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The new French President, François Hollande, recently bucked global trends by announcing that the pension age would be reduced from 62 to 60. With the retirement age sliding in the opposite direction in many other countries, this will be seen as something of a shock, but France are renowned for valuing their work life balance, even introducing a 35 hour working week in 2000.
So what does this mean for the French economy?
Whilst this is seen by much of the French labour force as a welcome change, many economists and politicians alike are hugely sceptical that France can afford this change. Already …
It used to be that if you wanted to attract staff away from your competition, you had to offer them a bigger salary. Now, particularly in the more competitive industries, it isn’t always a simple case of “we’ll pay you more than the other guys”. Highly sought-after employees often attract competition from employers that extends far beyond the basic salary.
Employee benefits are increasingly seen as something to look for in a job, and employers that are looking to attract the best talent might well like to consider the benefits that they could offer to their staff. For example, research carried out …
Jill Evans, Writing for People Management wrote an article recently about the Beecroft Report and its recommendations on parental leave. Sadly for the reformists, the Beecroft report recommends putting the parental leave reforms on hold.
Going one step further, the report also makes recommendations that would remove responsibility from employers in cases where staff are harassed by fellow employees or customers. This is being put through a consultation progress, with an update expected later in the year.
One to keep an eye on!
n.b. For those interested in Paternity Leave, Dave is in the process of writing a post …
- Want to be a doctor?
I’ve just read an excellent article in Personnel Today about accessibility in certain professions it got me thinking. Is it really the case that in 2012, people from a poorer background still have to fight tooth and nail to become a Doctor, Journalist, Lawyer or perhaps Architect. Statistics seem to show time and again that the vast majority of people in these professions come from wealthier backgrounds, but what are the reasons for this?
My view is that the traditional hirer bias is largely a thing of the past, with people now more willing to …
- The Queens Jubilee Bank Holiday
Hrmmmmm, do I have the right to take the Jubilee Bank Holiday off – or not? Well, as far as I can work out we don’t legally have the right to have ANY of them off. And Christmas and Boxing Day aren't even included in the legislation, as they are ‘common law’ holidays. Basically, if they really wanted to our employers could leave us all SOL on each and every one of them!
So, from that perspective, I can see how some have worked their way round to convincing themselves they have a leg to …
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