• What next for Fair Work in the COVID era? We need to adapt, implement and influence.

    By Gail Irvine, Senior Policy and Development Officer at the Carnegie UK Trust The COVID-19 labour market As the UK first went into lockdown, I wrote in a blog contemplating the impact of the crisis on working lives: ‘Widespread disruptio...
  • Fairer workplaces for a fairer Scotland

    By Marek Zemanik, Senior Public Policy Adviser.  In just under 10 weeks, on 6th May 2021, people in Scotland will head to the polls to elect 129 new MSPs. It is fair to say, this election will be like no other election before it. We still f...
  • The 2021/22 Scottish Budget and the people profession

    By Marek Zemanik, Senior Public Policy Adviser.  The last Scottish Budget before Scotland goes to the polls in May has been unveiled on Thursday, 28th January 2021. CIPD Scotland sent our views to Kate Forbes MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Fina...
  • The impact of COVID-19 on employee wellbeing in Scotland

    By Marek Zemanik, Senior Public Policy Adviser. As 2020 draws to a close, most of us will be looking back in disbelief and looking forward in hope. While the news of a vaccine rollout offers a genuine way out of the tunnel after months of restri...
  • Uncertainty on top of uncertainty – delivering the next Scottish Budget

    Marek Zemanik, Senior Policy Advisor for CIPD Scotland Marek Zemanik discusses how the next Scottish Budget will be very different compared to any other because of the impacts of COVID-19 The last budget before an election is usually a big deal. You ...
  • Job quality and Scotland’s ageing workforce

    By Marek Zemanik, Senior Public Policy Adviser, Scotland. The global pandemic has affected the lives of us all. We are beginning to see some of the longer-term impacts materialising, even though there is no end in sight yet. A speeding up of digital ...
  • Fair work and disability

    By Marek Zemanik, Senior Public Policy Adviser, Scotland. Recent years have seen an increased focus from both the UK and Scottish governments to tackle what policymakers refer to as the disability employment gap - the difference between the employmen...
  • Third time lucky

    By Marek Zemanik, Senior Public Policy Adviser, Scotland.Provided everything goes as planned, you are reading this blog while I am on paternity leave. This is my third time and, despite my children being born within just over five years, it will be a...
  • Remembering Lifelong Learning

    By Marek Zemanik, Senior Public Policy Adviser, Scotland.As the Covid-19 public health emergency morphs into an economic emergency, some tough decisions lie in store for both the UK and Scottish governments. How do we target financial support? W...
  • Working Lives Scotland

    By Marek Zemanik, Senior Public Policy Adviser at CIPD Scotland.A unique look at job qualityThe CIPD conducts a range of research in relation to job quality, but this year is the first year we have published a dedicated report for Scotland. Working L...
  • D&I in a time of pandemic – is it still relevant?

    By Lynne Connolly, Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion, Standard Life Aberdeen Unprecedented : ‘without previous instance, never before known or experienced, unexampled’. That’s the word I’ve had front of mind for th...
  • Working from home in Scotland – a permanent shift?

    By Marek Zemanik, Senior Public Policy Adviser at CIPD Scotland  Introduction One of the most immediate impacts of the coronavirus pandemic in the world of work has been the significant shift to homeworking across many sectors. Almost like a lar...
  • Fair work during (and after) a global pandemic

    Introduction There’s no getting away from it – a global health crisis is triggering a global economic crisis. Estimates vary from country to country, but to see the Scottish Government’s Chief Economist predict a 33% fall in Scottis...
  • Pensions in interesting times

    By Charles Cotton, CIPD senior adviser for Reward and Performance.I was fortunate enough to attend one of the 2020 Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association’s conferences a couple of weeks ago. This event, which was held in Edinburgh, focused o...
  • 10 Things I Learned at the 2020 CIPD Scotland Conference (and one I did not)

    By Marek Zemanik, Senior Public Policy Adviser at CIPD Scotland  I am not a people professional. I have never worked in HR. I am not in the market for software solutions to improve my company’s people management capabilities. You see, bef...
  • Why evidence is key to effective professional practice.

    By Edward Houghton, Head of Research at the CIPD. Good HR is built on evidence. From the design of new performance management programmes to the management of an employee grievance, its critical to make use of information, data and insights every step...
  • Diversity and talent are your future

    Guest blog by David Coyne, Senior Policy Adviser, Skills Development Scotland No-one can deny these are interesting times. We are bombarded by news stories and reports from think tanks which paint a picture of a world in chaos. Whether it is politica...
  • Capitalism with a Human Face?

    By CIPD's Scotland Senior Public Policy Adviser, Marek Zemanik. Around this time of year everybody reflects and looks ahead - to a new year and a new decade. I started this year looking back a bit further. You see, last year marked 30 years since...
  • Stuck in a Nightclub

    By CIPD's Scotland Senior Public Policy Adviser, Marek Zemanik.  I am a recovering political adviser. OK, maybe that’s a bit unfair. I have not fought a war, battled addiction or been through a traumatic experience. But the last eight ...
  • Behavioural Science: Man Behaving Curiously, part two: Challenging ascents and a sense of achievement

    By John McGurk, currently on sabbatical from the CIPDProper teaching started on the 10th of September It has been a full‐on, roller-coaster learning experience since then. We started off with probably the most challenging learning experience any of u...
  • Behavioural Science: Man Behaving Curiously

    By John McGurk, currently on sabbatical from the CIPD. I have behaved curiously all my life. By curious I don’t mean unexplained weird behaviour or some kind of curtain twitching nosiness. I mean that I always want to learn and explore things. ...
  • Scotland the Blog: Skills to pay the bills?

    "Skills to pay the Bills” was a rap by the Beastie Boys in 1992, when I was halfway through university as a mature student learning new skills. Skills are key to improving productivity and pay, ensuring that we can build inclusive gro...
  • Scotland’s ageing workforce: Time to act!

    In December, I am going to see Paul McCartney who is 76. He is still working on and (judging from the exorbitant ticket price I paid to see him at the Hydro), very much earning and productive! And he thought he would easing it back when he was 64! CI...
  • Everyone is talking about the future of work

    When my local barber told me 'next time you get your hair cut you could be swiping your debit card on a machine, which will proceed to cut your hair with the option of holiday conversations or silent snipping.' I think “yes, I can see t...
  • Fair Work? Fair Enough. But what can and should people leaders in Scotland do?

    This week CIPD Scotland, in partnership with RBS, hosted the first Scottish Senior Employee Relations Network event. This network will share insight and good practice, and discuss and debate the changing employment picture to better inform and advise...