Search Results for: future of work

Self-employed would value receiving sick pay above other benefits

Self-employed would value receiving sick pay above other benefits 0

by • Flexible working, News

UK micro-business owners and freelancers would be more interested in receiving sick pay than any other statutory benefit, according to new research carried out in collaboration between cloud accounting software firm FreeAgent and The Freelancer & Contractor Services Association (FCSA). A poll of nearly 900 UK micro-business owners conducted by FreeAgent and FCSA claims that sick pay provision is the benefit that self-employed workers would most welcome, coming way ahead of other benefits such as maternity pay, job seekers allowance and pension auto-enrolment. The survey claims that 76 percent of respondents currently do not have any method of providing sick pay, maternity/paternity leave, holiday or redundancy pay in their business. Projected across the country’s 5.2 million-strong micro-business sector, this potentially equates to millions of people working without the same kind of basic entitlements that employed workers have. Notably, people’s appetites for additional benefits varied depending on the structure of their business with sole traders more likely to value benefits (rating sickness provision 8.7 out of 10) compared to those working through their own limited companies who gave a score of 6.4 out of 10 for sickness provision.

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Major global study identifies the priorities of students and their most favoured potential employers

Major global study identifies the priorities of students and their most favoured potential employers 0

by • News, Workplace

A new study of 290,000 students worldwide claims that the majority studying business, engineering and IT would prefer to work for medium sized businesses and that they have a very clear idea about the sort of employer they would like to work for. The World’s Most Attractive Employers (WMAE) study from employer branding consultancy Universum Global is now in its 9th year and draws on data from the world’s 12 largest economies to rank the companies students find most desirable for employment. Overall, the majority of students (74 percent) reported that they would prefer to work for a company with fewer than one thousand employees. A larger proportion of talent from Germany, France, and Brazil would prefer to work for larger employers, but overall talent in these markets also said they would prefer to work for smaller firms. For business and engineering / IT students in all countries excluding Russia, India and Germany, work/life balance remains the overall top career goal. Results reveal Russian students in both fields of study still prefer job security, while Indian students in both fields of study are far more interested in having an international career than they are in other career goals.

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Artificial intelligence could add £232 billion to UK GDP by 2030, claims PwC research

Artificial intelligence could add £232 billion to UK GDP by 2030, claims PwC research 0

by • AI, News, Technology

UK GDP could be around 10 percent higher in 2030 as a result of artificial intelligence (AI) – the equivalent of an additional £232 billion, according to new research by PwC. This makes AI the biggest commercial opportunity in today’s fast-changing economy, according to the report’s authors. The research shows that the majority of the UK’s economic gains over the period to 2030 will come from increasing consumer demand resulting from AI driving a greater choice of products, increased personalisation of those products and making them more affordable over time. Labour productivity improvements will also drive GDP gains, but to a lesser extent. PwC’s research notes that the benefits from labour productivity growth will be felt first, with the increased consumption-led benefits from AI-enhanced products coming through later as more of them come onto the market. As this happens, competition within the AI goods market will increase dramatically, leading to future increases in the value of goods to consumers and therefore the amount people spend on them.

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Digital tech is fastest growing sector in Scotland, claims report

Digital tech is fastest growing sector in Scotland, claims report 0

by • News, Technology

The digital technology sector is forecast to grow twice as fast as the Scottish economy overall in the years to 2024, according to research published by Skills Development Scotland and the Digital Technologies Skills Group. This growth is ‘creating unprecedented demand for digital skills with employers across all sectors seeking to harness the benefits of technology to drive innovation and increase competitiveness’. The new publication, Scotland’s Digital Technologies, found that digital tech was the fastest growing sector of the economy accounting for five percent of Scotland’s total business base and employing two per cent of the national workforce.

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Firms still paying lip service to digital transformation, but change may be coming

Firms still paying lip service to digital transformation, but change may be coming 0

by • News, Technology, Workplace

Britain’s biggest businesses risk being disrupted by the pace of technological change because their senior leaders are paying lip service to the need for digital transformation, according to a study from tech startup AVADO. The study of senior managers responsible for the learning and development (L&D) of staff at Britain’s biggest firms with turnovers of over £100m found that the need for digital transformation is accepted, almost universally, among respondents. 86 percent say they have assessed the business risk of not taking action and 88 percent have taken steps to address this. Yet, despite 93 percent of L&D professionals saying a digital transformation strategy is in place, the report suggests critical top down buy-in is missing. Yet, a second report from recruiters Robert Half suggests that a growing number of firms in the key finance sector are now actively recruiting to improve their digital transformation strategy.

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The self employed have to rely on each other as government offers almost no support

The self employed have to rely on each other as government offers almost no support 0

by • Flexible working, News

The self employed are turning to one another for business and financial support, according to new analysis by the RSA think-tank. Commissioned by the Federation of Small Business (FSB) to examine how self-employed workers might manage the risks they face, the RSA report claims that growing numbers of workers are turning to collective sick-pay funds to manage ill health, cash pooling schemes to deal with late payments and micro-loan services to plug gaps in bank finance.  The RSA’s report, The Self Organising Self Employed concludes that, to date, both the state and the market have struggled to keep pace with the rising numbers of the self employed. Although successive governments have been vocal in their admiration of people who strike it out alone, holding up their attributes as ‘self-starters’ and ‘strivers’, this had led to a ‘non-interventionist, hands-off policy agenda, with the self employed broadly left to their own devices’.

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Businesses sound the alarm over Brexit as negotiations get under way

Businesses sound the alarm over Brexit as negotiations get under way 0

by • News, Workplace

The end of free movement of people from the EU will damage UK businesses and public service delivery unless post Brexit immigration policies take account of the need for both skilled and unskilled labour from the EU. This is a key message in new research from the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, and the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR). It also calls on businesses to broaden their recruitment and people development strategies to ensure they are doing all they can to attract and develop UK born workers, and highlights the need for significant changes to Government skills policy. The study joins a growing chorus of business leaders appealing for a rational approach to Brexit negotiations. Britain’s top business lobby groups have already come together to demand open-ended access to the European single market for as long as it takes to seal a final Brexit deal.

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3D printing and Virtual Reality could reduce waste in design and construction says BCO

3D printing and Virtual Reality could reduce waste in design and construction says BCO 0

by • Architecture, Facilities management, News, Property, Technology, Workplace design

3D printing and Virtual Reality could reduce waste in design and construction

Digital technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and 3D printing could help reduce waste during a design and construction project, suggests a new report from the British Council for Offices (BCO). “Virtual Reality and 3D Printing – Reducing waste in office construction through new technology” reviews the existing applications of these technologies and their ability to mitigate waste during the design and construction process. The report, which is the result of a collaboration between an international team of multi-disciplinary experts also identifies opportunities and challenges for the technology in the future. According to the authors, if the UK construction industry is to come anywhere close to achieving the ambitious targets set out in the Government’s 2025 construction strategy there needs to be a sensible re-think about how we design, procure and construct buildings in the future; and two technologies that are now reaching maturity and could help are VR and 3D printing.

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RICS and banking sector sign commercial property valuation agreement

RICS and banking sector sign commercial property valuation agreement 0

by • News, Property

The Royal Institution for Charted Surveyors (RICS) and the British Banking Association (BBA) have signed a memorandum of understanding outlining their commitment to maintaining high standards in commercial property valuation. The trade bodies intend to future proof the profession by working on maximising consistency in standards of practice, supporting risk-based regulation and tools for managing risk and liability in valuation. Three key areas to be addressed have been highlighted in the agreement: the balance of risk and reward in valuation services, education on liability and risk for lenders and valuers, and clarification of the standards expected in the sector.  RICS is set to publish revised guidance on risk, liability and insurance in valuation to help the market to address the challenges that surfaced following the global financial crisis in 2008 and 2009. As a result of the report Balancing Risk and Reward: Recommendations for a Sustainable Valuation Profession in the UK Dr Oonagh McDonald CBE, RICS has been working with the BBA and the wider industry to deliver improvements to the commercial secured lending sector.

Job polarisation is being driven by lack of access to technological skills, warns OECD

Job polarisation is being driven by lack of access to technological skills, warns OECD 0

by • Knowledge, News, Technology, Workplace

productivityThe employment rate throughout OECD areas is finally returning to pre-crisis levels, but people on low and middle incomes have seen their wages stagnate and share of middle-skilled jobs fall. This is according to the latest OECD Employment Outlook 2017 which finds that the employed share of the population aged 15 to 74 years rose for the third consecutive year, and is expected to reach 61.5 percent by the end of 2018, above its peak of 60.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007. Its projections for the UK’s economy for 2017-18 anticipate that growth will ease as rising inflation weighs on real incomes and consumption, but business investment will weaken amidst uncertainty about the United Kingdom’s future trading relations with its partners.

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Will battery storage be the next big energy trend for commercial buildings?

Will battery storage be the next big energy trend for commercial buildings? 0

by • Environment, Facilities management, News, Property, Technology

Building managers and FMs are under growing pressure to reduce costs and convince senior management about the need to take control of their energy needs according to a survey carried out a recent energy event; which also revealed that the majority (56 percent) believe that battery storage will be the biggest energy trend in the next decade. This was according to delegates at the recent Energy Live Future conference at Leicester’s National Space Centre where more than a third (38 percent) of delegates at the event, sponsored by British Gas Business, agreed that reducing energy costs remained the central energy issue for large organisations and those who manage commercial buildings. This was closely followed by the challenge of convincing business leaders to allow investment in new technology (35 percent). Nearly half (48 percent) of delegates suggested that political uncertainty, caused by the General Election, Brexit and changing regulation, could make it even more difficult for them to make significant energy changes.

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Job satisfaction is high but more focus is needed on employee development

Job satisfaction is high but more focus is needed on employee development 0

by • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace

The CIPD/ Halogen’s Employee Outlook survey of over 2,000 employees has been tracking employee perceptions of work and working lives since 2009. In this article we explore trends in employee satisfaction with their jobs and broader engagement measures, as well as views on managers and satisfaction with learning and employee development opportunities and career fulfilment. Job satisfaction has increased since 2016, with 64 percent of employees now saying they are satisfied with their jobs, compared to just 16 percent who are dissatisfied. What is particularly interesting, though, is that job satisfaction continues to rise in the public sector at levels not seen before in this survey series. Seventy-two per cent of public sector workers are now satisfied with their jobs, compared to just 13 percent who are dissatisfied. While it’s not clear from this research exactly why such improvements have been made, it is part of an overall improvement in scores for the public sector which include attitudes to senior leaders, opportunities for voice in the workplace, as well as increased opportunities to learn and grow.

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