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Gifts and Hospitality Register 1st April 2018 - 31st March 2019
Anonymised Gifts and Hospitality Register 01.04.18 - 31.03.19
Preparing for the hiring process
Taking the time to carefully plan the hiring process is important and ensures that you hire an employee with the right mix of skills and characteristics for the job.
Employee engagement
Employee engagement plays a crucial role in the success of any organisation. It goes beyond the surface level of job satisfaction and encompasses the emotional and psychological connection that an employee has with their work and their workplace. Engaged employees are not just committed to their job, but they are also invested in the values of their organisation. They are more likely to put in discretionary effort, go the extra mile, and take ownership of their work, leading to improved performance and productivity.
Arms-Length Body (ALB) Review of the Labour Relations Agency (LRA)
In April 2023 the Department for the Economy (DfE) engaged Business Consultancy Services (BCS) to complete a review of the Labour Relations Agency (LRA). The review was conducted in line with Cabinet Office guidance, namely Tailored Reviews: Guidance on Reviews of Public Bodies (May 2019) and Guidance on the undertaking of Reviews of Public Bodies (December 2022).
Gender pay gap
The gender pay gap measures the difference between average (median) hourly earnings of men and women, usually shown by the percentage men earn more than women.
Sick leave
From one time to another, employing organisations will experience absence by their staff due to illness. Illness absences are usually unplanned. This makes planning and covering work difficult for employers given the short notice of illness occurrences.
Contracts of employment
A contract of employment is a legal agreement between an employer and an employee which sets out their employment rights, responsibilities and duties. The employment contract is made as soon as a job offer is accepted.
Redundancy
When employers wish to make employees redundant they must follow a clear and fair process. The Labour Relations Agency has a redundancy flowchart which can help employers and employees in this situation.
Hybrid Working - Here to stay or past its use-by date?
There has been a noticeable drift back to the workplace following the pandemic, with the proportion of NI employees working remotely for some of the time falling from 41% in April 2020 to 17%. Ironically, even Zoom has recently decided to bring its staff back to the office for at least part of the week.
With this in mind, CIPD NI and the Labour Relations Agency ran a webinar on 16 October 2023 to take stock of the HR profession’s experience of hybrid working to date. CIPD NI Branch Chair Nicola Barber hosted the event, and we were joined by an expert panel comprising:
• Ulster University Economist Ana Desmond, co-author of ‘Is remote working, working?’ – research into remote working patterns in NI, published in August 2023;
• Leading HR practitioner and thinker Gary Cookson, author of ‘HR for Hybrid Working’ published in June 2022; and,
• Caroline Samia from the Labour Relations Agency.
The event was recorded, and is now available to view below. The slide deck used during the event is also available for download.
Dismissal
Employees can be dismissed for reasons such as gross misconduct or a fundamental breach of contract. A fair and robust process should be followed where all parties have certain rights and responsibilities.