Opinion: It’s a bad time for women’s politics and pay
HR needs to embrace transparency if we are to make progress when it comes to pay and workplace equality, writes Duncan BrownMartin Rowson’s brilliant cartoon in the Guardian, published a few days after...
View ArticleOpinion: Reporting on gender pay gaps won’t close them on its own
Employers seem to think that the problem of pay disparities is everyone else’s to solve, and not something they must tackle themselves, writes Duncan BrownThe government may have stated its commitment...
View ArticleIs the national living wage good, bad or just best fit?
It’s high time that employers took a more ethical approach to pay and reward, says Duncan BrownI tell my children that there is a difference between right and wrong. But what about at work – are there...
View ArticleOpinion: What will top the HR agenda in 2016?
Performance management, values and purpose at work will dominate the conversation this year, writes Duncan Brown...
View ArticleOpinion: Big bonuses could be a force for good in society
Duncan Brown makes the case for redemption for the variable reward that everybody loves to hateI had to laugh this week after reading Barclays’ announcement that their new chief executive would be ex...
View ArticleOpinion: What does the future hold for HR?
Duncan Brown weighs up conflicting opinions from HR thought leadersOur profession is facing a host of contradictions at the moment, a predicament that was highlighted to me as I caught up on my HR...
View ArticleOpinion: Why gender pay gap reporting divides employers
Duncan Brown explains the issue is more complex than the positive rhetoric suggestsOpinion on how to tackle Britain’s gender pay gap is divided, especially when it comes to public reporting.“We will...
View ArticleIs Britain in denial over waste of talented women at work?
Duncan Brown asks why the ‘unfinished business’ of equality isn’t higher up the election agendaI was in Brussels last week at an EU policy forum on gender equality. But it wasn’t just another boring...
View ArticleOpinion: Want to motivate staff on low wages? Pay more
It’s time employers addressed the plight of the precariat, says Duncan BrownAn interesting piece of CIPD research published last month revealed a 70 per cent fall in employment tribunal claims since...
View ArticleExec pay is too high. And everyone agrees, apparently
But consensus does not extend to how it should be tackled, says Duncan BrownAnother week, another call for executive pay restraint. The Financial Times reported recently that business minister Vince...
View ArticleHow creative reward can drive innovation
If you want pioneering staff you need to rethink the way you incentivise them, says Duncan BrownInnovation certainly does lurk beyond the c-suite, as Grace Lewis pointed out in her recent PM opinion...
View ArticleDoes the latest call to boost wages confirm UK pay really is too low?
An argument in favour of UK pay rises comes from an unexpected source, prompting Duncan Brown to warn of the dilemma for HR“Britain needs a pay rise!” No, these are not the words of Frances O’Grady,...
View ArticleIs NHS pay going back to the future?
Duncan Brown considers the myths around employee pay in the health serviceWith Ford’s striking seamstresses playing to full houses in the West End show Made in Dagenham at the moment, it was still...
View ArticleHR needs to get back to its route purpose
Policy is trumping people all over the world, says Duncan Brown, and it’s about time we practiced what we preachI am just back from a fascinating four days teaching 30 senior HR managers on an...
View ArticleShould we kill off total rewards?
Why is reward rhetoric so divorced from reality and is it time for a change, asks Duncan BrownJK Galbraith said that there are two kinds of forecasters: those who don’t know; and those who don’t know...
View ArticleOpinion: Did promises of modest exec bonuses aid demand for TSB shares?
Duncan Brown asks if the bank’s new ‘clean image’ on reward marks a turning point in the senior pay debateInvestors in TSB, the new challenger bank which is being spun out from Lloyds, are much richer...
View ArticleIs HR playing its part in tackling low pay?
As profits pick up, why are wages still so low for some, asks Duncan Brown'Yes, business is definitely picking up' the Dyson-wielding owner of the small firm who cleans the stairwell in our flats told...
View ArticleFor the real value of public sector pay, look behind the numbers
Duncan Brown asks whether the balance between cost savings and staff engagement is right? Public sector pay was in the headlines again last week as the government announced a 1 per cent pay rise for...
View ArticleLiving standards - employers, be afraid, be very afraid
Duncan Brown shares his alarm at predictions on workforce reward I was at the scariest event I have attended for a long time this week, the launch of the Resolution Foundation’s annual report The State...
View ArticleThe economic sense of equal pay
Duncan Brown says that HR should care how pay inequality is resolvedTrue equal pay is still a goal that seems a long way off for many. But how can HR help to tackle the issue?There are three options:...
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