Drug Trust v Drug Testing
20 / 02 / 2013
The level of habitual drug use and abuse in today’s society is really quite depressing. I’m not talking about popping aspirins to deal with a hangover or the more extreme cases like Lance Armstrong, about whom I wrote recently. Despite the Government’s best efforts, it’s a sad reality that many young people still see the use of non-prescription drugs as...
Shooting the Messenger
19 / 02 / 2013
The NHS has been in the lime light in the last few weeks and for all the wrong reasons. Recently, the former CEO of the United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, Gary Walker, was interviewed about the manner of the termination of his contract on the BBC’s Today programme. Mr Walker was dismissed in 2010 for gross professional misconduct (allegedly related...
What Les Mis teaches employers about managing bullying in the workplace
18 / 02 / 2013
I went to see Les Miserables recently. Not a fan of very long films usually, but I did enjoy this and there were some wonderful performances, especially Anne Hathaway as the wretched Fantine. Some people loved this film, others really hated it; I was quite surprised to find that I was so engaged that I even stopped eating Maltesers! The...
Dole to work goal
14 / 02 / 2013
Government work experience schemes have sparked a fierce debate in recent months. While the general principle that allowing unemployed people to get work experience with an opportunity to progress to paid employment is a good objective, there have been concerns about companies offering unpaid work experience to benefit claimants. There are a number of different schemes and they have different...
Pancakes, festivals and religious holidays
13 / 02 / 2013
Throw a sock in any direction and you hit another religious group celebrating something … Rather a nice thing to do, especially at this grey old time of year. Yesterday was Shrove Tuesday, better known to many as Pancake Day. The old English verb “shrive” means to obtain absolution for one's sins by way of Confession and doing penance. “Shrove”...