The current economic climate is creating worry for many business owners as well as employees who fear redundancies, yet some companies are successfully finding their way through the squeeze with the use of remote working and home working employment options. Flexible working The option of flexible working...

Bill Murphy, MD, BT Business In the current economic climate, it’s no surprise that controlling costs has become one of the key things to watch over the coming months. With this there is a danger that businesses will stall investments in training which could be perceived as a luxury by most as they look...

Companies really need to be implementing a consistent policy on maternity leavers and returnees. We conducted a “Return to Work” survey in October last year and a staggering 58% of respondents stated that their company did nothing to help them return to work confidently. With The Tribunals Service estimating...

When Jo Sellwood and Sharon Mullen co-founded Strategi Search & Selection they were determined to create a business that was not based on a culture of `presenteeism’. They had learned first-hand that long hours in the office do not necessarily lead to increased productivity or job satisfaction. Work...

Eilidh Wiseman. partner in employment at UK law firm Dundas & Wilson Nicola Brewer, Chief Executive of the Equality and Human Rights Commission recently questioned whether extending maternity leave could hamper women’s careers, if this meant employers became wary of employing women of child bearing...

Amanda Alexander is correct in many of her observations. I founded a consultancy, Silverhawk Partners , to help clients to access flexible talent at a senior level. There are many cultural and economic benefits in offering people flexible working opportunities. My background briefly, is that I ran a...

Soon to be a first time mum I have found it relevantly easy to juggle my work with motherhood. I acknowledge that this is because I am a master of my own time and have the ability to schedule my work around antenatal appointments and the sickness of early pregnancy. Not many working mothers are able...

I read an interesting quote recently that highlights just how much progress we have made in our collective thinking about women in leadership positions. Emotional and erractic women, they shouldn't be in a position of power! The quote, from a rather interesting source was in regard to the consideration...

Strange though it is, we still grapple with the subject of barriers to women reaching the top. Last century’s commentators talked of women facing the “glass ceiling” where their ambitions for the top jobs seemed to be capped by the invisible forces of workplace culture and discrimination. Mummy track...

Name of weekly column: Speechly Speak Name of this week's contributor: Jessica Halling , solicitor, Speechly Bircham Until now, carers have had limited protection under UK employment law. Parents of disabled children under 18-years-old and carers of certain adults have the right to request flexible...