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It’s A Level results day! Your career journey starts here…

by Natalie EllisLeave a Comment on It’s A Level results day! Your career journey starts here…

When we were little, we knew what we wanted to do for a career as we’d proudly stand in front of our classmates at a tender age of 5 and exclaim “I want to be a Policeman” “a vet” “I want to be a nurse” one beamed with pride.

I remember sitting there, I politely passed my turn to another child and went last. The teacher then asked me again “Natalie what do you want to do when you grow up?” I stood at the front and told her that I’d really thought about this question because when you have a job, you’re doing it for a long time. I then said to her that I knew wanted to work at Heathrow Airport for British Airways, just like my dad. She asked, “why British Airways?” I simply said “their people are always smart, they wear buttons on their uniforms when they’re good at work, they’re friendly and they always smile but most of all, I want my mum and dad to be proud of me”.

I sadly never made it in to British Airways in my dream role as cabin crew, but ironically my sister did and whilst my mum and dad are proud of me. I’m equally proud and grateful to them, my passion to perform well in my role is a driver I inherited from my dad.

To cut a long story short, my  point is that not everything in life goes to plan so prepare for the curveballs that now fire your way! whether that is choosing the university for you, getting into the world of work or simply figuring out your next steps, they may not be as you planned or first thought!

You’ve read the books, completed your coursework and faced the exams head on; today is the results day you have been waiting for and I wish you all the very best of luck and no matter what, you’re already a success story waiting to happen.

If your results are not what you hoped for there are a number of things you can do and you may need to adapt your plans slightly but you never know, you might prefer the new plan better!

Regardless of your result, now is an incredible time of opportunity, with an increase in demand for apprenticeships, universities opening their doors to welcome new students and a buoyant employment market, now is the time to get that first foot onto the career ladder.

Good luck and all the very best wishes from me.

 

 

 

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Tribunal fees to be scrapped

by Natalie Ellis1 Comment on Tribunal fees to be scrapped

Yesterday it was declared by the Supreme Court that tribunal fees are unlawful and that all fees paid (amounting to as much as £27 million) over the last four years are to be refunded.

Unison brought the case to the Supreme Court after losing it’s case at the High Court and the Court of Appeal. They challenged the government’s decision to introduce tribunal fees under a piece of secondary legislation in July 2013.

My Twitter feed went nuts yesterday as the ruling was announced and has divided many opinions. Some were pleased at the ruling and agreed that it is indeed unlawful; whilst others thought it could open the floodgates to unnecessary tribunal claims.

Lord Reed advised that employment tribunals “are intended to provide a forum for the enforcement of employment rights by employees and workers, including the low paid, those who have recently lost their jobs and those who are vulnerable to long-term unemployment”. Therefore the judges concluded that the fees were preventing access to justice.

The ruling announced that the charges were indirectly discriminatory towards women, who were more likely to bring a more costly and serious case, and were in breach of EU law.

In the light of this landmark decision, the lord chancellor will be quashing the order that introduced the fees, which can amount to as much as £1,200 for a single claim, and refunds will be issued to those who previously paid to bring a case.

A poll set up by People Management advised that 70% of people were pleased at the result; so what do you all think? Feel free to put your comments below.

So it is now a case of watch this space to find out how fees will be refunded (and who indeed will be funding them); what steps employers need to take to protect themselves from risk and what action the Government will take from here.

It certainly is interesting times.

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#HRActsOfKindness Challenge 5

by Natalie EllisLeave a Comment on #HRActsOfKindness Challenge 5

It’s Friday! Happy Friday greetings to you all, I cannot believe how fast this week has flown by!

Your 5th and final challenge is a tough but simple one but I think we can all do it together! 

Say one nice thing to everyone you see or speak to today.

Your songs choices will be played throughout the day starting at 10am to get you through the workday so keep your eyes peeled! 

Have a fabulous Friday and I will round up #HRActsOfKindness later today, thank you all for taking part. 

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#HRActsOfKindness Challenge 4

by Natalie Ellis2 Comments on #HRActsOfKindness Challenge 4

Can you believe that we’re on challenge 4 already? This week has flown by!

Ok two things I need from you all today, and tomorrow you’ll have a surprise as a result! 

Challenge 4

Sincerely compliment your manager, who probably doesn’t often get feedback

For the freelancers:

Give yourself some credit! Think about your achievements and how far you’ve come. Sometimes we can be the harshest of critics so why not pat yourself on the back for a change.

For tomorrow:

Send me a work related song on your choice, pop them into the comments below and tomorrow I’ll pull together a fantastic playlist with all of your songs so we can fly together through our final challenges and review what we’ve been up to all week.