CIPD Archives - Kay Heald HR

Are Your Employees Vacation Hoarding?
June 30^th, 2025 in Blog
Vacation hoarding is a relatively new term used to describe the practice of delaying, carrying over or avoiding taking, entitled paid time off. According to research published earlier this year in The Guardian, only 35% of UK workers have actually been taking their full holiday allocation. Further data from Breathe’s 2024 Holiday Report, reveals almost a fifth of UK workers were leaving more than five days unclaimed at the end of their holiday…
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The Right to Switch Off is Important
March 4^th, 2025 in Blog
I’ve been writing about long working hours and ‘always-on’ cultures for at least a decade! The government may not be supporting legislation giving employees the ‘right to switch off’, but that doesn’t mean organisations should ignore the growing problem that is affecting the health and productivity of its people, and do something about it. The increased use of communication technologies is blurring the lines between…
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Workplace Hormonal Health
October 10^th, 2024 in Blog
I started writing about hormonal health in the workplace over six years ago and although there have been great strides forward with regard to menopausal and perimenopausal awareness, recent studies suggest that there is still plenty of work to do to provide more workplace support. According to the CIPD’s 2023 survey, over a quarter of respondents said that menopause had a negative effect on their career progression, one in six considered…
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Financial Wellbeing
April 8^th, 2022 in Blog
I first wrote about ‘in-work poverty’ back in 2016, referencing research from the Joseph Rowntree Organisation highlighting the growing number of households experiencing poverty, even when at least one person was working. Sadly, there is an even greater need to raise awareness and tackle similar issues, with rising inflation, soaring energy bills and new taxes. A recent You Gov Survey provided a worrying insight into the financial…
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New Flexible Working
November 30^th, 2021 in Blog
On the eve of the government’s consultation deadline for “Making Flexible Working the Default”, will we see radical changes to the way we work? After all, the government has stated that it wants to take a world class approach to flexible working to ensure the opportunities and challenges of the post Covid-19 economy are maximised. In contrast, the TUC has criticised the government’s proposals, stating that they will not be the ‘game…
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Coronavirus Support, Plan for Jobs and Anti-Racism
October 2^nd, 2020 in Blog
QUARTERLY HR UPDATE AND EMPLOYMENT NEWS – Oct 2020 What a year! There are more challenges ahead for small businesses, but I hope the following Coronavirus information will give both support and guidance. However, if you only click on one link, please make sure it is on this one: ‘Tackling Racism at Work’. Latest Coronavirus Information for Employers Job Support Scheme JSS (1st November 2020 – 30th April 2021) This govt support package…
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Tackling Racism at Work
September 28^th, 2020 in Blog
You can’t tackle racism with just an Equal Opportunities Policy Many organisations are having to consider their future viability and survival post Covid-19, which isn’t going to be easy. However, there is a real danger that some will continue the traditional trajectory of either ignoring race issues or rationalising that racial problems don’t affect their business. In a rural and very white county like Shropshire (95.4% of residents in the…
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HR News: Flexible Furloughing to Anti-racism
July 6^th, 2020 in Blog
There are big challenges for small businesses in the months ahead, as they confront the obstacles of the coronavirus pandemic alongside the uncomfortable realities of systemic racism and the need to implement anti-racism measures. Important Coronavirus Information for Employers Flexible Furloughing (1st July 2020) Furloughed staff are now permitted to return to work for some of the time, if paid at their normal rate. No new employees or…
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Doughnut Shaped Businesses
June 29^th, 2020 in Blog
Can and should businesses remain the same in the aftermath of Covid-19 lockdown and the recent highlighting of systemic prejudices prevalent in our society and organisations? The challenges of recent months have created great uncertainty and fear over the likely depths of recession as well as how best to respond and tackle uncomfortable truths about racism. Against this rather ominous backdrop, thankfully, there is a growing number of economists…
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Coronavirus Information and Employment Update
April 6^th, 2020 in Blog
I hope the following information will be helpful, for both immediate and longer-term reference. Take care Important Coronavirus Information for Employers The gov.uk guidance pages remain the best source of up-to-date information for employers: General Employer Advice (6th April 2020) Job Retention Scheme (furloughing) (4th April 2020) Kay’s comment: Please note that the link on furloughing was updated on 4th April 2020 and includes important…
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