July 11, 2019

Diversifying hiring practices to bridge the skills gap

Talent scarcity and the skills gap have become very real concerns in the UK. We are currently in a period of high employment, and at the same time, uncertainty surrounding Brexit has caused a reduction in immigrant labour, reducing the talent pool further. For accountancy, the skills gap issue is even more acute because it is already an industry with a very limited talent pool. When asked to describe an accountant, it is likely that many of us would describe a very similar person. For a variety of reasons, accountancy as a profession attracts a very specific group – often male, university educated, usually from a Russell Group university. Hiring from such a small pool means that the squeeze on talent is even tighter in this sector. More →

July 11, 2019

HMRC extends deal for new London hub

by Neil Franklin • News, Property

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) today completed the topping out at the 12-storey office where HMRC will establish a new Regional Centre. HMRC has also leased a further 58,000 sq. ft. to become the sole tenant of the 300,000 sq. ft. development next to Westfield Stratford City. The topping-out ceremony was attended by senior executives from Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, HMRC and Legal & General, which has funded the development. the offices are located above the shopping centre at Westfield Stratford City. Works continue with completion of the facade and internal works, in preparation for handover of office floors for final fit out by HMRC. More →

July 11, 2019

Tick box attitude to women on boards must stop

by Neil Franklin • Home, News

Although the percentage of women on boards at FTSE 100 firms is on track to reach 33 percent by 2020, a new report claims there are worrying signs that companies are appointing women for symbolic value. The Female FTSE Board Report, produced annually by Cranfield University’s School of Management, claims that women serve shorter tenures than men (on average, female non-executive directors serve 3.8 years – with men serving 5 years) and are less likely to get promoted into senior roles. More →

July 11, 2019

Take up of shared parental leave constrained by traditional attitudes

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, Legal news, News

Despite the introduction of shared parental leave rights, more than half of UK adults still think that women be the primary carers of babies and children, according to the latest British Social Attitudes Survey. Despite this, there has been a notable shift in attitudes over the last seven years, according to the researchers from the National Centre for Social Research. More →

July 11, 2019

Commercial property investors losing appetite for UK

by Freddie Steele • News, Property

Enthusiasm among international investors for the UK commercial property market has continued to wane over the past quarter, according to BrickVest’s latest commercial property investment barometer. According to the data ,capturing the views of over 6000 international professional real estate investors, only 27 percent view the UK as their preferred market, a 4 percent fall in the past 12 months. More →

July 10, 2019

The growing problem of work separation anxiety

by Jenni Wilson • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

While it’s stated full-time working hours in the UK should be around 38-40 hours per week, today’s hyperconnected world means it’s easier than ever to be ‘on the clock’ outside this timeframe. Constant access to emails and the corresponding ‘telepressure’ to respond quickly to customers and colleagues means the line between ‘work time’ and ‘me time’ is blurred. This has led to the coining of a new term for the rising epidemic of stress linked to this need to be connected to work. It’s called work separation anxiety.

July 10, 2019

Large firms not investing enough in productivity

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

A new report claims that 86 percent of Britain’s largest businesses are worried about raising their productivity with two-fifths (39 percent) calling their productivity ‘very concerning’, but that they are investing just 0.25 percent of turnover in measures to improve it, less than they invest in telecoms. The report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) and Concentra Analytics also suggests there is a “spray and pray approach” to driving productivity caused by a lack of insight into the performance of people. More →

July 10, 2019

Vast majority of workers want more flexible hours

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

The overwhelming majority (84 percent of workers) would like their organisations to offer more flexible hours of work, whether that’s time to suit personal needs, or the occasional early finish, according to a new report from Totaljobs. While employees have the legal right to request flexible working from their employer regardless of their existing contract, some companies have already built greater flexibility into their employer offering. Some go one step further with “agile working”, whereby employees can work from any location, at any time, by utilising appropriate technology. More →

July 10, 2019

Google remains most attractive company to work for

by Jayne Smith • News, Workplace

Universum Global has launched the findings for the UK portion of its annual Global Talent Survey (registration) which claims that Google is the UK’s most attractive company to work for by graduates for the seventh consecutive year. Universum studied 39,500 students from 97 British Universities to understand the career aspirations, goals and workplace requirements for graduates.

July 9, 2019

Fifth of people do not last a year in self-employment

by Neil Franklin • News

One-fifth of sole traders in self-employment don’t survive one year, and the majority don’t survive five, according to a new study from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). The analysis of HMRC tax records by researchers at the IFS was funded by the Office for National Statistics through the Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE) and the Economic and Social Research Council. More →

July 9, 2019

No more cold turkey as part time workforce age rises

by Jayne Smith • News, Workplace

New data from Rest Less claims that there are 3.4 million over 50s working part time today, an increase of 912,000 in a decade. The UK’s part time workforce age is rising, as is being driven by the over 50s more than any other age group, according to new analysis from Rest Less, a jobs, volunteering and advice site for the over 50s. More →

July 9, 2019

UK productivity continues to fall

by Neil Franklin • News

Labour productivity, as measured by output per hour, was down 0.2 percent in Q1 2019, when compared to the same quarter in 2018, according to Office of National Statistic (ONS) figures. These findings make Q1 the third consecutive quarter of contraction for UK productivity.According to the ONS, this sustained period of declining labour productivity represents a continuation of the UK’s ‘productivity puzzle’, with productivity since the economic downturn in 2008 growing more slowly than during the long period prior.

Despite occasional periods of growth, this sustained general pattern contrasts with patterns following previous UK economic downturns, when productivity initially fell, but subsequently recovered and returned to the previous trend rate of growth. However, movements in productivity were found to vary between industries, with the services industry recording labour productivity growth of 0.2 percent, while manufacturing productivity growth reduced by 0.9 percent, compared with the same quarter in the previous year.