16 MAY 2024
FE & HR News: UCU's Own Staff Strike, 50K Win for Unfair Dismissal Lecturer, Mental Health Awareness Week and more.
This big news this week: UCU's own staff vote to strike over systemic work place racism allegations. Full details below, along with 6 other stories you may have missed this week.
UCU’s own staff vote to strike
Staff at the University and College Union have voted in favour of strike action over their employer’s allegedly “shameful” handling of workplace racism and breach of collective agreements. Nearly three-quarters of UCU’s 182-strong members of the Unite union said they are prepared to strike against their trade union employer, as a ballot over a long-running dispute concluded. The ballot result also found 78 per cent were prepared to take industrial action consisting of action short of a strike. Turnout was 79 per cent. Full story.
Lecturer wins over £50k from large college group for unfair dismissal
One of the country’s largest college groups has been ordered to pay more than £50,000 in compensation to a former sports lecturer for unfairly dismissing him. The employment tribunal unanimously ruled that Michael Barbrook should be paid £53,256.95 in compensation for unfair dismissal plus £174.95 in compensation for preparing for the case while not legally represented. Read the full article on FE Week.
Mental Health Awareness Week
No mind left behind. Every year, 1 in 4 of us will experience a mental health problem. But too many of us aren’t getting the help we need. Over 2 million people are waiting for NHS mental health services, and since 2017 the number of young people struggling with their mental health has nearly doubled.
People tell us they feel overwhelmed and hopeless. They need support right now. With your help we can build a better future, where mental health is handled right. Excellent support and guidance from MIND.
Upskilling The FE Workforce to Meet Changing Needs
Earlier this year the Adult Learning Improvement Network (ALIN) and AMFE started a comprehensive, qualitative and quantitative national research project across all types of providers delivering ESFA-funded learning to identify providers’ workforce development needs. Providers completed online surveys, attended discussion forums and focus groups with information gathered also from in-depth interviews, data analysis and archival study. Aligning this research with the detailed analysis of Ofsted inspection reports carried out by Fellowship of Inspection Nominees, clear patterns and trends have emerged. FE News story.
New ChatGPT Updates From OpenAI Will Benefit Educators
The OpenAI Spring Update event marked a significant milestone in democratising AI. Most educators I work with around the world are using the free ChatGPT, utilising the less capable GPT-3.5 AI model. No longer is this the case. Free users can now access intelligence previously reserved for Plus subscribers. This could have huge implications for education, work and global entrepreneurship. Forbes article.
A ‘tick-box exercise’ or ‘groundbreaking’ progress? Government launches £64m scheme to help people back to work
The government has announced it will introduce a £64m pilot of WorkWell – a “work and health support service” – across 15 areas of England from October. The scheme, launched by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) aims to provide “tailored help” for people with a health condition or disability, including mental health conditions, who want to return to work. The government has described the service as “a single, joined-up assessment and gateway” into local employment support and health services. People management article.
Four ways to improve employee satisfaction and minimise employee turnover
Employee turnover is the rate at which employees leave an organisation, either voluntarily or involuntarily. It can be a significant challenge for employers, leading to increased recruitment costs, loss of productivity, and disruption in team dynamics. Research by Reed.co.uk found that over a quarter (26%) of businesses are hiring right now to reduce the impact of employee turnover*. In this article, we explore four key ways to increase staff retention. Reed.co.uk blog.