Commentary and insights

All items: Managing employees/workers

  • New flexible working request rules - what does HR need to know?

    Date:
    8 March 2024

    Changes to statutory flexible working rights are due to come into force on 6 April 2024. Given the increased expectation of staff to be able to work flexibly, coupled with the right to request flexible working becoming a day-one right, employers should prepare for an increase in flexible working applications. In this article, we guide HR through the key changes and how employers can prepare.

  • Carer's leave: Six things HR needs to know

    Date:
    5 February 2024

    The new statutory right to carer's leave will come into force on 6 April 2024. We look at how this new type of leave will operate, so HR can be ready when requests start to come in.

  • Employment law changes 2024: Progress report for HR

    Date:
    10 January 2024

    As we plunge into a new year, HR professionals could be forgiven for losing track of all the upcoming employment law changes and what they mean for their organisation. To assist HR with planning for 2024 and beyond, we round up the major legislative changes in the pipeline.

  • Changes to holiday entitlement and pay in 2024: What does HR need to know?

    Date:
    16 November 2023

    A number of changes to holiday entitlement and pay are due to come in next year, especially for workers with irregular hours and part-year workers. We look at what HR needs to know to be ready for the developments. 

  • Six key takeaways from the 2023 CIPD conference

    Date:
    13 November 2023

    The people profession is operating in a "VUCA world on steroids" (VUCA = volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity). So said CEO Peter Cheese as he welcomed around 1,300 delegates to the 2023 CIPD conference in Manchester.

  • Should we raise the minimum wage for workers on zero hours contracts?

    Date:
    8 November 2023

    The Workers (Predicable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023 has now received Royal Assent. But will it fix the problem of zero hours contracts and precarious work? Probably not, says XpertHR consultant editor Darren Newman, who casts an eye over Labour's plans for a "New Deal" and points to a forgotten proposal with the potential to make a real difference.

  • Hybrid working - the "new normal": What we found out

    Date:
    5 October 2023

    Director of Epic HR Gary Cookson recently delivered a webinar for XpertHR entitled Hybrid working - How to personalise the employee experience. During the session, he asked attendees a number of questions about the realities of the new post-Covid world, which is increasingly characterised by hybrid working arrangements.

  • Flexible working request reforms: A guide to updating your policy

    Date:
    4 September 2023

    Forthcoming changes to the law on the right to request flexible working mean that employers will have to amend their flexible working requests policy. We set out nine steps for HR professionals to follow when faced with updating their organisation's policy.

  • Balancing competing rights: A difficult challenge for employers

    Date:
    4 August 2023

    Ever since religion and belief discrimination was introduced in 2003, a potential conflict of rights has been brewing under the surface, says consultant editor Darren Newman. What if employees express beliefs related to protected characteristics - such as sexual orientation and gender reassignment - that may be upsetting or offensive to others?

  • Developing performance: Five steps to unlocking your workforce's full potential

    Date:
    6 July 2023

    Organisations benefit when employees contribute ideas, innovate and use creativity to find solutions. But how do you unlock your people's full potential? They need to be stretched, challenged, supported and developed. We set out the five steps to achieving this.

About this category

Commentary and insights: HR and legal information and guidance relating to managing employees/workers.