Greater freedom for pensions

02 / 04 / 2014

The Daily Mail had run a vociferous campaign against 'annuity rip-offs', so it celebrated the Budget changes to pensions, saying: “Millions will get freedom to use retirement cash how THEY want”. The Chancellor said fundamental reforms would come in 2015 to give everyone the freedom to use their pension fund how they liked, so long as they paid tax on...

Organised chaos

31 / 03 / 2014

As a matter of fact I dislike chaos, organised or otherwise. My literary heroine is not Elizabeth Bennett (though I am very fond of her) but Flora Poste. Flora loved order and tidiness and she brought it to Cold Comfort Farm in the most admirable fashion. These two rather maiden-auntly virtues are highly prized in our office. Many job applicants...

Paternity Rights: A scandal for whom?

28 / 03 / 2014

Earlier this week we heard from the Institute for Leadership and Management that only 10% of fathers are taking more than their two weeks’ statutory paternity leave after their child is born. Their survey revealed that over half of managers consider paternity leave to be disruptive to their organisation and detrimental to efficiency. On its own, one might say that...

Recruitment tactics in 2014: Looking beyond skills to a human-led approach

26 / 03 / 2014

The job market has changed and so too have the attitudes of candidates and employers. The recession has brought about a dramatic change that had been bubbling away under the surface, and as is the case in chaotic circumstances, accelerated the change that was inevitable. These changes are described by author Linda Gratton in her book “The Shift: The Future...

You said what?!

24 / 03 / 2014

“Cripes!” said William Brown as he and Jumble left the Brown’s lunch table in disgrace and went to meet the rest of the Outlaws. Pretty mild language by today’s standards where it sometimes seems that swearing is the norm. We hear it everywhere, in the media and in the street and workplace. It’s a shame because it degrades the English...