It's the one in Iceland, I can't spell it either
Now that the drama of the election is over and the novelty of the Coalition government is fading and before the whole country shuts down for the World Cup, it’s time for a brief reminder of the event that brought Europe to a standstill, Kenyan flower growers to the brink of bankruptcy and led to people having extended holidays all over the world. Yes: the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano (it’s only marginally easier to spell than to pronounce), which won’t quite go away (although The Guardian reported on 23rd May that it may now be dormant) and which caused almost as much pain to news broadcasters as to those stranded in airport departure lounges.
Kevin Keegan has won his case for constructive dismissal against former employers Newcastle United, being awarded £2mn by the Premier League’s Manager’s Arbitration Tribunal. He left the club in September 2008 after falling out with them over the purchase of a player Ignacio Gonzalez (who?) against his wishes.
BA has been in the news … again and, as usual, for all the wrong reasons. The company formerly claiming to be the world’s favourite airline has now asked 40,000 of its staff to not just take a pay cut but to work for nothing for a month to ensure the company’s survival. Now there’s an enticing offer … not.
I posted on this subject a while ago and it has received such a lot of visits I thought I better give my public more of what they want. It also gives me an opportunity to provide an update on the poll I set up below on this issue. At the moment 57% of respondents would elect a pay cut and 31% would take redundancy. The remaining 11% didn’t know. Whether those results will change after this post wil be interesting to see.
Not an enviable choice to be faced with, but one that an increasing number of people seem to be having to make, or have foisted upon them, in industry. It is a practice that doesn’t seem to have caught on here in the City where swingeing headcount cuts still rule supreme when an employer wants to cut costs. I’ve written many times in this blog before about the redundancy process and selection criteria and the claims that can arise when employers get it wrong. However, what must an employer do if they decide that a pay reduction is preferable to a cull?
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