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Take action to tackle fat cat and poverty pay NOW

Take action to tackle fat cat and poverty pay NOW

The average FTSE 100 CEO is now paid around 190 times the wages of the average worker, and around 400 times that of someone earning the minimum wage. Executive pay has become divorced from reality, disconnected from performance and totally detached from the pay of other employees. Millionaire bosses are treated as irreplaceable talent, the rest of us are often dismissed as a cost to be reduced. That needs to change. That’s why The Equality Trust is asking you to sign our petition calling on the UK Government to introduce mandatory pay ratio reporting in the private sector immediately, and require businesses to reveal, and justify, the difference in pay between bosses and workers. Click here to read more
Dr Neil Thompson
May 4, 2017
Love trumps hate: Five ways teachers can build solidarity and inclusion

Love trumps hate: Five ways teachers can build solidarity and inclusion

How can teachers make classrooms places of inclusion and belonging? That’s the question we should ask in light of Trump’s victory, which has legitimised misogyny, Islamophobia and racism, and the rise in hate crime in the UK following the EU referendum. We work with young women of colour from low-income backgrounds, many of whom are Muslim. In recent months, our participants have spoken about the growing fear they feel as a consequence of the current political rhetoric, and the hate crimes that have followed. Young people must have an education that enables them to stand up for justice, to act in solidarity with their peers, and to lead change. But under the strain of ever-growing workloads and emotional exhaustion, it…
Dr Neil Thompson
May 4, 2017
It’s not about the money: 3 Ways to impact happiness at work

It’s not about the money: 3 Ways to impact happiness at work

It's no secret that the volatile and unstable climate we face in business today takes its toll on our employees. According to a recent study, a full 42% of employees feel disengaged at work, costing U.S. businesses nearly $350 billion dollars a year. What’s perhaps even more surprising is what’s at the root of this: Feeling undervalued is actually the leading cause of stress in the workplace, and one of the top causes of turnover and low engagement. The good news: Recognizing your people’s work and input is a simple antidote to feeling undervalued, and what’s more, it is easy and inexpensive to implement. It will leave your employees feeling strong, resilient, and engaged — helping to buck the trends…
Dr Neil Thompson
May 4, 2017
Disability campaigners to produce guidance for social workers

Disability campaigners to produce guidance for social workers

Disability campaigners will produce guidelines for social workers on how to help service users become more physically active. Disability Rights UK is producing the guidance after the charity found many disabled people don’t know what activities are available or what they can spend their personal budget on. The organisation has identified that social workers can play a key role in discussing these issues during the assessment, supporting planning and review processes. It now plans to develop evidence-based guidelines that can help practitioners in their day-to-day work. Click here to read more
Dr Neil Thompson
May 4, 2017
Neil Thompson’s Lessons for Living – Give (and allow others to give)

Neil Thompson’s Lessons for Living – Give (and allow others to give)

When people are described as ‘selfish’ there is usually an element of having a preference for receiving over giving. That is, they are seen as much more interested in taking than giving. In a very real sense, selfishness is the opposite of generosity. From a moral point of view, being regarded as generous would normally be perceived as better than being seen as selfish, giving as morally superior to taking. Indeed, much of the appeal of certain jobs will be down to the opportunity to give – jobs in health care, social services, education and so on. Making a contribution to others can give us a sense of satisfaction, can boost our self-esteem and even provide a sense of spiritual…
Dr Neil Thompson
April 20, 2017
Overcoming deprivation and disconnection in UK cities

Overcoming deprivation and disconnection in UK cities

The poorest areas of towns and cities do not always benefit from economic growth. They can remain disconnected from the prosperity experienced by residents of wealthier neighbourhoods in the same region. This research looks at these issues from the perspective of housing and labour markets in the 20 per cent most deprived neighbourhoods across the UK. It finds that there is a need to reconnect economic growth strategies with poverty alleviation initiatives. The research includes an interactive map which reveals how disconnected regions are spread across the UK, and also shows  the areas affected by ‘double disconnection’, across both housing and labour markets. Click here to read more
Dr Neil Thompson
April 20, 2017
How big charities can support smaller ones

How big charities can support smaller ones

Chris Wright, chief executive of Catch22, responds to criticism about large charities' relationships with smaller ones and sets out how his charity sets out to work collaboratively with others. These past few weeks we have been exposed to media focusing on the lack of support for small charities and how these organisations are being shut-out and used as ‘bid candy’ by big charities. William Shawcross, chair of the Charity Commission, said in a public speech the other week that small charities were often “eclipsed by the big brand organisations”. Click here to read more
Dr Neil Thompson
April 20, 2017
Gareth Parry: ‘I knew a lot about mental health but I didn’t recognise it’

Gareth Parry: ‘I knew a lot about mental health but I didn’t recognise it’

Gareth Parry has spent almost three decades supporting people with disabilities and mental health issues find work, but a recent mental health crisis of his own has given him a personal insight into the remit of the organisation he leads. Parry has only ever worked for Remploy, starting as a trainee administrator and becoming chief executive a year ago. Problems in his personal life two years ago triggered depression. At the time, he was overseeing a government contract for workplace mental health support. “I knew a lot about mental ill health, but I didn’t recognise it,” he says. “Suddenly I was on the other side. It reinforced the importance of organisations like Remploy; work gave me routine, structure, focus, when…
Dr Neil Thompson
April 20, 2017
We know social care is in cataclysmic crisis. Now we must find a solution

We know social care is in cataclysmic crisis. Now we must find a solution

Last year it became OK to admit that social care was in cataclysmic crisis. Yet so far there is little sign that 2017 will see any high level recognition of the scale of change needed to bring about any kind of long-term solution to this key social policy. The prime minister has been reluctant to say more than that her government “is starting internally to look” at the issue. Hardly reassuring when even the Care Quality Commission has talked of social care reaching a “tipping point”. Poor public understanding of social care and its low political priority, coupled with issues of chronic underfunding and massive demographic change, continue to be a recipe for policy inaction. New Labour ducked the one…
Dr Neil Thompson
April 20, 2017