Search Results for: employed

Britain should make it easy for high skilled immigrants in the wake of Brexit vote

Britain should make it easy for high skilled immigrants in the wake of Brexit vote

by • News

The UK Government should restrict levels of  immigration by low-skilled workers after Brexit, but at the same time make it considerably easier for for medium-skilled and high-skilled workers from around the world, according to a new report from the Migration Advisory Committee. The detailed report was commissioned in July 2017 by Home Secretary Amber Rudd. Its main conclusion is that there is a great deal of hard evidence of the benefit enjoyed by the UK as a result of the migration of highly-skilled migrants and that future policy should reflect this. The study published today, Tuesday, is expected to have a significant effect on the contents of the government’s immigration white paper, due for publication later this year. The report’s conclusions closely match the policy proposals that Home Office officials have outlined to immigration specialists. However, no special preference would be given to EU citizens in the UK’s future immigration system post-Brexit.

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Half of all workplace tasks will be performed by machines within seven years

Half of all workplace tasks will be performed by machines within seven years

by • News, Technology

The world is going through a workplace revolution that will bring a seismic shift in the way humans work alongside machines and algorithms, according to new research by the World Economic Forum. By 2025 more than half of all current workplace tasks will be performed by machines as opposed to 29 percent today. Such a transformation will have a profound effect on the global labour force, however in terms of overall numbers of new jobs the outlook is positive, with 133 million new jobs expected to be created by 2022 compared to 75 million that will be displaced. The research, published in The Future of Jobs 2018, is an attempt to understand the potential of new technologies to disrupt and create jobs. It is also seeks to provide guidance on how to improve the quality and productivity of the current work being done by humans and how to prepare people for emerging roles.

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Flexible working legislation has failed to change anything

Flexible working legislation has failed to change anything

by • Flexible working, News

Legislation giving employees the right to request flexible working has failed to increase take-up, new research from the University of Manchester shows. The research, presented at the British Sociological Association conference in Belfast last week, has found that there has been no significant overall increase in the number of employees working flexibly since the legislation came into effect in 2014.

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Growing gig economy could be behind buoyant ONS employment figures

Growing gig economy could be behind buoyant ONS employment figures

by • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Gig economy could be behind buoyant ONS employment figuresRecent ONS figures showing a rising employment rate could be inflated by the growth of zero-hour contracts within the gig economy, as the number of UK workers on zero hour contracts having more than tripled since 2012. This is propping up overall employment levels by accounting for almost a quarter of overall employment growth, new data by Adzuna has suggested. With the employment rate currently at a record high of 75.7 percent according to the ONS, Adzuna’s data compares recent growth in the number of people in work overall to the increasing number of zero hour contracts, to ascertain how much these contracts have contributed to the growth.

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Many UK freelancers feel lonely and isolated following leap to self-employment

Many UK freelancers feel lonely and isolated following leap to self-employment

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

The solo self-employed are now a vital element of the UK economy, contributing around £271 billion to the government’s coffers in 2017, of which around £125–140 billion came from freelancers. But with some predicting that by 2020, half of the workforce will be freelancing, we need to take an objective look at the world of self-employment and tackle its challenges head-on, giving freelancers the tools and skills they need to work effectively — and happily.

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The office will always live on because nothing propinks like propinquity

The office will always live on because nothing propinks like propinquity

by • Comment, Property, Workplace design

Perhaps the most pervasive and enduring myth about the office is that it is somehow dying off. It’s a blast of guff originally farted out at the dawn of the technological revolution in the early 1990s, which has somehow lingered and been stinking the place out ever since. The essential premise behind the idea of the death of the office is that mobile technology makes it possible for us to work from ‘anywhere’ and so that must mean ‘somewhere’ is no longer needed. (more…)

Third of British workers say they lack the computer skills they need to do their jobs

Third of British workers say they lack the computer skills they need to do their jobs

by • News, Technology

computer skillsNearly a third of Britons don’t think they have the required computer skills to do their jobs properly in spite of the fact that around 9 in 10 households now have internet access, according to a study from the Office for National Statistics. Although the Government continues to encourage the residual ten percent to embrace the online world, the report also suggests that it should focus on developing the skills people need to use technology to do their jobs as well as they can.

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Is driver behind the widening parental leave gap a lack of rights in the gig economy?

Is driver behind the widening parental leave gap a lack of rights in the gig economy?

by • Comment, Flexible working, Legal news, News, Workplace

Could the driver behind the widening parental leave gap be the rise of the gig economy?The already low number of fathers claiming paternity leave has fallen for the first time in five years, to 213,500, down 3 percent from 221,000 last year an analysis by law firm EMW has revealed. To help encourage more men to take paternity leave, the Government launched the shared parental leave scheme in 2015. However, take up of the scheme has also been slow, with less than 2 percent of all UK fathers participating. These latest figures suggest that hundreds of thousands of men are not taking up their entitlement to paternity leave. In comparison with low rates of paternity leave, nearly treble the number of mothers (662,700) took maternity leave in 2017-2018, up from 661,000 in 2016/17. (more…)

Training and flexible working are the keys to staff retention

Training and flexible working are the keys to staff retention

by • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Firms are more likely to improve levels of staff retention if they increase their investment in training, and introduce more flexible working practices, according to a survey by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and recruitment company Indeed. The survey, of over 1,000 businesspeople across all sizes or organisation and sectors, shows that just under half (42 percent) of businesses would invest in training and developing their staff in order to increase staff retention, while 38 percent would look to introduce flexible working practices, from flexible hours and remote working to job-sharing.

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Avenue HQ is named as Coworking Space of the Year by IPSE

Avenue HQ is named as Coworking Space of the Year by IPSE

by • Coworking, News

Liverpool’s Avenue HQ has been crowned ‘National Co-Working Space of the Year’ by The Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE). The award claims to ‘recognise and celebrate the important role coworking spaces play in creating a nurturing, inclusive and stimulating environment for the UK’s 4.8 million-strong self-employed workforce’. The coworking industry is booming globally as companies of all sizes recognise the importance of working environment on employee and business performance. Pioneered by start-ups, entrepreneurs and freelancers, a growing number of companies, large and small, are incorporating the concept and rapidly reaping the benefits.

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Fathers Day offers a chance to ponder the disadvantages faced by many working dads

Fathers Day offers a chance to ponder the disadvantages faced by many working dads

by • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

Father’s Day – a day when fathers up and down the UK are supposed to feel valued – whether it’s hand print cards from their 2-year old, a pair of socks from their teenager or BBQ accessories from their fully-grown son or daughter. Fathers looking to the government for an offering will be disappointed. Its response to the Women & Equalities Select Committee’s excellent recommendations on fathers and the workplace is the equivalent of a nicely wrapped box with very little in it. For self-employed fathers, the box appears to be empty.

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US companies are waking up to the benefits of caring for employee mental health

US companies are waking up to the benefits of caring for employee mental health

by • Comment, Wellbeing

In 2015, the American Psychological Association chose American Express as the inaugural winner of the Organizational Excellence Award, recognizing successful efforts to integrate psychology and prioritize behavioral health and emotional well-being in the workplace. American Express had an employee assistance program (EAP) for workers dealing with depression and other mental health challenges. The EAP was a telephone-consultation system and only about 4 percent of employees utilized it. After the firm added on-site counselors to meet with employees for free—and rebranded the EAP as part of its “Healthy Living” —the usage rate more than doubled.

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