Rob Moss
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Articles by Rob Moss
Paddy Power owner blames tax hikes for 1,400 UK job cuts
Flutter Entertainment, the company behind gambling brands including Paddy Power, BetFair and SkyBet, has announced it is cutting up to 1,400 UK jobs in response to increased gaming taxes announced at the last Budget. Announcing plans to restructure its UK and Ireland business, Flutter said the decision will affect employees in various locations, including Leeds, Dublin, and UK and Ireland staff at Flutter premises in Portugal and Romania.
Labour market October 2026: Vacancies fall to a 12-year low
The estimated number of vacancies in the UK has fallen to a 12-year low, excluding the impact of the pandemic, according to official labour market figures for October 2026. The Office for National Statistics said there were 691,000 vacancies in the three months ending 30 September 2026, a fall of 21,000 or 1.9% compared with June to August 2026.
NHS bars trans women from female changing rooms
New guidance from NHS England will place biological sex at the heart of policies governing staff changing rooms and same-sex patient accommodation, meaning transgender individuals cannot use facilities that align with their gender identity. The guidance comes 18 months after the UK Supreme Court’s landmark judgment in For Women Scotland v Scottish Ministers, which established that “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 means biological sex.
Exclusive: Workplace wellbeing programmes fall short on sleep issues
Employee Benefits Live 2026: Speaking on the opening day of Employee Benefits Live 2026, Kathryn Pinkham highlighted that while sleep awareness has increased, typical corporate wellbeing initiatives fail to address many sleep issues. The former NHS sleep specialist explained that experiencing the odd poor night’s sleep is normal, but conscientious employees frequently react with anxiety regarding their performance the following day.
Sexual harassment and tribunal risk: building a legally defensible response (webinar)
Tuesday 24 November 2026 12:00pm GMT Handling a sexual harassment complaint can expose an organisation to significant legal, employee relations and reputational risk. The decisions made from the moment a concern is raised, through investigation and disciplinary action, can determine whether the matter is resolved fairly or ultimately ends up before an employment tribunal.
EB Live 2026: Wellbeing initiatives fail to resolve sleep problems
Speaking on the first day of Employee Benefits Live 2026, Kathryn Pinkham, founder of the Insomnia Clinic and a former NHS sleep specialist, highlighted that while awareness around sleep has grown, standard corporate wellbeing initiatives fail to resolve many sleep problems. Pinkham explained that occasional sleeplessness is normal, but conscientious employees often respond with anxiety over next-day performance.
Boots starts hiring for 6,000 seasonal roles
Boots has begun recruitment for 6,000 seasonal roles across its high street stores, warehouses and customer support centre this Christmas. As Boots prepares for its busiest time of the year, candidates of all ages are welcome to apply for these flexible and part-time roles, including young people and first-time jobseekers, who typically make up around half of seasonal recruits at the health and beauty retailer.
Are mandatory workplace menopause policies built on hot air?
A ‘robust’ study of the impact of menopause on women has found no link to their engagement at work, including on levels of productivity, impairment and absence. The findings cast doubt on the rationale for the government’s workplace menopause policies being introduced by the Employment Rights Act 2025. Voluntary menopause action plans were launched for employers with more than 250 employees in April 2026, and will become mandatory from April 2027.
HR told woman to delete evidence of sexual images viewed by colleague
A woman told by HR to delete evidence from her phone of a senior male colleague viewing inappropriate images on his PC has settled her sexual harassment case with the Department of Education in Northern Ireland. The department is to pay the unnamed woman £25,000 in the case, without admission of liability. The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland supported her case.
Burnham pledges ‘right support for young people’
Andy Burnham pledged in his keynote leader’s speech in Liverpool to give “the right support for our young people when they need it”, including better support entering the workplace.
UK needs contingency plan for mass job losses caused by AI
The minister for artificial intelligence has said the UK must take the “possibility of an unprecedented impact” from AI on the jobs market seriously. Speaking at the Labour Party conference, Kanishka Narayan, who was appointed AI minister by Andy Burnham in July, said that, while there is no evidence that AI is negatively affecting the labour market, he was focusing on having a contingency plan in place for the worst-case scenarios.
Currys to hire 1,000 temps, with half turning permanent
Currys is recruiting around 1,000 seasonal employees in the UK and Ireland, with around half expected to be offered a permanent position. The tech retailer offered almost half (49%) of last year’s Christmas cohort a permanent role once their contract ended. Vacancies have opened in nearly 300 stores, with the first temporary hires starting from 11 October and contracts running until 2 January 2027 – the so-called “peak” period.
‘Football scout’ style teams to link young apprentices with employers
John Healey has said a new ‘Local Apprenticeship Service’ would see teams acting like ‘football scouts’ to connect young people with businesses, as he also announced the re-establishment of the Union Learning Fund. Speaking at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, the chancellor said: “The best thing we can offer a young person isn’t a benefit payment, it’s a first job with training and a wage.
New CIPD chief Neil Carberry to ‘listen, learn and work’ with members
Neil Carberry has started as chief executive of the CIPD, succeeding Peter Cheese, who led the professional body for HR and people development for 14 years before retiring in June. Carberry had been chief executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) since 2018. He arrives at a time when the HR profession is being asked to help organisations navigate real pressures, from skills shortages to fast-moving technological and economic change.
CBI: Outlook for growth remains ‘subdued’
Private sector firms expect activity to fall for the rest of 2026, continuing a period of negative growth predictions that has persisted since late 2024. According to the Confederation of British Industry’s latest growth indicator, businesses expect activity to fall in the three months to December, with a weighted balance of -14%. The balance is the weighted percentage of companies reporting an increase minus those reporting a decrease. Almost 700 firms responded to the CBI’s latest survey.
Better car benefits, bigger employee retention (webinar)
Tuesday 20 October 2026, 11:00am BST With financial wellbeing high on the agenda for employers and employees alike, how can businesses offer benefits that genuinely make a difference? Electric cars through salary sacrifice not only provide a tangible financial benefit, but also give employees an opportunity to drive a vehicle that may otherwise be beyond their reach.
Slow pay growth forecast to continue in 2027
UK employers are expected to keep pay awards subdued into 2027, according to the latest data from Brightmine. Its pay forecast analysis found a median pay award of 3% over the next 12 months, with little variation. Nearly three-quarters (71%) of predicted pay settlements will fall between 3% and 4%. It comes as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) revised its inflation forecast down for the UK.
‘Workplace Health System’ emerges from Keep Britain Working
Sir Charlie Mayfield’s Keep Britain Working review is proposing a ‘Workplace Health System’ that will connect employers, health provision and better intelligence. The review’s latest update outlines a “national growth opportunity” that brings together employers, the NHS, local authorities and other support services to ensure people don’t fall out of work unnecessarily and companies have better intelligence on workplace health to drive change.
Guardian staff opt to WFH amid bedbug infestation at HQ
Employees at The Guardian newspaper have been allowed to work from home during an infestation of bedbugs at its headquarters in London.
New statutory bereavement leave to be introduced from April 2027
Employees will gain new statutory rights to bereavement leave, including in cases of pregnancy loss, from April 2027. Ministers confirmed the timetable as they published their response to the bereavement consultation, which closed in January. The reforms will create a day‑one entitlement for workers who lose a spouse or partner, parent, adult child or sibling.
New bereavement leave rights to commence in April 2027
The government has announced that new rights to bereavement leave, including pregnancy loss, will commence in April 2027. Having published today their response to the consultation on bereavement, which closed in January, ministers said they will introduce the new day-one right for employees who lose a spouse or partner, parent, adult child or sibling.
Foundation apprenticeships attract only 160 young people
Only 160 young people have enrolled on foundation apprenticeships in the first eight months since they were launched. A report by the Fabian Society think tank highlighted that the government is significantly behind its target for 30,000 foundation apprenticeship starts by 2029. Foundation apprenticeships are entry-level, paid jobs with structured training aimed typically at 16 to 21-year-olds.
Youth opportunity index reveals six-fold gap in vacancies
There are just 46 vacancies for every 1,000 young adults in Rotherham, while youngsters in the Cotswolds have 288 job opportunities available to them – 6.3 times more. A new “local youth opportunity index” by the Institute for Public Policy Research has revealed that nine of the 10 best areas for youth job opportunities are in the South of England. The think tank has warned that the UK cannot solve its Neets crisis without creating opportunities in the places that lack them.
Inflation ticks up as fuel costs bite
All three measures of inflation rose by 0.2 percentage points in August 2026, with transport costs, including motor fuel and airfares, the main driver behind the cost-of-living increase. The consumer prices index (CPI) ticked up to 3.1% in the year to August 2026, up from 2.9% the previous month.
Labour market: Vacancies fall to five-year low
The UK labour market’s fragility persists, as official figures estimate that vacancies have fallen to their lowest level in more than five years. Early vacancy estimates from the Office for National Statistics for June to August 2026 suggest a decrease of 1.1% to 702,000, compared with March to May 2026 – their lowest level since April 2021.
Doctor launches action against NHS trust over trans policy
An NHS mental health trust is facing an employment tribunal claim from a consultant psychiatrist for allegedly dismissing safeguarding concerns regarding a policy allowing bearded trans women to be admitted to female psychiatric wards.
Adoption of decision-making AI is outpacing board governance
Organisations are embedding AI into decision-making faster than governance systems are evolving to oversee it, research has found. Drawing on evidence from governance professionals across the corporate, public, charity and education sectors, the research from the Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland combined 16 cross-sector roundtables involving 61 participants with survey responses from around 100 governance professionals. The findings come amid renewed scrutiny of AI safety and control.
Next wins ‘landmark victory’ in appeal over equal pay
Next has won a ‘landmark’ legal victory in its long-running equal pay case after the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) said it was ‘not necessary’ for it to justify not increasing mostly female retail workers’ pay to the same level as warehouse workers who are predominantly men. The appeal judgment backed Next’s position that it should not have to pay shop assistants and warehouse operatives the same amount of basic pay, where market and working conditions are very different.
Stop building courses, start building the future (webinar)
Thursday 10 September 2026, 11:00am BST Whether it’s future-proofing your own career, or helping your organisation evolve – hopefully both – there is a mindset shift you need to master. Of course, AI is part and parcel of this future. But unless you make the move from “content creator” to “workforce architect”, you run the risk of getting left behind. Learning used to mean stepping away from work with course catalogues, assignments, and training hours.
B&Q, Five Guys and NHS trusts named for NMW underpayments
The Fair Work Agency has named and shamed 658 employers, including B&Q, Five Guys and some NHS trusts, for national minimum wage (NMW) underpayments. More than £4.2 million has been returned to more than 27,600 workers who had been denied the pay they were legally owed, with penalties totalling £7 million issued to the employers responsible. The average underpayment was £154 per worker, but this ranged from £8 to £23,871.
HR worker awarded £200k after being ‘set up to fail’
An HR co-ordinator with ADHD who won her claim for disability discrimination against a luxury hotel has been awarded £200,000 in compensation. The employment tribunal agreed with the claimant, Ms Ghiotto, who was employed by Hawkwell House Hotel in Oxford as a talent and culture co-ordinator, that her boss was “setting her up to fail”. The hotel is managed by the Accor Group.
‘Wrong legal analysis’ applied in Peggie tribunal judgment
Sandie Peggie’s legal team have claimed that the ‘wrong legal analysis’ was used in the employment tribunal judgment in her case against NHS Fife over a trans woman’s access to female changing rooms. Peggie only partially succeeded in her claims against Fife Health Board in December 2025, winning a claim for harassment but losing claims of direct and indirect discrimination and victimisation. She announced her intention to appeal within days of the judgment, and this was granted last month.
Parents of seriously ill children should get paid leave
The Children’s Commissioner is urging the government to introduce new paid leave for parents of seriously ill or disabled children. Dame Rachel de Souza is backing calls for parents of children with serious physical or mental health conditions to receive 12 weeks’ paid parental leave at 90% of normal pay, to provide financial security following a diagnosis or serious deterioration in a child’s health.
Holiday pay: The mistakes still catching employers out (webinar)
Thursday 17 September 2026, 2:00pm BST Holiday pay remains one of the most technically challenging areas of employment law. Despite significant reforms in 2024, many employers are still applying the rules incorrectly – particularly when calculating normal remuneration and accounting for overtime, commission and variable pay. With the Fair Work Agency expected to play a greater role in enforcing employment rights, ensuring your holiday pay calculations are accurate has never been more important.
ICO finds ‘serious’ flaws in Met Police’s data protection training
The Metropolitan Police has been issued with an enforcement notice and reprimand by the Information Commissioner’s Office to significantly improve its data protection training, monitoring and governance arrangements. The data watchdog found “multiple weaknesses” and ordered the Met Police to make data protection improvements to reduce the risk of unlawful disclosure of personal information.
Home Office must specify reason for right-to-work fines
The Home Office must specify the reason it believes an employer has contravened right to work laws when it issues a fine, the UK Supreme Court has ruled. An Indian restaurant has successfully appealed a £15,000 fine issued by the home secretary for employing a worker who immigration officers believed was an immigrant working illegally, his leave to remain in the UK having expired. The case, which went all the way to the Supreme Court, followed an inspection of a Middlesbrough curry house.
Nottingham NHS Trust faces corporate manslaughter investigation
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is being investigated for corporate manslaughter. The trust had previously sectioned Valdo Calocane, who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, but was discharged in 2022 after he failed to attend his appointments. Calocane went on to fatally attack Barnaby Webber, Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates in June 2023 in Nottingham, injuring three others.
Most managers receive no training on probationary periods
Most managers do not receive any training on how to handle probationary periods, with only 36.1% of HR professionals confirming that their managers receive training. Most HR professionals (52.9%) attending a Personnel Today webinar last week said their managers received no training, while 11.0% did not know.
Tipping: government withdraws draft code in response to union criticism
The government has withdrawn its draft code on the fair and transparent distribution of tips in response to criticism of it by several organisations including union Unite. The draft code was withdrawn without reasons given on 9 July. Unite said the code confirmed that, following consultation, employers would have “carte blanche” to decide which workers will receive tips. The revised code stated that consultation should be “genuine, proportionate, inclusive and transparent”.
EHRC publishes updated draft code of practice
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has published its updated draft code of practice for services, public functions and associations after a motion by MPs to disapprove it failed to stop its progress. On 21 May, Bridget Phillipson, the minister for women and equalities, laid the updated draft code before Parliament for a period of 40 days, which ended on 9 July.
Green MP to introduce maximum workplace temperature bill
Hannah Spencer, the Green MP who won the Gorton and Denton by-election in February, is to introduce a bill on maximum workplace temperatures. She described it as “absurd” that the UK does not have guidance on maximum temperatures in the workplace. “This is something workers and trade unions have been raising the alarm about for many years,” she told the Guardian. “It shouldn’t have taken this long to act, but the unsafe temperatures we’re seeing now should be a huge wake-up call.
Trade union codes of practice laid before Parliament
The government has laid three codes of practice relating to trade union access rights, unfair practices during a recognition or derecognition process, and time off for trade union duties and activities. It laid the draft code of practice on the trade unions’ right of access to workplaces before Parliament on Monday.
Consultation launched on workplace monitoring technologies
The government has launched a consultation on the use of workplace monitoring technologies in an effort to improve clarity, transparency and worker voice, supporting good industrial relations.
Lidl to pay €170k to manager sacked for alleged timesheet fraud
A supermarket manager accused by Lidl of fraud over his employees’ timesheets has won his claim for unfair dismissal at a Rotterdam court. Sub-district Court Judge JC Halk found that fraud had not been proven and that even if it had, given the manager’s 17 years’ service, a stern warning would have been more appropriate than immediate dismissal.
Sacked manager awarded £21k over handling of abusive customer
A car dealership in Paignton unfairly and wrongfully dismissed an aftersales manager following a dispute with an aggressive customer who had harassed and abused his team members. In a case that highlights employers’ risks around third-party harassment, the employment tribunal awarded Mr Spinks £21,000 for unfair dismissal and wrongful dismissal from Snows Motor Group. Spinks had worked for Snows since 2009 and started at its Paignton garage in August 2024.
Tipping: Unite demands ‘flawed’ code of practice is withdrawn
Unite has demanded that a ‘flawed’ draft code of practice on the fair and transparent distribution of tips be withdrawn to allow for ‘proper consultation’. The trade union said the government has reneged on its promise to give workers full control over the allocation of tips. Instead, the government proposes that from October 2026, employers “merely have to consult” on how tips are allocated.
NMC drops case against nurse in pronouns dispute
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has dropped its case against Jennifer Melle, the nurse suspended for talking to the media about how her NHS trust treated her after she misgendered a trans patient.
German workers will need sick note from day one of illness
Workers in Germany will require a sick note from the first day of illness after Friedrich Merz unveiled a package of reforms that also affect fixed-term contracts, executive dismissals and severance payments. Merz said that sick leave certificates can no longer be issued over the phone and that a certificate will soon be required from the first day of illness. Currently, a sick note is only required if the illness lasts longer than three calendar days.
Acas records 27% rise in demand
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) saw a 27% increase in demand for its individual dispute resolution service, which helps to resolve potential employment tribunal claims, according to its latest annual report. It handled more than 150,000 early conciliation notifications, resolving over nine out of 10 cases, an all-time high, avoiding unnecessary stress and cost for both employees and employers. Acas also recorded strong demand for its workplace advice and training.
Henry Nowak: Hampshire police officers face misconduct probe
Two police officers involved in the arrest of Henry Nowak after he had been stabbed by Vickrum Digwa are under investigation for potential gross misconduct.
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