February 21, 2020
Technology jobs fall by half in six months
A new analysis of the UK’s job market claims there were 52 percent fewer available jobs listed for professionals with technology skills at the end of 2019, compared to six months earlier. Accenture’s UK Tech Talent Tracker analysed data from LinkedIn’s Professional Network. This shows 78,000 job vacancies advertised that require skills in emerging technologies, down from 162,000 last June. This decrease was driven by a 64 percent reduction in the number of advertised jobs for data analysts. More →
Each flexible coworking space created in a smaller town or suburban area reduces carbon emissions by an average of 118 tonnes a year thanks to shorter commutes, an international 
Nearly a third of freelancers are planning to stop contracting in the UK because the changes to IR35 due in the private sector in April, 
Two surveys have highlighted continuing fears among freelancers about the changes to the IR35 rules due to take effect in April. The reforms will shift the responsibility for defining contractors’ tax status from the individual to the employer to crack down on so-called ‘disguised employment’, where off-payroll workers are able to pay less tax than employees. However, concerns have been raised that the rules could force organisations to bring genuine contractors and freelancers on to the payroll, reducing flexibility for both parties. 
The UK’s ‘alternative workers’, comprising gig economy workers, freelancers and contractors, have cited lack of pay, benefits and job security as their most significant concerns in new research. Yet according to 
Policy makers should resist claims by Uber that its drivers fall into a middle ground between traditional employees and independent contractors, a new study says. The research report, 
Communicating a business’s “employee value proposition” or EPV – the package of rewards that it offers in return for the person’s performance at work – is having an increasingly positive impact on employee engagement, retention and recruitment, research has claimed. 
February 12, 2020
Workplace leaders must adapt to a new technological reality
by Brian Kropp • Comment, Technology, Workplace