business performance, so if we fail to unlock the potential of women in the labour market, we’re not only failing those individuals, we’re failing our whole economy.”

Research shows that only 15 per cent of the seats in British boardrooms are currently occupied by female directors, up from 12.5 per cent in 2010.

However, a government-commissioned report last year recommended that quotas should be introduced if companies do not take action to improve gender equality in the workplace and increase the number of female directors to one in four by 2015.

“I believe it’s critical to have egalitarian board rooms to make real Britain’s claim of being a fair and egalitarian society,” Ms Khanna added.

“Having a more visible presence of women at board level will lead to other women seeing that it is possible and use them as role models and inspiration.”

The employment appeal tribunal (EAT) has upheld a decision that a lawyer suffered from unlawful discrimination based on his sexual orientation at a City firm.

Lee Bennett’s claim of discrimination in the workplace was based around comments referring to his “batty boy mate” discovered in a case file at the law firm Bivonas where he was working at the time.

The comments were found on a handwritten note in a three-page memorandum inside a client’s file being reviewed by Mr Bennett and another lawyer.

According to the tribunal ruling, the wording of the note which inferred that Mr Bennett was handing his work over to another man because he was also gay was a “professional slur of the upmost gravity”.

The EAT found that no heterosexual member of staff have been treated in the same way as Mr Bennett and the law firm was not able to provide a justification for treating him differently to other employees.

While there are no definitive figures available, the government estimates that between five and seven per cent of the UK population are gay, lesbian or bisexual.

According to the EAT, the law firm’s investigation of the grievance after the claim was filed was “seriously defective”, as there was no evidence of a properly conducted investigatory process.

Mr Bennett’s defence against the appeal was funded by The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) who welcomed the final ruling.

“Homophobia will not be tolerated in the workplace or anywhere else,” said John Wadham, group director legal of the EHRC. “We funded Mr Bennett’s defence and this win has set a precedent for discrimination law.”

In a statement the Bivonas said that Mr Bennett was no longer working with the law firm and that the incident took place two years ago.

It added: “We have learned from this experience and have taken the appropriate measures in the light of the tribunal’s observations.”

Amid continuing challenges and cost cutting, particularly within the public sector, HR has grown in influence and effectiveness within organisations, according to new research into HR roles and responsibilities.

The 10th annual XpertHR survey on the topic sought responses from HR practitioners, and found that HR has performed well in the recent challenging conditions, with HR teams dealing with different challenges in the public and private sectors.

While the private sector has focused on consolidating changes, and reviewing reward and remuneration packages, the public sector has been almost exclusively focused on cutting costs, jobs and services. Looking towards the next 12 months, both sectors are expected to face similarly contrasting priorities.

However, working in challenging circumstances appears to have brought the best out of the HR function in many organisations, with respondents to the survey feeling that HR has reacted well and performed effectively overall. Seven respondents in 10 (69.2%) rate their HR function’s effectiveness as above average or higher, roughly the same percentage as in 2010.

This continues the largely upward trend that has been demonstrated since the recession. In 2007, the percentage of respondents who rated HR effectiveness as above average or higher stood at 51.6%. In 2008 it was 57.6%, and in 2009 the figure peaked at 72.1%.

HR in private sector services organisations seems to be least satisfied with its performance, with 65.4% of respondents rating effectiveness as above average or higher. This compares with 77.2% in the public sector and 75% in manufacturing and production organisations.

This may be related to the fact that there continue to be higher levels of rationalisation in both these sectors, which have provided the opportunity for HR to be more active on a strategic level, policing and supporting job cuts, redundancies and changes to terms and conditions in order to save costs.

Almost eight respondents in 10 use measures (both informal and formal) to assess the effectiveness of their HR function.

The survey also highlighted steady growth in the influence of the HR function within organisations. This year, six respondents in 10 (59.9%) said that they believe the influence of the HR function throughout the organisation has grown over the past two years. Just 3% of respondents felt their influence has decreased. The biggest overall decrease in influence was seen in the public sector, where more than one in 10 (11.4%) said that they believe that HR’s influence has decreased.