Monthly Archives: January 2023

“Emotional Tax” of being on guard against racial bias

Bectu works in sectors of the economy that are all suffering skills shortages which are, in turn, exacerbated by retention problems. With this in mind, this research is particularly interesting. Summarising it, the LSE blog says… “Being on high alert … Continue reading

Posted in Bullying and Harassment, Diversity of representation, Gender representation, Management, Race equality, Skills & capacity, Workplace conflict | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The “freelancers can’t be safety reps” thing that people keep saying.

For some years, I’ve been told that “freelancers can’t be safety reps”. I knew it was shorthand for a more detailed explanation, but I finally got around to finding out what it meant in practice. I asked Chris Warburton, Prospect’s … Continue reading

Posted in Employment Law and Rights, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Gig economy workers, Health & Safety, Trades Unions | Tagged | Leave a comment

Theatre skills shortages at a ‘tipping point’

The Stage recently picked up on Bectu’s research around skills shortages in theatre [£], in which they quoted us saying that, unless long and unsocial working hours were addressed, the skills shortage in the industry would reach a “tipping point”. … Continue reading

Posted in Long hours, Mental Health, Theatre and Live Events data, Work-life balance | Tagged , | Leave a comment

What health records relating to employees can an employer hold?

In 2022 the ICO launched a consultation on the Employment Practices Code. This Code provides guidance on the use of data in various aspects of work including recruitment, employment records, monitoring, and information about workers’ health. Since then, the ICO … Continue reading

Posted in Employment Law and Rights, Illness and disability, Management, Personal data | Tagged , | Leave a comment