A growing number of firms – including Microsoft[i] – have introduced ‘unlimited’ paid time off as an attractive well-being benefit for employees, but these policies need to be carefully thought through to ensure they work for both the employee and employer.
Whilst unlimited leave policies can appear to be a positive thing, there are concerns that they can mask issues such as stress and burnout as some staff may be reluctant to take time off without set boundaries or expectations around what is and isn’t acceptable. Equally at the other end of the scale, such schemes can be open to abuse with people taking lots of time off. Neither of these scenarios is good for the employee or employer.
Contributor: Adrian Lewis, Director - Activ People HR | Published: 23 July 2023
Sickness absence increased to a record high last year according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics[i] – something employers need to nip in the bud according to Adrian Lewis, Co-founder and Global Lead for Activ People HR by gaining an understanding of what’s behind this trend.
Contributor: Adrian Lewis, Co-founder and Global Lead - Activ People HR | Published: 14 June 2023
You need to consider why people aren’t making use of their annual leave. Is your workplace culture one where staff feel unable to fully disconnect and take a break?
Contributor: Kate Palmer, HR Advice & Consultancy Director - Peninsula | Published: 3 June 2023
New analysis of over 2,000 businesses has revealed that the average business has seen a sharp rise in sick leave - with 30% more days lost in the last year due to short and long-term sickness.
Contributor: Charles Butterworth - Access PeopleHR | Published: 29 May 2023
Two thirds of businesses (67%) say repeated short-term sickness by staff is the form of absenteeism that impacts their organisation the most, according to a recent survey conducted by employment law and HR consultancy firm, WorkNest.
Contributor: Jane Nicholls, Senior Employment Law Adviser & Solicitor - WorkNest | Published: 8 May 2023
Both the incidence of sickness absence recording and the measurement of its impact have dropped in 2023 compared to the past three years.
Contributor: Katharine Moxham, spokesperson - GRiD | Published: 5 May 2023
GoodShape unveils the true financial impact of employee ill health for organisations in all sectors, with its new Impact of Absence Calculator
Contributor: Alun Baker, CEO - GoodShape | Published: 2 May 2023
The UK’s first Coronation for over 70 years will be on Saturday 6 May. In recognition of this historic event, the government has declared Monday 8 May a national bank holiday.
Contributor: Kate Palmer, HR Advice & Consultancy Director - Peninsula | Published: 29 April 2023
A recent study into employee productivity by Oscar Acoustics[iii] who spoke to 500 senior management workers found that offices are struggling to deal with the demands created by hybrid working, with excessive noise at the heart of employee grievances which is affecting productivity.
They highlight that despite over three quarters of employers implementing hybrid working measures that noise levels were often unbearable, becoming so loud that a quarter of UK workers aged between 18 and 50, expressed serious concern about going back to workstations.
Noisy colleagues were the main source of disruption, with office banter the most annoying trait affecting four in ten workers, whilst a third struggle to concentrate alongside near-by video conferencing.
Contributor: Adrian Lewis, Director - Activ People HR | Published: 20 March 2023
From the shortest serving UK prime minister to the death of the longest reigning monarch, 2022 is a year that will go down in the history books. But will you remember the take-away business lessons?
Contributor: Alan Price, CEO - BrightHR | Published: 15 February 2023
