What has gone wrong with the Fit Note?

XpertHR has published a survey finding that satisfaction with the Fit Note is dwindling among employers. Fit notes have been in place since April 2010. They originally got a lukewarm reception and in 2011 just under half (48%) of employers felt it had been a significant improvement in managing absence. Confidence in the scheme, according to the recent results, is now down to just 38%. Continue reading

Flexible working – what is changing?

Last week, the government announced a new plan to expand the ‘Right to Request’ flexible working patterns to all employees. Previously this was only available to parents with children under 16. The main aim of the initiative is to boost the job market and make it more inclusive to mothers and single parents. Continue reading

Do absence targets really work?

The theory is that setting absence targets improves attendance at work but is there evidence to back this? XpertHR has published figures stating that only 44% of employers in the UK set attendance targets, yet of those, 79% believe that the targets have drastically improved their experience of absence management. So why haven’t more companies joined in? Continue reading