Businesses and retailers have seen many shifts since the COVID-19 pandemic, but one that stands out is an uptick in violent behaviour towards Employees. This is causing concern for some Employers, who see their Employees, customers and property being at greater risk. In August 2024, the coffee shop chain Pret a Manger announced that some
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Following the pandemic lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, and the curtailment of most international travel, many of us engaged in staycations when we wanted a break away from it all. We’re all familiar with the portmanteau ‘staycation’ (‘stay’ + ‘vacation’ – a stay in one’s own town or close to home), but have you heard
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The Labour Party saw a landslide victory in the 2024 UK General Election, assuming Government again after an absence of 14 years. ‘A New Deal for Working People’, the plan by the Labour Party that was released on 24 May 2024, outlined reforms and legislative changes it intended to bring about within its first 100
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Levels of long-term sickness in the UK are at a record high. In May 2023, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) reported that for every 13 people currently working,1 person is on long-term sickness absence from the workforce. The ONS commented that the underlying causes for the record levels of sickness was a rise in
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While social media is not especially new anymore (its first forms appearing in 1997), its sophistication, popularity and reach has grown at an astonishing rate over the years. We’ve moved from sharing our worlds through simple textual status updates, to showing it in all its glory via snappy, short videos. Many Employers still have a
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March sees the arrival of the holy month of Ramadan, the commemoration of Muhammad’s first revelation and lasts between 29 and 30 days depending on the sighting of one crescent moon to the next. Commencing on Wednesday 22nd March, through to Friday 21st April, Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and is
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Menopause, including the years leading up to (peri-menopause) and the years after (post- menopause), has always been an issue for many women, with some suffering symptoms more than others, and potentially not fully understanding why or how to successfully manage them. Previous generations didn’t talk much about the menopause and the issues it often brought
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…A conversation that many of us would positively avoid as we feel it is such a personal and intimate bonding time between mother and child. However as an Employer this is a topic that needs to be discussed. Whilst having Policies with regards to breastfeeding in the workplace and providing facilities for breastfeeding can be
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With many organisations having moved to a work-from-home or hybrid arrangement for employees, beyond the general work discussions that take place on platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams, there remains a need for social connection, and while not the same as a conversation over coffee in the canteen, social media goes a long way
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Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, mental health issues were the most common causes of long-term sickness absence from the workplace in the UK. While we cannot yet determine the full impact of the pandemic on mental health, it’s safe to say that its effects will certainly outlive the pandemic itself. Currently the direct health impacts
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