A new Government will be formed within the next five months, and with it will come a raft of new policy initiatives. Personnel Today finds out what would most benefit HR, and what would cause the profession the most difficulties.  

XpertHR's head of content Jo Stubbs and group editor David Shepherd discuss frequently asked questions on redundancy. Issues covered include: recruiting to a post from which an employee has recently been made redundant; re-employment of a formerly redundant employee; and redundancy rights of employees on maternity, adoption and extended paternity leave. 

IRS research into paternity leave finds that although half the organisations enhance paternity leave beyond the statutory minimum, partners are still reluctant to take paternity leave, especially if the enhanced wage falls short of full pay. 

On this week's XpertHR Weekly: an exclusive preview of the findings of the popular IRS HR roles and responsibilities survey; how an employer should deal with a request by an employee to be accompanied by an assistance dog; and the economic forecast for 2010, and the possibility of a double dip recession. 

Reward specialists at IRS present their twice-monthly settlement summary table, together with detailed reports of recent pay reviews. 

The worsening economic situation put pressure on the public sector in 2009, with the Government imposing restraint and settlement levels under scrutiny from all sides. This feature looks at some of the main deals struck in the 2009 pay round, and at what might lie in store this year.

XpertHR provides summaries of recent employment tribunal rulings, as well as the full transcripts of the decisions. New cases added this week involve: a successful sex discrimination claim that survived the illegality of the employment contract; an employer that constructively dismissed a club secretary by re-admitting a patron who had assaulted him; and a DJ who was sacked for being "old and complacent". 

The first snapshot survey from Personnel Today's new HR Opinion Panel provides an exclusive insight into the views of HR professionals, decision-makers and influencers. The first subject examines childcare vouchers and benefits.

Personnel Today looks at the obligations an employer has towards making workplace adjustments for disabled staff. 

The Court of Appeal has restored an employment tribunal decision that a transferee was not bound by the terms of a pay increase made under a collective agreement that was incorporated into the contracts before the transfer, where the increase was made under an agreement reached after the transfer in which the transferee played no part.

The Government has confirmed that employees in organisations with 250 or more employees will have a right to request time off to undertake study or training from 6 April 2010. 

Additions to the FAQs section cover redundancy appeals and the notice rights of employees on fixed-term contracts.

Has the "Acas code of practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures" introduced on 6 April 2009 fundamentally altered how you are approaching workplace disputes? IRS is conducting a survey of how employers deal with employee grievances and discipline and this is one of the issues that we are investigating. 

Tim Miller, HR director, Standard Chartered Bank, is one of HR's most respected figures. He talks to Personnel Today about the challenges the financial sector has faced, and how HR can make a difference.  

The XpertHR policies and documents section has been enhanced by the addition of a model assistance dogs policy. 

The European Court of Justice has held that a German law excluding employment before the age of 25 when calculating notice periods based on length of service is contrary to the Employment Framework Directive (2000/78/EC).

In this week's topic of the week article, Amy Nash and Sarah-Marie Williams of Clyde & Co LLP conclude a series of articles on resignations with a case study that looks at how employers can protect their business in the event of an employee resignation. In addition, we pull together some of the wealth of information on XpertHR on employee resignations and related topics.

The maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal claims decreases from £66,200 to £65,300. 

With the London Olympics just two years away, British athletes are in serious training. What can the HR profession learn from their cutting-edge motivational methods? Personnel Today investigates. 

The Employment Appeal Tribunal has considered who qualifies as “affected employees” who must be informed and consulted on a TUPE transfer through their employee representatives.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal has considered whether or not a disabled employee with two related impairments that she suffered concurrently but that individually did not last 12 months each qualify for protection under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

IRS is conducting research into the always popular issue of flexible working and would like to hear about your flexible working practices. The survey looks at how far employers are embracing the use of less conventional working arrangements; how far employees are taking advantage of the right to request flexible working; and how schemes such as sabbaticals and reduced hours can help cut employment costs and avoid redundancies. 

XpertHR provides summaries of recent employment tribunal rulings, as well as the full transcripts of the decisions. The new additions cover: age discrimination; unfair dismissal for misconduct; sexual orientation discrimination; overpayment of an employee; redundancy dismissal; and the right to request flexible working. 

Construction and housebuilding were among the biggest victims of the recession in 2009. But Barratt Developments HR director Jayne Mee is still upbeat, as Personnel Today discovers.

Severity of harm, not targets, looks set to drive a new HSE approach to work-related ill health. 

The Court of Appeal has held that an employee who was employed under a series of fixed-term contracts and whose contract was terminated could bring a claim of unfair dismissal despite the fact that he was employed to work outside Great Britain. Territorial limitations to unfair dismissal rights should be modified where necessary to enable a right emanating from European law to be enforced.