Latest news with #simplification
Yahoo
04-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
City council slashes HR policies
The number of HR policies and procedure documents at Southampton City Council has been slashed. The council has reduced its documents from 55 to ten. A review was carried out to modernise and simplify the policies, with many of the existing items found to be out of date. Kerry Eldridge, director of people and organisational culture, said it was hoped the new policies could be launched across the council as quickly as possible. Speaking at a governance committee meeting on Monday, July 28, Ms Eldridge said: 'Everyone has been crying for these for quite some time. 'The trade unions quite frankly hate the policies that we are currently utilising. 'I can't say the managers like them either because they struggle to find their way through them.' The meeting heard the council's people and organisational culture team had been working on reviewing the policies for the past four months using Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) templates. Feedback had been taken from legal colleagues, trade unions, managers and employees. Three statutory policies – disciplinary, resolution/grievance and sickness absence – were presented to the governance committee for approval. A fourth – employee code of conduct – will come forward at a later date when more of the council's governance review is completed. Meanwhile, the other six documents were procedures on how the council does things within the organisation.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Eighteen EU countries call for 'simplification' of EU Deforestation Law
Eighteen EU countries have asked the European Commission to start a process of "simplification" of the EU deforestation law and further postpone its implementation in a letter seen by Euronews on Monday. "We urge the European Commission to swiftly include the Deforestation Regulation in its simplification plans in order to ensure coordinated and effective implementation of the EUDR across the EU," the letter said. The communique was signed by the agriculture ministers of Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden. The European Commission has over the past few weeks already presented a range of simplification packages to amend pieces of legislation approved by the first Ursula von der Leyen Commission in the 2019-2024 mandate. These packages targeted the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, as well as pieces of legislation related to the European Common Agricultural Policy, and the defence sector. Related The EU seeks to slash red tape for defence as money 'is not enough' to kickstart production "Pending the Commission's simplification proposals, it might be advisable to further postpone the date of application of the regulation," the letter also read. A spokesperson for the European Commission told reporters on Monday that they had not yet "located" the letter, adding however that the EU's executive has "done also a lot of effort already to simplify the regulation and the work, in a way, is still ongoing". The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is a law aimed at reducing the EU's impact on global deforestation. It entered into force in June 2023 and classifies countries according to their risk of deforestation in the production of seven commodities: cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, soya, and wood. The European Commission decided to postpone its implementation to 30 December 2025 for large and medium-sized companies, and to 30 June 2026 for micro and small companies, following pressure from member states. In the letter, the signatory member states claim that the obligations placed on farmers, forest owners, and operators by the regulation are overly burdensome, especially for countries with little or no deforestation risk. They argue that the requirements are disproportionate to the regulation's goal of preventing deforestation and result in higher costs for both businesses and governments. The rules, the member states say, may also drive up raw material and production costs, increasing the risk that producers will move operations outside the EU. Civil society organisations have accused some EU lawmakers — including both member states and MEPs — of repeatedly attempting to undermine the legislation. Hannah Mowat, campaigns coordinator at Fern, told Euronews that there is a disconnect between the political and technical levels. "Competent authorities in many EU countries, including some that have signed this letter, say they are ready to implement the law,' she said. The signatories of the letter also undermined the concept of "degradation of forests", a phenomenon rising in Europe, Mowat explained. 'The agriculture ministers' letter states that European tree cover is rising, but ignores that Europe's forests are increasingly degraded. Tree farms are not forests, and across Germany, Austria, and more, large monoculture plantations have already collapsed due to disease, drought and overexploitation," Mowat told Euronews. "The EUDR would bring much-needed scrutiny to the monoculture model by requiring that forest products be legally produced and not contribute to the degradation of forests in Europe and abroad,' she concluded. 'This proposal is not a simplification, but rather a complication for all involved parties - including companies, who will be faced with a lack of legal clarity, further delays in the application of the law, and more burdens for those that have already set up systems for compliance" Anke Schulmeister-Oldenhove, WWF Europe manager on forests, told Euronews. "While paying lip service to stopping deforestation, ministers are in reality undermining one of the EU's flagship environmental laws, and turning a blind eye to the increasing deforestation rates globally and the impacts of climate change in the EU," she added.
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Dave & Buster's dials back some of its ‘confusing' experience changes
This story was originally published on CX Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily CX Dive newsletter. Dave & Buster's is simplifying the guest experience as it continues to scale back overcomplicated changes, interim CEO Kevin Sheehan said on a Q1 2025 earnings call Tuesday. The restaurant is testing out a simplified rate structure for the Power Cards customers purchase to play games, according to Sheehan. The company wants to improve the customer journey from the moment they buy a card to selecting options for extra points. The company is also speaking with location operators to determine the kind of experience customers want from a trip to Dave & Buster's, according to Sheehan. This includes ensuring Dave & Buster's isn't just choosing ubiquitous games but options that are attractive for its unique customer base. While Dave & Buster's simplified operating strategy is driving some improvements, the company's overall results remain weak. The restaurant chain's revenue fell 3.5% year over year to $567.7 million in the first quarter of 2025, according to a company earnings report. Comparable store sales dropped 8.3% year over year during the period. While negative, the first quarter performance was an improvement from fourth quarter 2024 results, which saw a 10.8% year-over-year revenue drop and a 9.4% decline in comparable store sales. Dave & Buster's is focused on a back-to-basics strategy that reverses some of the changes made under former CEO Chris Morris. 'I think we all agree that last year, we kind of made it a little too confusing for the guests,' Sheehan said during the call. 'So we're trying to simplify it.' Under Morris, plans included flexible game pricing designed to attract customers during off-peak hours, but recent Dave & Buster's research and feedback found that customers want to know exactly how much play time they will get for their money. Such experiments with game pricing are no longer on the table, but a few of the changes spearheaded by Morris, such as remodels with an emphasis on appearance and efficiency, are continuing on a smaller scale.
