Why Salary Sacrifice Pensions Should Be on Your Radar in 2026
Salary sacrifice workplace pensions let employers and employees contribute pre‑tax, cutting National Insurance liabilities and boosting retirement savings. With NI savings uncapped until April 2029, firms can immediately offset rising employment costs while offering more attractive benefits. Survey data shows 84% of staff want contributions above the statutory minimum, and 86% consider pensions key when choosing employers. Early adoption positions companies to retain talent and improve wellbeing without extra expense.
Job Analysis: 4 Methods for Gathering Data
Job analysis is a structured process used to capture detailed job requirements, increasingly vital as organizations assess tasks for automation and AI integration. The article outlines four primary data‑gathering methods—interviews, focus groups, surveys/questionnaires, and observation—each with distinct advantages and challenges....
Rising Costs Putting Young Jobseekers at Risk of Missing Out on Retail Roles, MPs Warned
Rising employment costs in the UK are prompting retailers and other businesses to prioritize experienced workers over younger candidates. Higher minimum wages and National Insurance contributions have pushed firms to tighten hiring, leaving nearly one million young people—almost 957,000 aged...
AI Users Report Stronger Workplace Connections, According to Gensler Survey
Gensler’s 2026 Global Workplace Survey of 16,400 office workers across 16 countries finds that AI power users—about 30 % of respondents—spend less time alone and more time learning and interacting with colleagues, contradicting the notion that AI isolates workers. These users...
Average WFH Employee Wastes 5+ Hours Weekly to Distractions (More than 33 Working Days Annually)
A national survey commissioned by Make Room Outside found that 84% of work‑from‑home (WFH) employees are regularly distracted, losing an average of 63 minutes and 17 seconds each day. Social media scrolling tops the distraction list, followed by non‑work messaging...
What Does It Take to Be a Great Coaching Manager?
Great coaching managers prioritize dedicated coaching time despite competing operational demands. They earn credibility by performing their own roles competently and modeling curiosity rather than authority. By advocating for their people, they balance accountability with supportive feedback, and they treat...
Cracking Cyber’s Talent Gap Challenge
Rob Lee argues that the cybersecurity talent gap is less about a lack of candidates and more about outdated hiring practices and misaligned role definitions. Companies often demand senior experience for junior positions and narrow technical criteria, sidelining adaptable talent...
'Serious Concerns' | London Underground Drivers Set to Strike over Four-Day Week Plans
London Underground drivers, represented by the RMT union, will strike over the company’s plan to compress the standard workweek into four days. The proposal has been rejected by a majority of train operators in e‑referendums, yet LU management continues to...
Women Navigate Finance’s Pay Challenge
Lossdog’s new report estimates women in finance lose $7‑15 million in lifetime economic value due to structural market forces that compound pay gaps. The study highlights how employer concentration, monopsony power, and a “reset” mechanism triggered by career interruptions dramatically depress...
Sainsbury’s Manager Wins £12,000 After Being Left Out of Social Media Post
A senior Sainsbury’s store manager, Darren Cooper, was awarded £11,852 after a Cardiff employment tribunal found that his exclusion from a regional leadership post on LinkedIn and Yammer constituted harassment linked to his disability. The omission occurred while Cooper was...
IWD Voices: Karishma Changroth – ‘Spotting Women in Senior Leadership Shouldn’t Feel Like a Game of Where’s Waldo’
Karishma Changroth, featured in IWD Voices, argues that identifying women in senior leadership should be systematic, not a "Where’s Waldo" exercise. She highlights persistent gender gaps across major agencies such as FCB India, Stagwell, and 72andSunny. Changroth calls for data‑driven...
1 in 5 Gen Z Job Seekers Are Bringing Mom or Dad to Interviews—And some Are Even Letting Them Negotiate...
New Zety research shows 1 in 5 Gen Z job seekers bring a parent to interviews, and 10% let parents negotiate salary. The trend reflects a tough job market where young adults face high unemployment and NEET rates. Parental involvement...
Hiring Outlook: February Brings First YOY Job Increase Since 2022
Biopharma job postings on BioSpace rose 5% year‑over‑year in February, the first increase since September 2022, and jumped 21% month‑over‑month. The broader U.S. labor market shed 92,000 jobs, driven by healthcare strikes and winter storms, but biopharma layoffs eased, with...
Money Worries Drive Surge in Workplace Absence as Four in Five Staff Take Time Off
Financial stress is prompting a sharp rise in UK workplace absenteeism, with 83% of employees taking at least one day off in the past year due to money‑related anxiety. More than three‑quarters of workers have missed four or more days,...
IWD Voices: Subarna Mukherjee – ‘Policies May Be Written for Everyone. Access Rarely Is.’
Subarna Mukherjee argues that while policies are drafted for universal applicability, true access remains uneven. She likens equal rules to giving a short and tall person the same shelf height, highlighting the gap between formal fairness and lived experience. The...
TAFE NSW Tasting Success Program Celebrates 20 Years Supporting Careers of Female Chefs
TAFE NSW celebrated the 20th anniversary of its Tasting Success program, which fast‑tracks female chefs through mentorship, masterclasses and industry placements. Eight women graduated at the Apprentice Restaurant in Ultimo, showcasing the program’s hands‑on training model. The initiative addresses the...
From Case to Culture: Holding Managers Accountable for Managing
Senior leaders are expected to gauge how well their direct reports manage their teams, yet many lack insight into lower‑level dynamics. This blind spot can allow problematic behaviors, such as bullying or micromanagement, to persist unchecked. A recent unfair dismissal...
Australia Rolls Out Programme Linking School Leavers with Travel Industry Jobs
The Travel Gap, a 29‑week paid programme launched in Melbourne, links school leavers with the Australian travel industry through a partnership between My First Job and the Australian Travel Industry Association. Participants rotate through four six‑week placements across diverse travel...
Bankers Gain a New Route to Huge Payouts From UK Tribunals
The UK Labour government will remove the £118,223 cap on unfair‑dismissal awards from January 1, 2027, a change embedded in the Employment Rights Act. While intended to curb complex, multi‑issue claims, the uncapped regime is expected to boost high‑value lawsuits, especially...
Views Divided on FWA Amendments; Super Reforms Pass Parliament; and More
The Australian Parliament approved a suite of superannuation reforms designed to make retirement savings more equitable, while proposed amendments to the Fair Work Act (FWA) have sparked a split response among policymakers and unions. Parallel to these moves, business groups...
Flexible Hours for Women in Mumbai
The Maharashtra government launched a ‘Come Early, Go Early’ scheme for women employed in Mumbai’s municipal and state offices. The policy lets female staff begin work earlier and finish earlier, provided they meet their required hours. By shifting schedules away...
Case-in-Point: When Gig Flexibility Collides with Worker Protection
QuickServe Logistics, an Rs 800 crore last‑mile delivery platform, relies on 15,000 gig workers classified as independent contractors. A newly formed workers’ union has filed a case demanding employee reclassification, which could add roughly Rs 150 crore in annual benefits costs. HR must choose...
CEO Faith in C-Suite Slips Amid Future Readiness Concerns
Russell Reynolds Associates’ Leadership Confidence Index shows CEO confidence in their C‑suite has slipped sharply, with the overall Future Readiness score falling to 64.0 in 2025 from a 75.1 peak in 2021. Executives are increasingly doubtful that their top teams...
New Pilot Scheme to Protect Bangladesh Shipbreaking Workers
The International Labour Organization, together with maritime association BIMCO, has introduced a pilot Employment Injury Scheme (EIS) for ship‑recycling yards in Bangladesh, the world’s largest ship‑breaking hub. Under the voluntary model, ship sellers contribute $0.5 per light displacement ton to...
Gem AI: 10x Growth and What’s Next
Gem announced that its AI recruiting platform has delivered a 10‑fold increase in AI revenue, a 7‑fold rise in AI customers, and an 18‑fold jump in monthly AI‑assisted hires over the past year. The suite now includes real‑time search, a...
Employer's Failure to Clarify Role Confusion Was a Constructive Dismissal
An Australian Fair Work Commission tribunal concluded that EPEC Group’s failure to clarify a senior accountant’s role led to a constructive dismissal. The employee resigned, believing relocation was her only option, after the company appointed a new head of finance...
Businesses Rush to Rehire Staff After Regretted AI-Driven Cuts
A Careerminds survey of 600 HR leaders shows two‑thirds of firms that cut staff for AI reasons are already rehiring. Roughly one‑third have restored 25‑50% of the eliminated roles, while another 36% have rehired over half, often within six months....
Welcome to Wairoa – This New Training Hub Aims to Attract Frontline Health Staff
New Zealand’s government has launched the second of four rural health training hubs in Wairoa, aiming to attract and retain frontline health staff. The hub will coordinate clinical placements, training pathways, and provide pastoral support such as housing and employment...
The Research Agency Accelerates Growth with New Sydney HQ and Senior Promotions
The Australian arm of The Research Agency (TRA) is scaling rapidly, expanding its Sydney team from four to fourteen employees and moving into a newly refurbished Surry Hills headquarters that can accommodate up to thirty staff. The relocation follows a...
Has the Ad Industry Stopped Speaking Up? Innocean Launches Cost of Quiet Audit
Innocean Australia has introduced the Cost of Quiet Audit, a research initiative aimed at measuring whether progress on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is stalling in the advertising sector. Partnering with activist group FckTheCupcakes, the pilot launches in March to...
Atlassian Cuts 1600 Jobs in AI Restructure
Atlassian announced a restructuring that will eliminate roughly 1,600 positions, about 10% of its 16,000‑strong global workforce. The cuts, including 500 roles in Australia, are intended to self‑fund accelerated AI development and expand enterprise sales. Chief Technology Officer Rajeev Rajan...
Court Rules Employer Can't Zero Out Retired Officer's Disability Pay
The Connecticut Appellate Court’s decision in Martinoli v. Stamford Police Department reinforces that retirement does not extinguish workers’ compensation rights. Retired officer Louis Martinoli filed a heart‑related claim that later expanded to atrial fibrillation and stroke in 2015. When the...
Appeals Court Revives Race Bias Lawsuit Thrown Out over Five-Day Late Filing
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals revived Phillip Beazer’s Title VII race‑bias lawsuit after finding he qualified for equitable tolling. The court held that Beazer exercised reasonable diligence despite his attorney’s abandonment and a Category 4 hurricane that delayed mail delivery. By...
Delaware Court Hammers Financial Advisor with $765K for Breaching Non-Solicitation Agreement
A Delaware Court of Chancery ordered former Blue Rock advisor James Whalen to pay $765,103 after he poached clients and stole confidential data. The court upheld a three‑year non‑solicitation clause and classified the extracted client lists as trade secrets. Damages were...
Employer's Workplace Violence Termination Backfires when Key Evidence Falls Apart
A Louisiana appellate court upheld the reinstatement of Sadra Hamilton, a long‑tenured water board supervisor, after her employer failed to substantiate a workplace‑violence claim. The board alleged Hamilton brandished scissors during a confrontation with a subordinate, but testimony showed she...
Worker Sues Kinder Morgan for $25M Alleging Race Discrimination, Retaliation
Winston R. Gray, a longtime Kinder Morgan employee, filed a federal lawsuit alleging he was terminated after raising race‑discrimination concerns and replaced by a white worker. The complaint, filed March 10, 2026 in the Southern District of Mississippi, claims Gray faced harsher scrutiny,...
Marriott Faces Lawsuit for Allegedly Firing Employee Who Reported Discrimination
Marriott International is facing a federal lawsuit alleging it terminated an assistant rooms operations manager who reported workplace discrimination. The plaintiff, Roaldo Sulejmani, claims his complaints about race and gender bias were ignored, and he was subjected to intimidation, restricted...
Lawsuit Alleges Rocket Mortgage HR Botched Disability Accommodation at Every Turn
Rocket Mortgage is facing a federal lawsuit alleging that its human‑resources department systematically mishandled disability accommodations, FMLA leave, and return‑to‑work processes for senior analyst Ashley Isberg. The complaint details denied remote‑work requests, reassignment of duties, a pressured resignation offer, and...
Bravo, Warner Bros. Can’t Compel Arbitration in Former Real Housewives Cast Member Lawsuit, Judge Orders
Former Real Housewives of New York star Leah McSweeney won a procedural victory when U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman ruled that Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal, Bravo Media and related defendants waived their right to compel arbitration in her disability‑discrimination lawsuit....
EEOC: Restaurant Fired Worker Who Had Seizure to Allow Her to ‘Focus on’ Her Health
An EEOC lawsuit alleges that Diamond Jim’s and Mrs. Donna’s Ole Farm Beef LLC, a Mississippi steakhouse, illegally terminated a worker after she suffered a seizure. The employee had informed the employer of her seizure disorder, which the ADA classifies...
EEOC Staffer Agrees to Settle Bias Lawsuit Against Agency
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission settled the discrimination lawsuit brought by enforcement manager Shweta Kandan after a jury trial ended in a mistrial. Kandan claimed the agency denied her a promotion to field director because of her sex, race...
Don’t Be Fooled: What Employers Need to Know About False Claims Act Enforcement
On April 1, 2026, Littler hosted a one‑hour webinar titled “Don’t Be Fooled: What Employers Need to Know About False Claims Act Enforcement.” The session examined how recent FCA enforcement and settlement trends are expanding scrutiny of employers’ internal compliance programs and...
José Maymí-González Authors "Who Is 'Military' On Military Leave?"
Attorney José Maymí‑González published an opinion piece clarifying who qualifies as “military” under military service leave statutes. The article outlines the USERRA definition, emphasizing active duty, reserve, and National Guard service, and applies it to Puerto Rican employers. It warns...
Anxiety Over AI Is Growing. Are Employers Preparing Workers For What’s Next?
A new Jobs for the Future (JFF) survey released in early 2026 shows U.S. workers are now more likely to view artificial intelligence as a net‑negative force for jobs, wealth and quality of life. Early‑career employees feel the impact most,...
Key ERISA Advisory Panel Goes Dormant Amid DOL Inaction
The Department of Labor’s ERISA Advisory Council has been inactive, holding no meetings in 2025 and showing no plans for 2026. The 15‑member statutory panel, which must meet quarterly, lost five members at the end of 2025, leaving several vacancies...
UK Government Announces Package to Get More Women in Tech
The UK Home Office and Ministry of Justice have launched a returnship scheme that offers senior software developer positions to women who have been out of the workforce for 18 months or more. The scheme is part of a wider...
Teacher Strikes Continue Amid Year of Labor Strife
Thousands of K‑12 teachers across California have walked off the job, with strikes ongoing in Dublin and recent walkouts in Sacramento‑area districts. The unrest stems from a funding crunch as state aid, linked to declining enrollment, cannot keep pace with...
UK Government Launches Guidance on Pay Gap and Menopause Action Plans
The UK government released new guidance on March 4, 2026 requiring large employers (250+ staff) to publish gender pay gap action plans that also address menopause support. The requirement stems from the Employment Rights Act 2025 and will become mandatory after a voluntary...
Audio Academy Mentoring Scheme Reveals 2026 Cohort
Audio Academy has announced its 2026 Mentoring Programme cohort, comprising 22 mid‑career professionals from across the UK radio and audio sector. The six‑month scheme pairs each mentee with a senior industry mentor, offering one‑to‑one guidance, seminars and leadership training. Supported...
Nearly Half of U.S. Workers Say They're Workaholics, Survey Finds
Monster’s Workaholics Report finds nearly half of U.S. full‑time employees identify as workaholics, with 75% logging more than 40 hours weekly. The survey attributes workaholic tendencies to employer expectations (47%) and personal ambition (44%), while 11% work over 60 hours....