news: work advice

A record 5.26 million people worked unpaid overtime last year – the highest since records began in 1992. Today, on Work Your Proper Hours Day (WYPHD), the TUC’s analysis of official figures shows that over one in five workers regularly worked unpaid overtime last year, the highest proportion since 1997.

WYPHD is marked this year on 25 February – it’s the day when the average person who does unpaid overtime would start to get paid if they did all the unpaid work at the start of the year. The nearly two months free work highlight just how much many workers are putting into their organisations and companies, often picking up the slack from redundancies and recruitment freezes.

Last year those 5.26 million people across the UK clocked up an average seven hours 12 minutes unpaid overtime a week, worth £5,485 per person and a record £28.9 billion to the economy. Read more…

posted 25/02/2011

The TUC has urged bosses not to score an own goal during the World Cup, and to allow staff who wish to watch televised games to do so, either away from work or if appropriate, somewhere on the company’s premises.

Rather than showing staff the red card for throwing ‘sickies’ in order to catch the games from South Africa, next month’s football tournament could be a perfect opportunity for employers to test out making more use of flexible working hours. Read more…

posted 27/05/2010

As staff struggle back into work following the heavy snows, there’s confusion in some places as to how employers should treat time lost through bad weather, with some people being told they’ll lose pay for time missed, or have to take annual leave to cover it. Read more…

posted 03/02/2009

As Get Safe Online Week draws to a close today, we’ve got a new interactive toolkit to help improve workers’ Internet security awareness and skills. According to Get Safe Online’s 2008 Report, a worrying 66% of Internet users have the same password for multiple websites, 23% have posted confidential or personal information online, and 17% have opened email attachments from an unknown source, potentially putting themselves at risk from viruses or other malicious software.

This could have a huge impact on the firms they work for, who may stand to lose valuable commercial or customer data, or lose money through damage or downtime due to attacks, not to mention getting people into trouble – whether or not they know what they’ve done wrong.

The benefits that the Internet brings to UK business are growing every day. Social media and networking are increasingly important to people’s professional and personal lives. But employers have to put time and money into making sure their staff are aware of the dangers associated with working online, or they could just be pouring all the money they spend on the rest of their computer security systems down the drain.

So, to do something about this, we’ve got together with GetSafeOnline.org and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) to produce Not Safe For Work? – a free online toolkit for people at work in the UK. It has video interviews from industry experts, quizzes and reading lists, and can make you a personalised advice prescription, tailored to your own Internet usage.

Have a go now, it could tell you something that will save you a lot of grief.

And hey, let’s be careful out there!

posted 21/11/2008

Your office dress code may be risking your health, according to a new TUC advice guide. Working feet and footwear shows how a number of big city institutions and upmarket shops insist that women in public-facing jobs wear slip-on shoes or high heels. Wearing uncomfortable shoes for such long periods of time can lead to long-term foot problems.

The TUC’s Brendan Barber said: “We were surprised how many times we found that employers’ dress codes did not permit the wearing of comfortable sensible footwear by women. These dress codes – apart from being blatantly sexist – can lead to long-term foot and back problems. Feet bear the brunt of the daily working life and instead of worrying about what their staff look like, employers should focus on the effect that the wrong shoes and prolonged standing can have. Employers should look at encouraging their staff to come to work in comfortable shoes and, where possible, provide the option of sitting.”

So if you’re a city Cinderella, or worried you need special shoes to stay safe in your own working environment, check out all your problems in the TUC guide.

…and don’t get us started on neckties.

posted 14/08/2008