| Career Development And Change Advice Blog |
| Career Advice, Job Search, Redundancy and Career Change |
The news this weekend that Gordon Brown’s eyesight may have been further damaged raises some important questions. Both about our attitude as a society to disability, and about the effectiveness of disability legislation in general. (more…)
“Now is the Winter of Our Discontent”. The opening words of Shakespeare’s Richard III were used to describe the profound industrial unrest that took place in 1978-9 Schools and airports closed for lack of workers, and ambulance drivers struck,. For several months the country was riven by strikes. Rubbish piled high in the street. Thousands of petrol stations were closed. Schools and airports closed for lack of workers, and ambulance drivers struck, grave diggers in Liverpool downed tools. (more…)
The nature of our future working lives is becoming an increasingly important debate in modern society; changes to the way we work and how we manage our careers are likely to be defining characteristics of the 21st century. But there are two, distinct pressures on the future of work and it is not at all clear which is going to win out. (more…)
In a bid to reduce the demand on public funds the CBI are proposing that students personally contribute much more to the costs of their education. Students are arguing that this would result in far fewer people entering higher education. Both sides have a case. However the real issue is not the cost of higher education, but its purpose. (more…)
We face two economic, career-impacting possibilities as the second half of the working year begins. On the face of it the most benign appears to be the most likely. But we live in a world of uncertainties and it would be prudent to ensure that we have a Plan B in case the worse occurs. (more…)
Sometimes it pays to take a contrarian view, to look at things in the opposite way to the norm. So, whilst redundancy is an all consuming disaster on so many levels, it can also be an opportunity if acted upon in the right way. And treating redundancy as an opportunity can often resolve the situation and allow us to move our careers forward.
New research shows that one in five workers are putting in an additional 25 hours, or the equivalent of three days work a week. And 49% of employees have either taken a pay cut or a pay freeze since the recession started. Although on the face of it this seems unfair, it is in fact a win-win situation for both employees and employers. (more…)
One initiative being touted in influential circles is known as Alternatives to Redundancy, or ATR. Under this scheme, rather than making staff redundant, employers will pay them them the equivalent of Job Seekers Allowance, in addition to the benefits they receive from the government, for up to six months. After six months they will get their job back. (more…)
According to a report published this week, 28% of managers are unlikely to hire someone whom they consider to be long term unemployed. But 84% of managers would have no concerns if the unemployment period was less than six months. This is more encouraging than one might have expected, but it does leave some important questions to be addressed by those who find it is taking a long time to get a job.
There are several possible ways for a company to approach a round of redundancies. They can ask for people to step forward for voluntary redundancy. They can implement a policy of last in first out, or concentrate the cuts on one particular department or team which has become surplus to requirements. They do have legal constraints on what does and what does not constitute redundancy. But at the end of the day, irrespective of the law, many companies will use personal, subjective methods to determine who to let go and who to keep. Put bluntly they will try to get rid of those who are underperforming or who do not fit it. So how do you guard against possible redundancy yourself? (more…)