Apart from the stumbling economy - and all that will entail - our predictions for the topics that will exercise most HR attention in 2010 include: 

 

• Pensions – the plans to make employer’s and employee’s contribute more will receive a lot more attention
• Maternity and paternity – will dads get the chance to share mum’s maternity leave 
• Equality legislation – the implications of the new legislation become clear and start to take effect
• Employee checking – as the CRB is joined by the Independent Safeguarding Authority knowing who needs to get checked for what becomes even more important
• Pay, benefits and tax – will anyone get a pay increase this year, how will the tax and NI changes affecting higher earners impact and how can you give employees more without increasing employment costs.
• Going green – the campaign to reduce carbon emissions by 10% in 2010 will gather steam and HR will be expected to take the lead. But how and what to do that is practical and sensible?
• What Labour want to do and what the Conservatives might do? (There is going to be an election in May!)
• Managing in a recession. (Sorry, there isn’t going to be quick recovery).
• Making HR cheaper, faster and better.