Much-needed employment law reforms which came into effect this month look set to save UK businesses more than £10m a year, ministers have claimed.

It’s that time of the year again, a time when UK employers gear up for a swathe of employment law changes, and 2012 is no different.

Ramsdens and Hays Specialist Recruitment hosted the inaugural HR Club in Huddersfield last week and it was a great success.

Over 35 HR professionals attended and the verbal feedback that we got on the day was terrific.

Hays Specialist Recruitment and Ramsdens Solicitors are launching the HR club in Huddersfield next month and we want you to join us at our inaugural event on Thursday 2nd February.

At our launch event we will be discussing the impact of social media on businesses and in particular on the HR function.

The club will be a forum for HR professionals to share ideas, best practice, ask questions, get answers, network and enjoy breakfast on us.

As the New Year celebrations subside, employees and business owners up and down the country have been told to take heed of a raft of employment law changes ready for introduction in 2012.

Employers will need to prepare themselves for increased demands in 2012, but if you’re a hard working employee, it’s important to know what increased rights are coming your way over the next 12 months.

Workers hoping they’d seen the back of employment woes in 2011 will have to wait a while yet for job security, after more than two-fifths of UK managers expect career development opportunities to decline in 2012.

Whether it’s a sign of society’s growing dependence on technology or just another facet of the modern workplace, nearly half of workers aged 16 to 24 claim they would not work for companies that ban social media sites.