The HR Dept Weekly Roundup

Government rules out 4-day work week

The Government has given a firm "nope" to the idea of a four-day week, much to the disappointment of campaigners who were crossing their fingers for the Labour Party to revolutionise our work schedules.

The 4 Day Week Campaign, which is cheerleading for bosses to hop on board its second nationwide trial later this year, optimistically declared that “with a new Labour Government, change is in the air”.

But Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds quickly rained on their parade on Wednesday. A spokesman made it crystal clear: “This isn’t [the] Government’s planned policy.” So, it's back to the grind, folks! Read more here .

Jeremy Vine pursued by HMRC over alleged unpaid taxes

Radio 2 presenter Jeremy Vine is the latest celebrity to find himself in HMRC’s spotlight under the IR35 rules, with the tax authority on the hunt for what they claim are unpaid taxes from his BBC days.

Court documents show Vine has been locked in a tax tango with HMRC since 2018, arguing whether he should've been an employee or a contractor for his work on shows like Eggheads, Points of View, and his coverage of the 2015 general election. While the exact amount in question remains a mystery, experts suggest it could run into thousands of pounds – definitely not just pocket change. Read more about the progress here .

Thames Water chief takes ￡195K in bonuses within first 3 months

Chris Weston, the new head honcho at Thames Water, has made quite an entrance, pocketing a cool ￡195,000 bonus for his first three months on the job. Meanwhile, he’s been busy asking regulators to let the utility hike customer bills by almost 60%. Talk about making waves!

Campaigners are not amused, accusing the company of using its whopping ￡15.2 billion debt to strong-arm the government and regulator Ofwat into approving their fundraising plans. And it’s not just Weston making a splash—Chief Financial Officer Alastair Cochran has also bagged a hefty bonus of ￡446,000.

Ofwat is now diving into these bonus payments to see if they float under the new executive pay rules. All this while Thames Water is seeking the green light for a five-year business plan that would see average household bills soar by 59% between 2025 and 2030. Read more here .?

Senior executive called ‘old fossil’ by boss awarded ￡3.1m by tribunal

A senior executive at a FTSE 250 firm found himself out of a job and in the thick of an age discrimination scandal after being unceremoniously sacked and replaced by a younger employee, a tribunal has discovered.

The London Central employment tribunal (ET) determined that age played a significant role in the dismissal of Glenn Cowie, who had been steering the ship as global business unit president of the Foseco division at metal engineering and technology firm Vesuvius since 2014. Cowie, aged 58 at the time, didn’t see it coming.

Adding insult to injury, the tribunal found that Cowie wasn’t given a proper dismissal process. Apparently, if he had been a decade younger—say, in his forties—he might have been treated a bit more kindly. Read more here .?

The impact of WFH for disabled and neurodivergent people

Remote working is getting rave reviews from many disabled and neurodivergent individuals, according to Dr. Christine Grant, an academic from Coventry University who recently shared her insights with MPs.

Dr. Grant, an Associate Professor at the university’s Research Centre for Healthcare and Communities, has dived deep into the effects of remote working on this group. Her findings? Working from home is pretty much a game-changer.

Appearing before the Work and Pensions Select Committee, Dr. Grant aimed to help MPs figure out how to better support disabled people in getting and keeping jobs. The committee is also on a mission to see if the Government’s latest moves to shrink the disability employment gap are actually working. So far, it sounds like remote work might be the superhero in this story! Read more here .

Thank you for reading this week’s edition of the HR Weekly Roundup. We hope you continue to gain valuable knowledge and resources from the HR world with us. If you ever need help with your HR headaches, give us a call on 01926 353131 or email us at [email protected] .