4 June 2020
The Hans Böckler Trade Foundation (German Federation of Trade Unions – DGB) has presented its first study on the phenomenon of ‘internal crowd work’ and its implications for both work organization and human resources management. The study is based on several elements including multiple company case studies from the automotive, telecoms, and IT sectors. In addition to the different variants and principles of ‘crowd work’, the study’s authors highlight the enormous advantages that ‘crowd work’...
29 May 2020
Despite encouragement from the UK government for business to gradually return to normal, only 4% of UK employers have made their employees come back to work since coronavirus lockdown rules were relaxed in the country, specialised HR site People Management revealed on 28 May. According to a survey of more than 500 professionals, 55% of employers plan to keep remote working arrangements in place for an unspecified timeframe. Meanwhile 24% of respondents are waiting to find out more about the health-related guidance...
28 May 2020
On 27 May, Deutsche Post it would be testing more than 10,000 employees as a preventative measure, and on a voluntary basis, in order to better understand and assess the epidemiological situation as regards the staff working in its German sorting centers. Management is especially trying to identify asymptomatic carriers. The entire testing operation must be approved by the works councils for the sites concerned. Trade unions and employees are largely in favor of this measure.
28 May 2020
On 27 May, the highly respected Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) expressed concern that pressure on working mothers (employees) during lockdown could halt progress in reducing the gender pay gap. Throughout the crisis, mothers have significantly reduced their working hours to take care of their children and undertake household chores and in most cases are doing both at the same time. The IFS is warning both that this situation could perpetuate after the health crisis, and that mothers are also more likely to be...
25 May 2020
Identifying and assessing the interpersonal skills of workers and other skills that are not specifically related to their qualifications is a recurring issue. To address this and showcase the importance of so-called soft skills, a taskforce that includes the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) as well as the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) published the Skills Builder Universal Framework, a new online evaluation system, on 20 May. The aim of the initiative is to provide employers with a...
19 May 2020
Job cuts, salary freezes and lower vacancy rates are what await the UK’s pandemic-stricken labor market, according to the latest quarterly analysis from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (human resource management specialist association), released on 18 May. According to the study – conducted jointly with temporary staffing specialist Adecco and for which more than 2,000 employers were surveyed – 22% of companies are intending to lay off staff between now and July, six percentage...
14 May 2020
On 13 May Volkswagen’s middle management (some 18,000 mangers) learned that the variable part of their salaries would be reduced in 2020, due to the collapse of the group’s revenues since the development of the coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, the German auto-manufacturer announced that after having restarted production at the end of April, it was going to slow down production again because of very low demand. This variable salary element is being phased out just one year after the introduction...
7 May 2020
‘The lessons learned from the general implementation of teleworking are helping to accelerate the transformation of the company’s operating methods in favour of greater agility and efficiency for employees’, explained the French automaker in a press release issued on 06 May, announcing the launch of its ambitious ‘New Era for Agility’ project to overhaul the way people work by making telework ‘the benchmark for activities not directly related to production.’
29 April 2020
Faced with the ‘unprecedented consequences of the Covid-19 health crisis’, the energy company sought to accelerate the implementation of two of its ENGIE CARE minimum social protection programme pillars. ENGIE CARE will be included in the future global CSR agreement currently under negotiation with the international trade union federations. The Group program will cover hospitalization costs in full for Covid-19 and at least 75% for other conditions as well as life insurance equivalent to 12 months of gross...
29 April 2020
The global insurance group conducted its worldwide ‘Checking’ survey between 20 and 24 April in an attempt to gauge the state of mind and morale of its staff during this unprecedented period of history that has seen a large proportion of the workforce teleworking. ‘Checking’ is a short survey (4 questions) and replaces the first survey of the year which was due to take place in March but which was cancelled. The questions asked try to ‘take the pulse’ of its staff and assess whether employees feel well...
