Content Archive

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The worst excuse?

Brian Amble | 29 November 2006

An attempt by a South African man to use a stolen doctor's note to take time off work has backfired after it was noticed that he was highly unlikely to be pregnant, as the note he presented claimed.

Claiming that your dog ate the car keys just isn't going to cut it any more as an excuse for being late for work. Now it's far more plausible to try blaming a malfunctioning sat-nav for sending you in the wrong direction or saying that your Blackberry malfunctioned.

British workers conscientious despite heatwave

Nic Paton | 04 August 2006

Predictions that Britain's hot summer would lead to an epidemic of sickies appear, at least on the evidence so far, to be somewhat wide of the mark.

Few signs of improvement in public sector absence levels

Brian Amble | 17 July 2006

The amount of time British workers are taking off sick may be declining, but public sector absence rates remain stubbornly high and – in some cases - are actually increasing.

Union ruled offside in Word Cup sickie row

Brian Amble | 15 June 2006

One of Britain's biggest trade unions has unleashed a storm of protest after it offered advice to members on how to throw a sickie to watch England play in the World Cup.

The end of the World as we know it?

Brian Amble | 09 June 2006

Britain's PR industry has been working overtime during the past few weeks conjuring up just about every possible story angle (and plenty of improbable ones) on the forthcoming World Cup. And if we had a pound for every press release we've been sent about the dire consequences for employers, we would be very rich indeed.

Year of discontent may be on the horizon for UK employers

Nic Paton | 07 June 2006

British university lecturers may have just settled their long-running dispute over pay, but employers are predicting a possible union backlash over the coming year over growing levels of wage restraint and business restructuring.

British bosses 'ignorant and complacent' over mental illness

Nic Paton | 05 June 2006

British businesses are badly under-estimating the extent to which their workers and managers are suffering from stress, anxiety, depression and other forms of mental ill health, a disability charity has warned.

World Cup could cost UK £4 billion

Brian Amble | 05 June 2006

Following the BBC's announcement that it will screen all of its World Cup games online, employers have been warned that the World Cup could cost the British economy almost £4 billion in lost productivity.

Lawyers get in on the World Cup act

Brian Amble | 24 May 2006

Employees in Britain are already able to use more than 80 types of complaint to launch legal action against their employers. So it was only a matter of time before a legal pitfall emerged around the forthcoming soccer World Cup.

Gaining value from images of ageing

Janet Howd | 17 May 2006

Perhaps all CVs should contain a portfolio of photos that reflect the trajectory of an applicants life. Organisations would then get a better feel for employee suitability and find that once on the pay role people chosen in this way would not need to feign ill health.

Britain's £13bn absence bill could be cut by better leadership

Nic Paton | 15 May 2006

Workers taking time off sick cost the British economy more than £13bn last year – but if senior managers and HR were more prepared to muck in and take a lead the bill could be cut dramatically.

Bosses urged to work out World Cup 'game plan' before kick off

Nic Paton | 11 May 2006

With just a month to go until this year's Football World Cup, bosses are being urged to work out their game-plan in advance with staff in order to maintain morale high, protect productivity and ensure absence levels do not suddenly soar.

Britons binge drink, then stagger into work

Nic Paton | 27 April 2006

Despite their reputation for binge drinking, British workers play hard and work hard, with nearly two thirds refusing to throw a sickie even after a night out on the tiles, a new survey has suggested.

Minority of workers use up majority of U.S health care bill

Nic Paton | 26 April 2006

A disproportionately large share of U.S companies' health care costs stem from the treatment of a small group of employees and dependents who have chronic or catastrophic illnesses, according to an analysis by consultancy Watson Wyatt Worldwide.

Sickies set to soar during World Cup

Nic Paton | 24 April 2006

With little more than a month to go until the kick off of the World Cup in Germany, employers are looking at how they can best avoid employees taking a rash of 'sickies' during matches.

Getting more Britons into the gym 'would cut sickness bill by £500m'

Nic Paton | 29 March 2006

The amount of sick leave taken in the UK could be cut by a whopping two million days if only workers could be encouraged to take more exercise, according to a new study.

McDonald's keeps it in the family

Brian Amble | 26 January 2006

Fast food giant McDonald's has announced an innovative new initiative in the UK whereby members of the same family working in the same location will be able to swap shifts without prior notice or needing to seek a manager's permission.

Thumbs down for British workers

Brian Amble | 23 January 2006

Penny Streeter, one of the UK's most successful businesswomen whose rags-to-riches story has been held up as an example to other entrepreneurs, has relocated her firm's headquarters to South Africa.

Employers spend less than 30p a day on workers' health

Nic Paton | 13 January 2006

British employers spend an average of just £97 a year, or less than 30p a day, on the health and wellbeing of each of their employees, a new survey has suggested.