May 17, 2021
New research from IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) claims almost a quarter of freelancers (24 percent) report their businesses returning to pre-pandemic levels, while nearly a third (29 percent) predict the easing of restrictions will give an added boost to their businesses. A fifth (19 percent) said their businesses had been largely unaffected by the pandemic. (more…)
May 14, 2021
Optimism among workers in the UK has been shaken in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, claims the ADP Research Institute’s People at Work 2021: A Global Workforce View. Nevertheless, two-thirds still have a positive outlook on the world of work for the next five years, mirroring the sentiment of people across the world. (more…)
May 14, 2021
A new report launched by the International Longevity Centre UK (ILC) highlights how pervasive ageism and ableism in the workplace are still locking far too many people out of work as they age, costing not only individuals but employers and the economy. (more…)
May 14, 2021
New research from Love Energy Savings claims that one in five people are now more comfortable taking a sick day compared to pre-pandemic. This is in stark contrast to their findings pre-pandemic, when they found that 80 percent of UK employees went to work when sick, with one in 10 people attributing this to employee pressure and one in five to not wanting to let their teammates down. (more…)
May 13, 2021
At 6.31 a.m. on Tuesday, December 8, 2020, the UK became the first country in the world to administer the COVID-19 vaccine. Just over five months earlier, I had been deployed to the NHS England and NHS Improvement COVID-19 vaccination programme to help drive the highly complex design and planning needed to bring the nation to this point. My role involved leading the set up and embedding of the Estates, Equipment, Consumables and Logistics workstream. The purpose of this was to establish and combine the new and existing infrastructure required in England to manage the distribution, regulation and administration of multiple vaccines so that all systems would be ready to vaccinate on the ‘go-live’ date. (more…)
May 13, 2021
The Pensions Regulator might now have the power under current UK pensions legislation, to enter the private homes of employees when it is investigating their employer, if those employees are working from home. The current law has been in force since 2005 and it allows the Regulator to enter some premises at any reasonable time. This power is restricted to use only in relation to some limited statutory investigations. However, though currently limited, these regulatory powers will soon be widened and extended by the Pensions Schemes Act 2021 which is due to come into force in Autumn 2021.
May 13, 2021
New research from Microsoft Surface claims that 64 percent of Brits agree that seeking greater balance in their lives has become even more vital through the pandemic and 63 percent are in favour of a three-day weekend to help them achieve a greater work life balance. (more…)
May 13, 2021
A new survey has suggested that people’s reluctance to head back into the office has much less to do with the risks of COVID-19 or other germs and more to do with the dress code of the company they work for. According to the poll from Airdri, as organisations across the country begin to welcome staff back from working from home, it seems many Brits are not looking forward to dropping the leisure wear and returning to a more formal attire needed when working amongst peers. (more…)
May 12, 2021
New research by Rouge Media, highlights where in the UK has the most lapsed or internet non-users, following Ofcom’s announcement that the digital divide has been narrowed by pandemic, but around 1.5m homes remain without internet access. (more…)
May 11, 2021
As 2020 came to a close, there was a palpable sense of hope that 2021 would bring with it a fresh slate with the horrors of COVID behind us. Alas, that has not happened and it seems we have more of the same, certainly for the next few months and with that the speculation about the ‘future of the office’ will no doubt continue. (more…)
Tens of thousands of restaurant, hotel, event and leisure jobs are available as England moves to the next step on the roadmap out of lockdown on Monday 17th May, but jobseeker shortages are making these jobs hard to fill, according to new research from global job search engine
May 14, 2021
We need to acknowledge our bias if we want to see the world for what it is
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Wellbeing, Working lives