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With people living longer and fewer young people entering the labour market, Britain’s employers are increasingly reliant on the skills and talents of older workers to boost productivity. However, the ageing population also means that there will be an estimated nine million carers in the UK by 2037, many of whom will be trying to juggle both care and employment. This is according to new research released today by the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development. It finds that, although the UK’s policy framework for supporting older workers and creating fuller working lives is well-developed in comparison to many other European countries, there is a crucial need to turn this thinking into practical action from organisations, to avoid…

Announcing an important one-day conference on Social Aspects of Death, Dying and Bereavement in Glasgow on Saturday 5th November, 2016. Speakers include Robert Neimeyer, Kenneth Doka and Neil Thompson. The conference is hosted by The International Work Group (IWG) for Death, Dying and Bereavement, a non-profit organisation, supporting leaders in the field of death, dying and bereavement in their efforts to stimulate and enhance innovative ideas, research, and practice. The conference is open to non IWG members and will include participants from across the UK.  Delegates from health and social care, from local and central government, from academia and the third sector and from the funeral industry.  It will bring a number of high profile speakers to explain the importance of…

Every one of us on the planet is a unique individual, a person in our own right, with our own unique perspective. Of course, there are various things that people can have in common – the influence of culture and upbringing, for example. We will share certain views with particular groups of people because of political affiliation, religious belief, educational experience or whatever, and so there will generally be considerable overlap between, say, my perspective and that of many other people. However, there will not be a single person whose outlook will be exactly like mine. Even identical twins will have significant differences of perspective on certain issues ... Click here to read more

Children's rights are consistently violated in the context of environmental pollution, which is why Human Rights Watch has submitted a report with a loud and clear message to the United Nations. It's time to take action. One of the worst environmental health disasters occurred in 2011, when 400 children died in Nigeria from lead poisoning. Children were exposed to lead in a number of ways – working in nearby gold mines and processing ore, both on site and at home, and coming into contact with lead dust-covered relatives coming home after a day at work ... Click here to read more

Tens of thousands of patients are having “do not resuscitate” orders imposed without their families’ consent, an audit has found. Hospitals are failing to tell relations that they do not intend to attempt potentially lifesaving techniques to save their loved ones, according to the Royal College of Physicians. Its audit of 9,000 dying patients found that one in five families were not informed of the plans – equivalent to 40,000 patients a year ... Click here to read more

It's great to dream like a kid, but no fun to be treated like one. It bristles because we feel that, even if the person involved has best intentions, we've outgrown being treated like a child. Some behaviors to consider if you want to avoid this situation... Make long-term plans instead of whining Ask hard questions but accept truthful answers Don't insist that there's a monster under the bed even after you've seen there isn't Manage your debt wisely Go to school, early and often ... Click here to read more

The Trussell Trust’s latest statistics show that food bank use in the UK remains at record levels, and that the supply of emergency food parcels has increased by 2% in the last year. Amid the passionate discussion that these figures arouse, one comment by David McAuley, the trust’s chief executive, deserves attention: “Reducing UK hunger will require a collective effort from the voluntary sector, government, the Department for Work and Pensions, businesses and the public. The Trussell Trust is keen to work with all these groups to find solutions that stop so many people needing food banks in future.” Click here to read more