The ‘Credit Crunch’ and higher costs of products and services are exacerbating deep seated challenges of running businesses, securing and maintaining jobs and living in rural areas, rather than creating new challenges. This is the conclusion of the Commission for Rural Communities assessment of the impact in rural areas. The Commission sought the feedback to feed into the report commissioned by Communities and Local Government on the impacts of the ‘Credit Crunch’ on economic development and regeneration.

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A new report from HSA reveals the hidden health costs of the global economic slowdown in the public sector. The Healthy Working Report surveyed more than 270 HR Professionals from a wide range of sectors and found that almost 1 in 5 HR professionals admit to encouraging their staff to return to work after illness.

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This guide on smart working has been published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Research by the Institute revealed that smart working is still an aspiration rather than a reality in the UK. This is despite 92 per cent of respondents to a survey believing that a smart working approach has a positive impact on performance.

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