Clare's Blog
Is it nearly Christmas yet?
It's October, and listening to the radio this morning, I was reliably informed that shops have got their christmas decorations up, and are selling their christmas merchandise.... REALLY??? So I popped in to Peterborough town, and low and behold, John Lewis had their usual selection of christmas decordations on their ground floor, but that was all. There were no decorations hanging in Queensgate, and the tree had not arrived in the Market Square yet!!!
Communication let me down.....
There wasn't a catchy, funny or witty title to put with this blog, I just felt that this was the next appropriate blog topic. There are just so many ways to communicate it is amazing. Communication methods have grown and evolved with time, knowledge and technology. Remember the days when you waited to hear the postman pushing the post through the door and it included a postcard from your family or a letter from a friend? I must admit, when I hear the postman I now think "oh no, not another circular"
Home is where the Heart (FM) is
Back in May, at a charity auction, I bid (and won) a studio tour at Peterborough Heart FM, and today was the day of the tour. It was F.A.B.!!! I took my two sons and they each chose a friend to come with them. My husband was able to negotiate with his work to leave early to attend and one of my best friends was able to come too. Us and the four boys had an absolute blast thanks to Team Heart FM. If I could bottle the fun and delight we all had, I would be a multi Billionaire.
The Gift of Time
I had a meeting this morning which unfortunately had to be cancelled due to their illness. We've rescheduled, but today this gave me the precious gift of time... but what shall I do with it?
"First, the good news..."
PeopleHR was invited to deliver a presentation on recent employment legislation changes at the Lynchwood Networking Forum this morning. Super I thought, an opportunity to get information out there and give guidance on some practical steps that businesses could take in response to the changes. So I called the presentation Headlines and Heads Up - and I did exactly that. The only issue was, I knew that it wasn't going to be received as good news from the businesses, so I needed to make the presentation entertaining and engaging whilst getting the serious points of law across.
Swings and roundabouts
You can't imagine the joy I felt this morning as I returned from the school run when I realised that the Longthorpe Parkway roundabout had been reopened! I was actually able to drive the direct route rather than following the diversion. The roundabout had ceased operating as a roundabout since the 11th February 2011. So during those weeks, I used up many extra minutes of precious time and many more litres of ever more costly diesel, for what result?
'D' or 'Dad's' day has arrived!
In April 2011, two significant changes happened in employment legislation. Firstly there are the changes regarding the default retirement age and secondly the introduction of additional paternity leave for fathers of babies born on or after 3rd April 2011. Yes, you read this correctly, Dad's can now take up to six months leave from work (as long as all qualifying criteria is met) to look after baby Jack or Sophie whilst Mum returns to work.
'Appy Employees!
To celebrate my birthday, with some friends we indulged in the latest spa treatment to come to Peterborough - putting your feet in a tank of fish!!! "On three" I said, and we all burst out with screams and laughter at being tickled as we lowered our feet into the tanks. The look of complete happiness on our faces and shrieks of delight from our voices was astounding. It was only later when contemplating if I would indulge in this experience again, I made the connection with what can make happy employees.
More like Guidelines?
A successful joke through the Captain Jack and Pirates of the Carribbean trilogy has been "The Pirate Code" and the retort, "well, they are more like guidelines anyway". This is usually incorporated when someone (often Captain Jack) is not doing what they should be doing.
Quicker than a blink of an eye...
I was exceptionally pleased to have been asked by the Peterborough Evening Telegraph to write an article on the up and coming changes in employment legislation for 2011.