Tupe; Wolf Review; BA; Hillary Clinton and body language; NHS; rail workers; sickness absence; HSE; Bribery Act; Jobcentres

1.  Get HR news, comment and jobs daily by email. Sign up at www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/daily
This week in HR
A round-up of the top HR and management stories
Week ending 13 May 2011
PEOPLE MANAGEMENT
Follow us on… …and SlideShare
Tupe to be reviewed as
part of law shake-up LINKS
Read the full stoRy at bit.ly/kZwLQt  Good planning holds the key to successful Tupe transfers
The government has announced plans to People Management bit.ly/kfu5SZ
review Tupe regulations, as well as
collective redundancy and discrimination
compensation, as part of its efforts to
reduce the burden of red tape. The three
newly-targeted areas were highlighted by
Ed Davey (pictured), minister for
employment relations, in a speech to the
Institute for Economic Affairs. Davey said
that Tupe (Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment) regulations, which
protect employees’ pay and conditions when an organisation is transferred from
one owner to another, were being reviewed because some businesses think these
rights are “goldplated” and overly bureaucratic.
Government accepts Wolf Review recommendations  Wolf review: on course
Read the full stoRy at bit.ly/jt4lmn People Management bit.ly/meMrEi
The government has announced an overhaul of vocational education that will
remove funding incentives which favour easier courses. It will require 16-18
year old students to continue studying English and maths until they achieve a
qualification in those subjects. In the official response to the Wolf Review,
ministers accepted all of the recommendations of Professor Alison Wolf and
gave her a formal role in government to help implement them.
BA reaches agreement with union  Unite union
Read the full stoRy at bit.ly/jtfs4P unitetheunion.org
The British Airways cabin crew dispute looks to have been finally settled after talks
between management and union leaders concluded with an agreement. BA has
agreed to reinstate the staff travel perks that became a bitter issue in the long-
running dispute, and to pay top-up payments to some low-paid staff. The dispute,
which was initially about cost-cutting measures and staffing on long-haul flights, led
to 22 days of strike action in 18 months and is estimated to have cost BA around
£150 million.
Comment: Was that a gasp or a sneeze?  Hillary Clinton explains Osama Bin Laden raid photo
Read the full stoRy at bit.ly/kUgbdL ABC news blog abcn.ws/m9eu3d
The body language shown by White House officials during the killing of Osama
Bin Laden is revealing, but could also be misleading, writes Peter Honey.
Comment: From kitchen porter to president
Read the full stoRy at bit.ly/mM0XjT
If Ho Chi Minh can make it from kitchen porter to being the first president of
Vietnam, writes Iain Mackinnon, shouldn’t we also try to be aware of how much
talent lies overlooked in basic grade staff?
Report urges US approach to welfare  Welfare to Work in the 21st Century
Read the full stoRy at bit.ly/kpmISw bit.ly/jTr3Hr
The government should adapt its welfare-to-work provider programme to
take in more elements of the American model, a new report has urged.
Job-seeking assistance should be offered as soon as workers are put at risk of
redundancy and such providers should also have access to job centres,
according to the Welfare to Work in the 21st Century report, co-authored by
the University of Portsmouth and accountancy firm PKF. ☛ MORE NEWS ON NEXT PAGE

2. ☛ PEOPLE MANAGEMENT ‘THIS WEEK IN HR’ CONTINUED...
LINKS
NHS chief executives ‘not exercising pay restraint’  Incomes Data Services
Read the full stoRy at bit.ly/jGKiuE incomesdata.co.uk
Chief executives of NHS trusts saw their pay rise three times as fast as the
government guidance last year, suggesting they are not exercising pay restraint,
according to Incomes Data Services (IDS). Non-medical chief executives in
England received an average pay rise of 4.5 per cent in 2009-10, taking their median
pay to £158,800, found IDS’s Boardroom Pay report.
‘Groundbreaking’ pay deal for rail workers
Read the full stoRy at bit.ly/kNEALc
Rail unions have secured a
“groundbreaking” pay deal for
workers, which includes an Olympics-
linked bonus and a no-sacking clause
during London 2012. The deal, agreed
by RMT and other unions, means that
Network Rail workers will receive a 5.2
per cent pay rise this year, backdated
to January, plus a further rise of RPI
inflation plus 0.5 per cent from next
January. They will also get a £500 bonus for working during the Olympics.
Sickness absence rises despite fit note  Download the survey
Read the full stoRy at bit.ly/lGLmlj bit.ly/mBHAk2
Average employee sickness absence rose from 6.4 days in 2009 to 6.5 days in
2010, despite the introduction of the government’s new fit note in April 2010, a
survey has found. The CBI/Pfizer Absence and Workplace Health survey of 223
employers suggested that the fit note has yet to have a positive impact on
sickness absence.
Most HSE accident reporting to move to the web  Legislative timetable – what’s new in the law
Read the full stoRy at bit.ly/jLVngw People Management bit.ly/eZwGXm
Most statutory reporting of accidents and injuries is to move to an online-
only system, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has confirmed. From
September, only fatal and major accidents will be reported by phone, while
all other reportable incidents under Riddor (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases
and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations) will be carried out through web
forms available on the HSE’s website.
Bribery Act to hit oil and gas hardest, finds research  Bribery Act 2010 – what it means for HR
Read the full stoRy at bit.ly/meHrxG People Management bit.ly/hdgPGF
The oil and gas industry has topped a list of sectors expected to be hit hardest
by the Bribery Act, research from Ernst & Young has shown. The consultancy
firm ranked the top 10 sectors most at risk of investigation under the Bribery
Act based on analysis of bribery convictions by the US Foreign Corrupt
Practices Act.
Fifth of Jobcentre roles to be cut
Read the full stoRy at bit.ly/mnKfa5
The government plans to cut up to a fifth of posts at UK Jobcentre Plus, it has
been reported. Job losses could be as high as 2,400 posts in the next 12 months
and include the closure of 17 benefit processing centres and five contact centres,
according to leaked plans seen by a national newspaper.
Use our classified guide People Management is Check out the latest
to identify suppliers of the official magazine of vacancies, sign-up for job
HR goods and services the Chartered Institute of details by email, upload your
Personnel and Development CV and get careers advice
© People Management is published on behalf of the CIPD by Personnel Publications Ltd, 17-18 Britton Street, London EC1M 5TP
subscriptions Magazine 020 8950 9117 CIPD members 020 8612 6208
editorial General 020 7324 2729 News 020 7324 2729 PM Online 020 7324 2733 www.peoplemanagement.co.uk Email editorial@peoplemanagement.co.uk