'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 push it forward. Union members warn that longer shifts could increase fatigue and compromise safety. Negotiations have stalled, with union leaders saying LU chiefs have refused to engage.
Big Interview | People Director, Browne Jacobson - 'A Five Year Career Break Landed Me a Top Role'
Shelley Sutton, originally a marine biology graduate, pivoted to recruitment and rose to Chief People Officer at Browne Jacobson. After a five‑year career break to focus on parenting, she returned to the legal sector as an HR Business Partner, leveraging...
Neurodiversity | Police Worker's Sacking over Sexualised Jokes Ruled Unfair Due to ADHD Link
A UK employment tribunal ruled that the Met Police dismissed employee Martin Madden unfairly because his ADHD influenced his perception of social cues, linking his sexualised jokes to a disability. The tribunal classified the termination as discrimination arising from his...
Big Interview | Capital City College CPO: My Mission to Recruit, Retain & Inspire in Further Education
Trovene Hartley, Chief People Officer at Capital City College (CCC), is steering the UK’s largest further‑education provider through a period of intense staffing pressure and financial constraint. She recently resolved a nine‑month pay and conditions dispute affecting the sixth‑form campus...
Risk Assessment | 2 in 3 Firms Not Formally Assessing Workplace Stress Despite HSE Scrutiny
New WorkNest research shows only 18% of UK firms formally assess workplace stress. Thirty‑five percent never evaluate stress, while 30% conduct assessments inconsistently and 17% are unsure if any assessment exists. The findings arrive as the Health and Safety Executive...
CPO, Zepz | Empathy to Enterprise Value: The Modern HR Mandate Must Stretch Beyond 'Employee Concierge'
As companies transition from startup to scale‑up, HR must shift from informal, proximity‑driven culture to a structured operating framework. The article argues that empathy alone cannot sustain large workforces; it needs to be codified in systems, rhythms, and fair processes....
‘Physically Demanding’ | First Bus to Offer Staff Paid Leave for IVF Treatments
First Bus will grant employees five days of paid leave for IVF treatment and two days for their partners, starting June 2026. The initiative follows direct employee feedback and is positioned as part of the company’s commitment to support staff...
Change Programmes | How to Shift From 'Random Acts of Wellness' To a Structured Wellbeing Strategy
Employers are spending more on workplace wellbeing, yet many initiatives remain fragmented, described as "random acts of wellness." Stella Gavinho, Entain’s Group Head of Wellbeing, argues that the focus must shift from isolated activities to integrated wellbeing systems. By treating...
Big Interview | Director of TA, Morningstar: AI Increases Our Efficiency & Quality - but Humans Always Own the Judgment
Morningstar’s Director of Talent Acquisition, Joe Shahmoradian, explains how AI tools have transformed the firm’s recruiting workflow. AI sourcing agents and a custom GPT assistant called AMIRA handle market‑intelligence and administrative tasks, cutting recruiter admin by 75% and speeding screening...
Rankings | Rethinking HR Technology Decisions in Europe: Lessons From the Latest Fosway 9-Grid
The latest Fosway 9‑Grid report confirms Workday’s tenth straight year as a Strategic Leader, underscoring its dominance in Europe’s HR‑tech market. The analysis highlights five trends reshaping the region: platform consolidation, heightened employee‑experience demands, AI‑driven work redesign, a pivot to...
Employee Wellbeing | Weighing up Weight-Loss Benefits Provision
Obesity affects over a third of England's adults, driving demand for GLP‑1 weight‑loss drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro. Research by Howden Employee Benefits shows 26% of staff have used these medications and 41% now expect them in benefits packages....
Agility | Job Architecture Transformation: Why This Should Happen in Weeks, Not Years
Job architecture redesign has long been a multi‑year, document‑heavy effort that leaves organizations lagging behind fast‑moving business needs. The article argues that the bottleneck is the outdated, sequential method rather than resistance to change. By swapping manual workshops for AI‑driven...
Wellbeing | Frontline Under Fire: Why Workplace Violence Is Becoming HR's Next Major Risk
Workplace violence toward frontline staff is surging across the UK, with retail alone reporting over 2,000 daily abuse incidents and a 50% year‑on‑year increase. The Crime Survey for England and Wales logged 689,000 work‑related violent events in 2024/25, making aggression...