Barclays to create up to 2,500 jobs at new Glasgow tech hub

Barclays to create up to 2,500 jobs at new Glasgow tech hub

by • News, Property

Barclays has announced plans to develop a new campus at Buchanan Wharf, Glasgow, which will provide what it claims is a state-of-the-art workplace for the bank’s functions, technology and operations teams. The aim is to create a working environment that will ‘help the bank deliver outstanding services to customers and clients by fostering innovation and collaboration’.  Barclays has agreed to purchase the campus development from Drum Property Group Ltd and is currently working with them to finalise the design of the new facility as part of the wider Buchanan Wharf development. It is expected that, once completed, the campus will be able to accommodate up to 2,500 additional roles, doubling Barclays’ current workforce in Scotland and making the bank one of Glasgow’s biggest commercial employers.

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WeWork launches new brokering service aimed at small and medium sized businesses

WeWork launches new brokering service aimed at small and medium sized businesses

by • News, Property, Workplace design

WeWork’s announcement of a meat ban last week has attracted a great deal of attention in the media but a quiet announcement put out on the firm’s website on Friday will have more profound implications for the facilities management, workplace and commercial property worlds. In September the firm will launch WeWork Space Services which is targeted at small and medium sized businesses including those that are not current members. It claims that the service will be a ‘holistic, one-stop’ that will meet the real estate needs of its target audience, including finding them the most appropriate office space and resources as well as free membership of WeWork spaces around the world.

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European Parliament backs new rules for flexible working for parents

European Parliament backs new rules for flexible working for parents

by • Flexible working, News

Flexible workingThe European Parliament has approved new rules for paternity leave, non-transferable parental leave and measures for flexible working in a bid to improve the current work/life balance of parents and carers across EU member states. These rules are also hoped to address the under-representation of women in parts of the labour market, increase incentives for fathers to take up family-related leave and to foster gender equality and equal opportunities. MEPs claims this will benefit children and a family life, whilst reflecting societal changes more accurately and promoting gender equality.

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Cities should make the most of their digital connectivity

Cities should make the most of their digital connectivity

by • Cities, News, Technology

Cities need more powers and resources from Government to address digital divides – but also need to make better use of existing technology to transform public services. This is according to a report published by the think tank Centre for Cities in partnership with Telefónica UK. It examines how digital technology – in terms of both fixed and mobile connections – is transforming urban Britain, and the steps national and local leaders can take to ensure people and places across the country benefit. However, the report also warns that many UK cities are not taking full advantage of existing digital connections, and the benefits it could offer to residents and businesses – as well as the potential it has to improve public services.

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New code of practice for employers to improve health and wellbeing for staff

New code of practice for employers to improve health and wellbeing for staff

by • News, Wellbeing

BSI, the business standards company, has launched a new code of practice for organisations to help tackle a crisis in the mental health and wellbeing of Britain’s workforce. 137 million working days were lost to sick leave in the UK in 2016, with organisations spending £9 billion each year on sick pay and associated costs. The cost of ‘presenteeism’ – where employees attend work whilst ill and do not work efficiently – has also risen sharply in recent years. The code of practice, PAS 3002, provides recommendations to establish, promote, maintain and review the health and wellbeing of workers within an organisation. It considers how health and wellbeing should be incorporated into the working environment and how leadership can ensure health and wellbeing related services are available to employees.

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Training and flexible working are the keys to staff retention

Training and flexible working are the keys to staff retention

by • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Firms are more likely to improve levels of staff retention if they increase their investment in training, and introduce more flexible working practices, according to a survey by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and recruitment company Indeed. The survey, of over 1,000 businesspeople across all sizes or organisation and sectors, shows that just under half (42 percent) of businesses would invest in training and developing their staff in order to increase staff retention, while 38 percent would look to introduce flexible working practices, from flexible hours and remote working to job-sharing.

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Firms are reluctant to hire women if they suspect they plan to have children in the near future

Firms are reluctant to hire women if they suspect they plan to have children in the near future

by • News, Workplace

Nearly one in three UK bosses admit they have or would reject a female job applicant and might be generally reluctant to hire women if they suspect they ‘might start a family soon’. Although this form of employment discrimination is unlawful, 15 percent anonymously admitted that they had broken sex discrimination laws. The new research of 501 bosses, carried out by law firm Slater and Gordon, also revealed that one in four bosses has rejected or would reject a woman, simply because she was a single parent. A further 29 percent said they have discounted or would discount a woman for a job role because she had young children and 28 percent said they have or would because she was recently engaged or married.

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A quarter of London start-ups have considered relocating to deal with Brexit uncertainty

A quarter of London start-ups have considered relocating to deal with Brexit uncertainty

by • News

It has now been more than two years since the UK voted in favour of leaving the European Union, and new research Studio Graphene in partnership with City Road Communications claims to reveal new information about how Brexit has impacted on London’s early stage businesses. Based on a survey of more than 100 founders of London startups, the study shows that since the EU referendum the vast majority of entrepreneurs have remained loyal to the capital, showing no sign that they want to move to help improve the growth prospects of their business. It also uncovered the way young companies are responding to the challenges posed by Brexit.

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Progress stagnates on gender diversity in senior roles at FTSE 350 companies

Progress stagnates on gender diversity in senior roles at FTSE 350 companies

by • News, Workplace

Achieving the government’s target of women making up a third of FTSE 350 board members by 2020 is beginning to look increasingly unlikely,according to executive training organisation The Pipeline’s annual Women Count report. It claims that there has been no progress over the last year in the number of women on executive committees and that 16 companies no longer have any women in ‘profit and loss roles’ which brings the total to 147, while eight companies no longer have any women on the committees at all. Yet the positive value for having greater gender diversity with women in executive positions is unquestionable, according to the authors.

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Freelancers and small business owners find it impossible to stop working on their holidays

Freelancers and small business owners find it impossible to stop working on their holidays

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Small business owners and freelancers are unwilling or unable to switch off from work during their holidays, a new study claims. The survey from cloud accounting company FreeAgent claims that over 90 percent of micro-business owners admit to checking work-related emails or doing work-related admin while they are on holiday – with nearly two thirds (61 percent) saying that they do so regularly. In the poll of nearly 600 freelancers and micro-businesses about their experiences of self-employment, 38 percent of respondents said they work more than 48 hours in a typical week – while 7 percent said that they typically work 64 hours or more per week. In addition, one in nine (11 percent) respondents will just take a week or less of holiday in 2018 – including 5 percent who do not expect to take any time off at all from their business this year.

Artificial intelligence will create more jobs than it displaces, claims new study

Artificial intelligence will create more jobs than it displaces, claims new study

by • News, Technology

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and related technologies are projected to create as many jobs as they displace in the UK over the next 20 years, according to new analysis by PwC. In absolute terms, around 7 million existing jobs could be displaced, but around 7.2 million could be created, giving the UK a small net jobs boost of around 0.2 million. While the overall net effect of AI on UK jobs may be broadly neutral, this varies significantly across industry sectors. The most positive effect of AI is seen in the health and social work sector, where PwC estimates that employment could increase by nearly 1 million, equivalent to around 20 percent of existing jobs in the sector. On the other hand, PwC estimates the number of jobs in the manufacturing sector could be reduced by around 25 percent, representing a net loss of nearly 700,000 jobs.

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London, Singapore and Seoul are the top smart cities in the world

London, Singapore and Seoul are the top smart cities in the world

by • Cities, News, Technology

London, Singapore and Seoul make up the top three smart cities worldwide, according to new research from the Eden Strategy Institute. The 2018-19 study, in partnership with ONG&ONG Experience Design (OXD), involved 140 smart cities ranked across 10 measures; clarity of vision, leadership, budget, provision of financial incentives, support programmes, talent readiness, a people-centric approach, development of an innovation ecosystem, implementation of ‘smart’ policies and, finally, a track record of previous initiatives and projects. New York and Helsinki rounded off the top five cities, with Montreal, Boston, Melbourne, Barcelona and Shanghai finishing in the top 10.

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