UK - Employment tribunals

Businesses losing confidence in tribunal system, say CBI

A report from the CBI (the employers' organisation) shows that British businesses have major concerns about the complexity of the new employment tribunal procedures despite a fall in the number of tribunal cases since the reforms were introduced last October.

Australia - Pacific Internet HR manager

Pacific Internet Limited, has appointed Louisa Gregory as their new Human Resources Manager. Details at:


New Human Resources Manager for Pacific Internet

UK - Reports

Two recent government reports are described here:

Factors Affecting the Labour Market Participation of Older Workers: Qualitative Research

New Report Focuses on Local Labour Markets

EU legislation

TUC Condemns Shelving of Temp Directive

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber criticised the announcement from Brussels that the EU's better regulation initiative will lead to the scrapping or shelving of the draft temporary agency workers directive.

Australia - Workplace relations

Deep divisions over workplace relations changes

Australia is deeply divided over changes to workplace relations legislation, according to the September 2005 Sensis® Consumer Report

UK - Skills

Government Presiding Over the 'Dumbing Down' of the UK Economy Says Union Chief

By failing to implement the best European working standards and importing the worst, the UK government is turning the UK into a third world economy says Derek Simpson, General Secretary, of Amicus.

UK - Skills

Passport Means Jobs for Cleaners

From today cleaners may need a skills passport to get work, according to industry voice, the British Cleaning Council (BCC).

UK - Flexibilty

Call centre worker receives £19,500 compensation after being denied flexible working

Communications giant Telewest has agreed to pay £19,500 in compensation after refusing to grant employee Deborah Clarke suitable flexible working arrangements to allow her to care for her baby.

UK - employee relations

Amicus Warns Companies to Comply With Information and Consultation Regulations

Amicus Assistant General Secretary, Tony Burke, warned today that companies that tried to get their employees to sign inferior information and consultation agreements would face a legal challenge from the union.

Australia - Flexibility

Teleworking in Australia

A recent report indicates that almost a third of Australians have experience of telework.

UK - Flexibility

Britain's Hidden Brain Drain

Britain's flexible and part-time working arrangements are failing to meet the needs of working women and men, leading to 5.6 million part-time workers – 4 out of 5 of Britain's 7 million part-time workers - working in jobs that do not use their potential, according to the results of a year-long investigation by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC). Over three and a half million of these actually used higher qualifications or skills or had more supervision/management of staff in previous jobs, and a further 2 million believe they could 'easily work at a higher level'.

Canada (Ontario) - Computer operator guidelines

Health and Safety Guidelines for Computer Operators

The Ontario Ministry of Labour, Occupational Health and Safety Division has prepared a Health and Safety guideline for computer operators.

UK unemployment

Employment Statistics

Employment rises by 83,000 over the previous quarter but unemployment also rises marginally.

UK - MG Rover

MG Rover Workers Struggle to Find Work

More than six months after the closure of MG Rover in Birmingham, 60% of the workforce are still out of work.

UK - Skills

MOT Milestone Sees First 1,000 Car Technicians Sign up to New National Skills Tests

The UK's first national voluntary assessment system for technicians, Automotive Technician Accreditation (ATA), has seen 1,000 technicians register since launching in June.

Canada - Unemployment rate

28,000 more employed in August

Statistics Canada reports that unemployment remained at 6.8% in August - amongst the lowest in three decades.

UK - Pensions

Amicus say the Government's Pension Assistance Scheme Will Fail Those in Need

Amicus say that only 20% of the people who have lost all or part of their pension entitlement after the winding-up of their schemes will benefit from the government's Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) meant to help them.

Australia/New Zealand - Best employers

Australia and New Zealand's Best Employers

Hewitt Associates, the global HR services firm, has revealed its 2005 Hewitt Best Employers in Australia and New Zealand results. The study is jointly managed by Hewitt Associates, The Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) and AFR BOSS
magazine.

UK - Offshore workers

Amicus Push for Better Rights for Offshore Workers

Amicus, the union for oil workers, met with MPs and MEPs looking at the oil and gas industry yesterday to insist for better entitlements for people working offshore.

Australia - Employment

Unemployment stays at 5.0%

Seasonally adjusted, the number of people in employment rose by 32,600 to 10,067,500 in August.

UK - Voluntary sector funding

Voluntary Sector Funding Threatens Jobs and Vital Services

The voluntary sector funding regime is failing, threatening jobs and jeopardising service provision for some of the most vulnerable people in our society says Amicus.

USA - Employment situation

Employment Situation

Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that nonfarm payroll employment increased by 169,000 in August, and the unemployment rate fell marginally to 4.9%

USA - Employee Assistance Programs

Long-term disability and employee assistance

Members can access an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) offering 'solutions-focused consultation' for a wide range of personal issues.