58 communications Client Blogs

#MeToo was an earthquake in the lives of many people – women who have been treated badly and felt ignored or belittled, and men who used privilege and power to wreak havoc. The shockwaves are still being felt in all walks of life, including some arenas where sexist behaviour has continued to be tolerated. In particular, after the backlash following the now-defunct men-only Presidents Club dinner (at which hostesses were allegedly groped and propositioned by politicians, businessmen and celebrities), the spotlight is turning to the Conference and Events industry. Recently, the ICE Totally Gaming conference drew criticism for having pole dancers and hostesses, despite a demand from the UK’s gambling regulator. Indeed, the Gambling Commission’s chief executive, Sarah Harrison, threatened to boycott the event, if it did not stamp out sexism. Still, the gaming software company Microgaming kicked off the conference with a Playboy-themed dance show, and another gambling compa...

The £280m Strategic School Improvement Fund (£140m per year) is a grant to support a wide range of UK schools. It is expected to further build the school-led system and targets resources at the schools most in need. These establishments require increases in school performance, support for teacher development and improvements in pupil attainment. The SSIF can be used to support a range of areas for improvement, including leadership, governance, teaching methods or even financial health. So where have funds been awarded so far – and what projects have been funded? In September 2017 the recipients of the first round of funding were announced, with 56 learning projects sharing grants totalling £20m. These included schemes to improve progress in reading, literacy and numeracy, modern foreign languages and science. For example: One project, led by Swavesey Village College, will initially appear in 23 schools across Cambridgeshire and will support students from disadvantag...

It has never been quite so difficult for those wishing to purchase their first house. A combination of rising property prices, slow wage growth and higher deposit rates have resulted in people struggling to make the leap into home ownership. Therefore, a burning question is – where is it currently most affordable to buy your first house? Fortunately, property website Zoopla recently published research highlighting the top 10 best places for those desperate to get on the property ladder. Unsurprisingly, first-time buyers would benefit from heading north, with Hull, Middlesborough, Liverpool and Preston all being in the top 10, offering cheap average property prices coupled with affordable deposits (and lower stamp duty). The Midlands is another place worth investigating, with Nottingham, Coventry and Stoke-on-Trent also making it onto the list. Furthermore, at the other end of the scale, London continues to be the most expensive place to buy in the UK, making home ownership p...

In the first data leak class action in the UK, Morrisons has been found liable for the actions of a former employee who stole the data of co-workers, posted it online and sent it to newspapers. Employees brought a claim against the supermarket after the former worker, Andrew Skelton, stole the payroll information of almost 100,000 staff. Apparently, the revenge attack occurred after Skelton was accused of dealing “legal highs” at work. Lawyers said the data theft meant 5,518 former and current employees were exposed to the risk of identity theft and potential financial loss and that the company was responsible for breaches of privacy, confidence and data protection laws. However, Morrisons will be appealing against the ruling, as it believes it should not have been held responsible for the security breach, which occurred in 2014. Skelton was found guilty of fraud, securing unauthorised access to computer material and disclosing data in 2015 and sent to prison. But for the ...

In a ground-breaking case, a modern history graduate is suing Oxford University, claiming that poor teaching led to his failure to get a first class degree 17 years ago. Furthermore, Faiz Siddiqui, alleges that having only achieved a lower upper second degree, this shoddy education ultimately cost him the chance of a high-flying career. Siddiqui believes that he received below-par education as the University had difficulties running the Indian History module during the year in questions. This was due to an unusually large number of lecturers taking sabbatical leave at the same time, leaving the department understaffed and putting intolerable pressure on the remaining professors. In addition, Siddiqui states that a tutor failed to submit relevant medical information to examiners who were responsible for making reasonable adjustments and moderating his exams. Siddiqui, who’s post-Oxford employment history was unimpressive is now unemployed. He claims that his clinical depres...

At the MAKUP Academy, as part of the 16-week Intensive Set Ready course, Veronica trains her students on essential period makeup, hair styling and wig dressing. This module covers fundamental period skills in makeup application and hair styling techniques on live heads, wigs and hairpieces. The aim is to develop an eye for period details and also to experience creating a selection of the authentic period looks most commonly used in the industry. Students explore different eras from the 16 th  Century to the 1980’s, learning the reasoning behind each method of styling, and how best to utilise them for future projects. For the past few weeks the Class of ’17-’18 has been learning all about hair and makeup styling for the 1920’s through to the 1960’s.  Some students proved to be a natural at finger waves and pin curls, while others perfected the Flapper Girl’s smoky eye. With Veronica’s support and guidance, the students have all perfected the flat crown and their appl...

Talent retention is, quite simply, the most cost-saving service a human resources team can deliver in an organisation. Staff are your company’s most precious resource and retaining experienced employees is crucial to its success. Retaining talent saves time, money and managerial effort in respect of: Recruitment  – using external agencies is costly. However, even if you do your hiring in-house, there will still be fees incurred in advertising on job sites, etc. Not to mention the time spent by key members of staff in the various stages of recruitment. Induction  – a period of induction when the new hire is basically learning (and also benefitting from the time of other employees) is fundamental to them being able to become productive as soon as possible. Furthermore, it can take a new person up to 8 months to reach full productivity Development  – many companies spend a great deal of money on training individuals, only for them to then walk away, and for anoth...

The Government is to trial a new website in the Spring, which aims to help Head Teachers fight the high cost of hiring fees. Accordingly, Paul Kett, the DfE’s director-general for education standards, announced last November that a prototype of the site was already prepared. The services will allow schools to advertise teacher vacancies for free. Moreover, this initiative is eagerly awaited by members of leadership in education, who have for many years been struggling with the expense of using commercial recruitment agencies. Schools have been forced to pay fees of up to 20% of a new recruit’s salary, with some spending up to £100,000 a year in agency costs alone. A pilot scheme is due to be run in the Spring. You can read more about the service here: https://dfedigital.blog.gov.uk/2017/11/15/how-were-creating-a-national-teacher-vacancy-service/ Recruitment in education is a minefield with exorbitant recruitment fees being just one potential issue. Robust hiring policies, with e...

Spring is a great time for taking a fresh look at any HR issues, deciding on your workforce priorities and ensuring solutions are in place to enable your school or business to flourish. In this post we share our thoughts on the burning HR challenges that you should put at the top of your To Do List and suggestions for ways to tackle them. 1. Policies, procedures and employee checklists – ensure all of these are up-to-date with current employment legislation, Acas guidance and reflect your school/company requirements. Acas have just published guidance on pregnancy and maternity discrimination with a view to reducing claims. We have seen a big increase in social media related disciplinary action - make sure you have the right policies in place to manage this type of situation.  2. Contracts of Employment – remember you have two months to issue appropriate contracts of employment to your staff. Contracts can be for permanent/fixed term staff or for associates/contractors/...