Personnel and Volunteers

Respected employment law specialist Daniel Barnett reckons that the government's Pensions Debate consultation survey is "definitely worth doing", and who are we to argue?

It demonstrates the issues facing the UK in the next fifty years, explains the four 'Adair Turner' options and helps you understand the issues behind the crisis. http://www.dwp.gov.uk/debate/consult/.

A short film from the Disability Rights Commission aims to encourage workers to 'come out' about long term health conditions so they can continue to work effectively.

Details on ordering the DVD of the 10 minute comedy drama (no charge) are at http://www.drc-gb.org/businessandservices/appointment.asp - it can also be viewed online and an accompanying guide downloaded.

A new factsheet from personnel body CIPD looks at flexible working issues - working time, working location and the pattern of working. As usual, their material is a helpful introduction.

http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/wrkgtime/flexwking/flexwkgfst.htm.

Government minister Liam Byrne has called for the registration of residential and home care staff from next year, following recent announcements on this. However, the General Social Care Council’s chief executive Lynne Berry said it could take up to five years to register the estimated 750,000 residential and domiciliary care staff. After that an estimated further 750,000 workers, including day care staff, would need to register.

A two-year, £3 million strategy led by the Home Office to identify and remove barriers to volunteering and to promote these opportunities to potential volunteers was launched yesterday.

Volunteering For All will specifically target three groups less likely to volunteer, as identified by the biennial Home Office Citizenship Survey:

The Diploma in Volunteering Management, from Volunteer Development Scotland and University of Dundee is recruiting students for the programme starting in June.

(Source: Third Force eNews)

News Links

• Diploma info on VDS site

Chancellor Gordon Brown continues to promote the soon-to-launch national youth volunteering programme, and last week chaired the first cross-departmental meeting on it, wrote in the Daily Mail and visited a youth project in Leicester.

News Links

• See the Treasury press notice