Industrial Relations
Bossnapping
26 Mar 2009 | Brian Amble
If you're facing redundancy, you may or may not want to take a leaf out of the French handbook of labour relations and trying bossnapping as a protest.
Biometric scans raise spectre of Big Brother
10 Jun 2008 | Nic Paton
Employers are increasingly turning to eye, palm and fingerprint scans as the future of workplace security, but managers need to recognise such technology brings with it huge data protection issues.
Cutting the cost of conflict
29 Nov 2007 | Derek Torres
Workplace disputes in the UK are starting to be a little less costly to the British taxpayer, thanks in part to ACAS, which is the publicly-funded arbitration and conciliation service.
French lessons for German strikers
19 Nov 2007 | Derek Torres
While the Germans aren't as well known as their French neighbors for their ability to put on a good strike, they certainly know how to organize a good walk-out when they want to.
Catching the strike bug
14 Nov 2007 | Derek Torres
I've always maintained that organized protests and strikes were considered bad by most Americans. As it turns out, perhaps I need to have a little more faith in my countrymen!
GM - a win-win deal?
01 Oct 2007 | Derek Torres
The resolution of the GM labor dispute was a success in that both parties walked away feeling that they won something - and that's the way it should be.
New Zealand says no to lock-outs
02 Aug 2007 | Derek Torres
Thinking about striking in New Zealand? If so, you may be comforted to know that if your employer tries to lock you out, the law is on your side.
Employers plan to curb smoking breaks
02 Jul 2007 | Brian Amble
As England's new ban on smoking in enclosed public places takes effect, lawyers claim that employers are planning to use the new ban to crack down on staff taking cigarette breaks.
Baseball, beer and pay talks.
02 Jul 2007 | Derek Torres
Summer in the United States is synonymous with several things: baseball, beer, barbecues, and now, the national contract talks between American autoworkers unions and Detroit's big three car makers.
Chrysler's three-headed dog
16 May 2007 | Derek Torres
Are you working for DaimlerChrysler AG in the United States? If so, you may want to get your resume out and polish it up nicely.
Counterproductive regulations have increased the cost of conflict
29 Jan 2007 | Brian Amble
The British government's attempts to formalise dispute resolution in the workplace have only succeeded in making managing conflict more complex and adversarial, a critical new report has claimed.
If I had to fire Donald Trump
15 Nov 2006 | Dan Bobinski
Employees not working. Employees being disruptive. Employees stealing. Have you ever have to fire someone? Make no mistake, terminating an employee is one of the most difficult tasks required of any manager.
Employees less optimistic about employment relations than managers
06 Jul 2006 | Nic Paton
The modern British workplace is one where there are fewer grievances between workers and managers, better relations with unions and - according to managers at least - a much better working climate.
Year of discontent may be on the horizon for UK employers
07 Jun 2006 | Nic Paton
British university lecturers may have just settled their long-running dispute over pay, but employers are predicting a possible union backlash over the coming year over growing levels of wage restraint and business restructuring.
Employers realising its good to talk
27 Oct 2005 | Nic Paton
New European laws are changing the way employers are communicating with their workers, and creating a culture of greater openness and information a new study has concluded.
French farce
13 Oct 2005 | Brian Amble
Fancy a job where you work six months a year and can retire at 50? That was the extraordinary state of affairs that workers at the state-owned Corsican ferry company, SNCM, had come to enjoy thanks to years of ownership by the French government.
Employers demand tribunal changes
30 Sep 2005 | Brian Amble
Britain's employers are losing confidence in the employment tribunal system and demanding that the system be simplified to reduce the number of spurious claims made against them.
Bosses fire warning shot over pledge for more employment rights
15 Sep 2005 | Nic Paton
Bowing to union pressure and creating ever more new employment rights would be disastrous for the British economy, the Confederation of British Industry has said.
Family-friendly legislation 'hitting business'
12 Sep 2005 | Brian Amble
A quarter of firms in Britain have complained that family-friendly employment laws are having a negative effect on their business as managers spend a growing amount of time dealing with requests for flexible working.
Your supplier - your problem
23 Aug 2005 | Alison Coleman
The fallout from the dispute involving British Airway's catering supplier, Gate Gourmet, is a salutary reminder of the damage that be inflicted on a company by the actions of its suppliers.