November 15, 2022

The four day week and a case of less is more

by Sara Bean • Features, Flexible working, Premium Content

When a pilot programme for a four day week was announced in the UK early in the New Year, #4dayweek trended for days on twitter, with jokey comments on how employees taking part in the trial should do everything not to ‘f*** it up for the rest of us.’ But behind the humour there’s a real issue with productivity in the UK. Recent Office for National Statistics reveals that while productivity grew across all G7 countries during the pandemic, the UK experienced the largest falls in GDP growth and an increase in the number of hours worked. More →

November 15, 2022

Hybrid working is now an essential part of many job offers

by Mark Eltringham • News, Workplace

A new US study conducted by IWG claims that employers view the hybrid working model as an essential part of their toolbox when it comes to recruitment, hiring and retention, with nearly 95 percent of HR leaders saying it is an effective recruitment tool. Released today, the ‘HR Leaders & Hybrid Working Report’ examines findings from a poll of more than 1,000 HR professionals at managerial and board level. More →

November 9, 2022

Disability pay gap rises despite greater awareness and efforts of campaigners

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

Non-disabled employees now earn around 17.2 percent more on average than disabled workers in 2022, an increase from the 16.5 percent disability pay gap last year, according to analysis published by the Trades Union Congress (TUC). The research suggests that the disability pay gap for 2022 was £2.05 an hour, or £3,731 per year for those working a 35-hour week. The pay gap starts at age 20 at 65 pence an hour and increases to a peak of £3.55 an hour, or £6,461 a year, for disabled workers aged 40 to 44. More →

November 9, 2022

Cost of living forcing people to seek out sources of extra income

by Neil Franklin • News

Workers are looking for new jobs, asking for extra shifts, or taking on side hustles to make ends meet as everyday expenses eat up a bigger chunk of their pay cheques. A new Qualtrics study claims that 77 percent of workers say it’s harder to pay for their living expenses than it was a year ago. In the UK, inflation recently rose above 10 percent for the second time this year amid soaring food prices. Compounding the impact of the cost of living, many of the work-related expenses that were relieved by remote work, such as commute costs and full-time childcare, are returning as an increasing number of people head back to the office. More →

October 17, 2022

Flexible working may help to entice large numbers of older people back into work

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Workplace

There are 712,000 additional people aged over 50 who are economically inactive compared with the same period three years ago (pre-covid pandemic), according to new analysis from Rest Less, a digital community and advocate group for people in their 50s, 60s and beyond. The organisation is now calling on firms to ensure their flexible working practices and in-house training schemes are suitable for all age groups and not just targeted at younger people. More →

October 10, 2022

Leading UK employers call for flexible working recruitment by default

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

A joint letter from 21 leading employers – including several in the FTSE 100 – is calling on employers across the UK to advertise all vacant roles with flexible options by default. The full text is: More →

October 4, 2022

One in four pregnant women reluctant to share news with employers

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

More than one in four (26 percent) pregnant women feel reluctant to share their pregnancy news due to fear of the stigma they may face from colleagues and managers, according to a new poll from Culture Shift. This jumped to almost half (46 percent) for those who had been in employment for less than six months when they fell pregnant. The survey conducted among mothers who worked while pregnant reveals more than one in five (21 percent) know someone who has faced maternity discrimination at work, while one in eight (12 percent) have experienced it themselves. More than one in ten (11 percent) say it was their manager who discriminated against them. More →

September 29, 2022

Public transport makes commuting easier and boosts the labour market

by Andrew J Seltzer and Jonathan Wadsworth • Cities, Features, Flexible working

Following losses of £1.5bn in annual fare revenues incurred during the pandemic, Transport for London recently signed a deal with the UK government for emergency funding. The agreement ensures that new train orders, bridge repairs and tube upgrades will continue as planned. It also will lead to public transport fares rising and bus services being cut. While the Elizabeth Line, a £19 billion east-west addition to the London Underground, opened to great fanfare in May 2022, this year has also seen some of the oldest bus routes in the UK axed: including route 144 between Worcester and Birmingham, route 477 between Dartford and Orpington, and route 84 between north London and Hertfordshire. At least 135 bus routes countrywide currently face cutbacks or permanent cancellation. More →

September 27, 2022

Corporate change forces managers to juggle different views of fairness

by Neil Franklin • Business, News

Middle managers get caught between different stakeholders’ perceptions of fair treatment in reaction to corporate change programmes, claims new research from Aalto University School of Business and published in the Journal of Business Ethics. According to Associate Professor Marjo-Riitta Diehl, from the Department of Management Studies, and her co-authors, these managers can often experience uncertainty, anxiety, and reluctance to take action as a result. The research was based on two rounds of interviews with managers in the German branch of an international company shortly before and after restructuring changes. More →

September 5, 2022

Hybrid working tax consultation announced by government adviser

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS), an independent advisor to the UK government, has launched a review looking for evidence of trends in relation to hybrid working. The review will also consider whether the tax and social security rules are flexible enough to cope, and what businesses, advisors and other bodies are experiencing as new ways of working become business as usual. The review will also consider the implications of any developments on cross border workers.

September 1, 2022

Government commits to a further £2billion cut in property estate

by Neil Franklin • News, Property

More than £2 billion in savings will be realised from the sale of UK public sector real estate and other efficiencies, Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg has announced. The savings are part of the new Government Property Strategy, which has now been published. As part of the plans, the government will sell £1.5 billion of property assets over the next three years as projects such as the Government Hubs programme sees government staff consolidated into fewer buildings. £500 million of savings will also be made by reducing operating costs, using modern building materials and energy sources, and cutting spend on leases. More →

September 1, 2022

Established businesses must do more to support local entrepreneurs and startups

by Matthew Watts • Company news

With SME’s accounting for the employment of more than half of the UK’s workforce, supporting these businesses is of benefit to everyone while geopolitical events and the impact of the pandemic continue to cause economic uncertainty. Entrepreneurs and small businesses are vital for spurring on evolutions in our technology and creating new markets for services and products, therefore bringing about competition which in turn boosts productivity that benefits our own and other economies, helping them withstand and recover faster from financial downturns. More →