Chris Haswell's Archive

Chris Haswell

I am the Pensions Officer for the Public and Commercial Services union where I also have a role in pay policy. I have worked for over 20 years in a variety of roles, including equality and bargaining. I have also worked at the Equal Opportunities Commission on Equal Pay and as a Further Ed lecturer.

http://www.pcs.org.uk

Chris Haswell

Back in the classroom

It is easy to look back and think about what might have been in all parts of our lives. One opportunity that may present itself now, which may have been impossible when younger, is education. You might have seen younger members of the family do well in subjects you didn’t know existed when you were younger and at work younger colleagues may shine with up-to-date IT skills or by using social media.

Increasingly older people are returning to study on a part time basis. Sadly increased tuition fees have seen full time mature student numbers fall in universities.

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Posted on June 17th, 2013 by Chris Haswell filed under: Blog
Chris Haswell

Facing redundancy

So you are in the office and your colleagues are discussing volunteers for the redundancy package they include you, after all you’ve been here forever and those looking to go are your age.

You bite back the ‘I am about a decade too young and can’t afford it’ retort and mutter something about lots of part-time service. It is the case women are far more likely to have worked part-time and to have broken service. They may have opted out of the pension scheme, choosing to pay for childcare instead. What may be a good idea for some men in their fifties and early sixties, to take a redundancy/early retirement package is less likely to appeal to women the same age.

So what if your workplace/job is under threat, what can you do?

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Posted on May 1st, 2013 by Chris Haswell filed under: Blog, Work