Today, history will be made – Teresa May will push the button on Article 50, setting in motion a two-year timeframe for divorcing the EU.  It’s going to be a rather busy two years for Government officials, who will look to push through the best possible deal for an independent UK leaving the EU family. It won’t be easy, with EU states already telling us that the UK can’t have its ‘no single market; no freedom of movement’ cake and eat it!  But ‘Brexit means Brexit’ so Brexit we will! HR professionals won’t suddenly be hit ... Continue reading

1974 is a key date that every safety professional knows. It was the year that the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 came into effect. It was also just a year after the UK joined the EEC. On 29 March 2017, we trigger Article 50 – so removing us from the EU. In another 40 years, will we look back to 2017 as the date when we ‘took back control’ of Brussels bureaucratic ‘’elf n safety’ regulations? Or will we have buyer’s remorse when we realise the safety and trading benefits of EU Directives and harmonised safety standards? Th... Continue reading

Does adapting your training approach for different learning styles actually make things better? Not according to 30 educational experts who wrote a letter to the UK’s Guardian newspaper last week. David Sharp considers the facts.  Last week saw the publication of a letter in the UK’s Guardian newspaper written by 30 educational experts, in which they called the practice of teaching to different learning styles a “neuromyth”, effectively labelling it a waste of time. While the experts were talking about teaching in schools, there... Continue reading

As the New Year dawned, French workers were given the ‘right to disconnect’ from work outside regular business hours, provided they were employed by a company with more than 50 staff. According to the French socialist, MP Benoit Hamon, the new law is necessary because “employees physically leave the office, but they do not leave their work. They remain attached by a kind of electronic leash – like a dog. The texts, the messages, the emails – they colonise the life of the individual to the point where he or she eventually breaks down.... Continue reading

Technology and interactivity are increasingly shaping how people work as well as where, according to research carried out by ‘Quality of life services’ provider Sodexo into the business trends emerging in 2017. “As work becomes more about adding value than cranking handles and pushing food carts, organisations are learning that communicating their values is imperative as they work to motivate and engage employees,” the resulting report states. “And with a growing understanding that many subtle factors influence employee performance, s... Continue reading