National Living Wage
April 1 saw the introduction of the National Living Wage, first announced in (then) chancellor George Osborne’s autumn statement. It raised the minimum wage to £7.20 an hour, but only for the over-25s. It was expected to rise to £9 per hour by 2020 but that now seems unlikely. Many criticised the wage rise, suggesting it was not a true ‘living’ wage, just a new minimum that still wasn't enough to live on.
Shared Parental Leave is one year old
April marked the first anniversary of shared parental leave, which allows mothers and fathers to split leave when they have or adopt a child. However, a survey released in April 2016 found that many men still faced barriers when it came to taking time off for a new baby. Nearly six out of 10 (57%) women surveyed were concerned that taking this leave would negatively affect their partner’s career.
The best bits of HR magazine in April:
Mindfulness: Substance or smokescreen?
Mindfulness is everywhere – but does the practice stand up to medical scrutiny?
Equal pay and the gender pay gap are very different things and must not be conflated with each other.
Careers are marathons, not sprints
Your career isn't a 100-metre dash. It can take time to realise what you want to do, said Catherine Rush, global head of talent and development at 4 finance.
HR's role in organisational agility
Agility was one of THE buzzwords of 2016, but what does it actually mean? And how can HR help organisations to be more agile? Our April cover story investigated.
