Search Results for: employee

June 18, 2014

Attitudes towards flexible working still at odds with needs of modern life, claims report

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Workplace

There is still a stigma attached to flexible working and employers are still reluctant to offer it to staff, according to a survey of UK employees carried out by parenting website Netmums and charity the Family and Childcare Trust. According to a third of just under 1,800 respondents, there remains a degree of resentment from work colleagues towards those who enjoy some form of flexible working. And, while, 80 percent of people think it is very important that employers offer flexible working to staff , a mere 15 percent feel it is offered in practice and another 20 percent have no idea whether it is available to them or not. The result is a mismatch between the desires and expectations of individuals and the reality of working life with the upshot that nearly a third (29 percent) of respondents claim to have left a job because they were unable to balance it with other aspects of their lives.

June 13, 2014

Employers may need to take a disciplined approach to the World Cup

by Richard Barker • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace

With the World Cup now underway, many football fans will be gripped with football fever over the next month, but employers could face HR headaches as a result. Given the time difference in Brazil, games at this year’s World Cup will take place during the late afternoon and evenings in the UK. England’s opening game against Italy at 11pm this Saturday night is unlikely to cause most employers much disruption, but the next England game against Costa Rica which kicks off at 5pm on Tuesday 24 June could result in employees wanting to leave before the end of their working day. Late kick off times also have the potential to result in employees being absent the following day as they recover from the excesses of the night before. On most match days the final whistle of the last game of the day will not be blown until around 1am UK time. More →

June 13, 2014

Government plans encourage employers to appreciate older workers

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Employers must recognise the potential of older workers and help them stay in the workplace. This is the message the Government will stress today at the launch of its new action plan. The new measures set out in Fuller Working Lives – A Framework For Action published today include; the appointment of a new Older Workers’ Employment Champion who will advocate the case for older workers within the business community and wider society; an extension of the right to request flexible working to all employees from the end of this month and the launch of a new Health and Work Service which the Government says will give workers with long-term health problems the support they need to stay in or return to work. Part of the Government’s aim is also to challenge outdated misconceptions and encourage more employers to consider the benefits of older workers.

June 12, 2014

UK public sector estate now reduced by 2 million square metres over three years

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, News, Property, Public Sector

The UK Cabinet Office has today issued the latest edition of its regular State of the Estate Report which shows that the government has reduced the size of the public sector estate by 2 million square metres since 2010 – which it claims will boost economic growth and save a cumulative £1.2 billion with more savings in the pipeline. Now in its third year, the report also shows that: during 2013 there was a 500,000 sq m reduction in the size of the estate; £240 million was saved on running costs, against a 2009 to 2010 baseline; there was a 7.6 percent reduction in the cost of office space per employee; office space per employee was down from 13 square metres to 11.9 square metres; carbon emissions were down by 14 percent; and waste produced was down by 15 percent. The reductions are a core element in the Government’s plans to consolidate and modernise the public sector estate.

June 11, 2014

Challenge for employers to find right talent as candidate availability falls

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

There’s been a record employment rise over the last three months, with nearly 5,500 more people in work every working day and the number of private sector workers up by more than 2 million since 2010, according to official figures published today. The latest Labour Force Survey tallies with the recently published Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG Report on Jobs, which revealed the steepest drop in permanent staff availability for 16½ years; fuelling concerns that employers are finding it increasingly difficult to find the talent and skills they need. The report on jobs also suggests that employees want more from their workplace than better pay and better benefits; as though starting salaries continue to rise, job seekers are sending out a very clear message that remuneration is not the only reward they are after. More →

June 10, 2014

Employers not living up to their commitments to support disabled staff

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Workplace

Many of the employers that boast the Government’s two ticks symbol for equality for disabled workers have been found to be no better than companies who have not achieved it. Research led by Kim Hoque, of Warwick Business School, and Nick Bacon, of Cass Business School, found that just 15 per cent of organisations awarded the two ticks symbol adhered to all five of its commitments, with 18 per cent of those signed up not fulfilling any of them, with most – 38 per cent – only keeping one of the promises. The researchers say the ‘two ticks positive about disability’ symbol, which is awarded by the Department for Work and Pensions’ Jobcentre Plus to help job applicants identify organisations committed to helping disabled workers, is nothing more than an “empty shell” used by companies as PR and “impression management” rather than a true commitment to equal rights for disability workers. More →

June 10, 2014

Flexible working law change will see a quarter of UK staff make requests

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, Legal news, Workplace

Just over a quarter (26 percent) of British employees will ask their employers for flexible working arrangements when the latest changes to legislation come into effect on 30 June 2014, according to a survey by YouGov and Croner. The survey of 2,328 employees also found that over two-thirds (69 percent) of workers have never applied for flexible working, with nearly a quarter of these believing the request would be denied anyway. The research also found that those employees who already enjoy flexible working arrangements identify a range of benefits. 63 percent think that flexi-work creates a better work-life balance, 42 percent believe it boosts staff morale, 28 percent think it reduces sickness and absence, 27 percent claim that it increases productivity.

June 9, 2014

Queen’s Speech was light on employment legislation, but don’t forget flexible work changes

by Pam Loch • Comment, Legal news, Workplace

This year’s Queen’s Speech was the last before the 2015 general election and included a relatively light legislative programme of just 11 new bills. Some of the key employment changes being proposed include changes to childcare, the national minimum wage, and zero-hours contracts. But in fact a key development which was not included in the Queen’s Speech, and yet could have the most pronounced effect on employers is the extension of the right to request flexible working. From 30 June 2014, employees with at least 26 weeks’ continuous employment will be able to make a request for flexible working for any reason under the new statutory scheme. The procedure to be followed will be far less prescriptive than that currently in force and will place more onuson the employer to consider the request and any alternatives to the proposed request. More →

June 9, 2014

The boardroom knows tech is important but leaves IT decisions to others, claims report

by Mark Eltringham • News

There is a recognition within the boardroom of the importance of information and communications technology (ICT), but business leaders see tech as something for technology managers to worry about and many are unable to make effective decisions anyway because they are digitally illiterate (and some are proud of the fact). Those are some of the findings of a new report from Sunguard Availability Services, published in partnership with Professor Joe Peppard of the European School of Management and Technology in Berlin. The study claims that the growing strategic role of technology offers chief information officers (CIOs) a chance to elevate their position and drive the wider business agenda. But also that this can be held back by a lack of engagement, or even the boardroom taking no account of ICT whatsoever, with strategic IT alignment remaining an afterthought for many organisations.

June 6, 2014

IFMA & BIFM to discuss work and place at Workplace Strategy Summit

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News

Leading academics and experts in the fields of facility management and real estate are meeting to discuss the most innovative concepts to emerge in workplace strategy at the Workplace Strategy Summit, beginning this weekend at the Wokefield Park Conference Centre in Berkshire. The International Facility Management Association (IFMA), British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) and IFMA Foundation will come together from 8-10 June to discuss the themed “Innovation on the Edge.” The editorial team at Workplace Insight has produced a special issue of the Occupiers Journal, Work & Place featuring in depth articles, case studies and comments from some of the key speakers at the event. Paul Carder, publisher of Work & Place said: “As well as the journal’s obvious relevance to the creators and managers of places we were also keen to find subjects which are equally relevant to managers of the “work” process.”

June 6, 2014

Deloitte increases flexible working rights to attract future female leaders

by Sara Bean • Company news, Facilities management, Flexible working, Workplace

As employers prepare for new flexible working legislation, which comes into place at the end of this month; Deloitte UK has announced it is to allow its 12,000 employees more say in where, when and how they work. The firm has introduced a range of new and adapted, formal and informal agile working arrangements to incite a change in the day-to-day culture at the UK firm. Deloitte already offers all employees the right to request a formal flexible working arrangement; it will now also enable them to request a block of four weeks unpaid leave each year, without reason or justification. These arrangements support its wider measures that encourage a more agile workplace, including the introduction of collaborative and adaptable working spaces, an environment that supports open conversations about agile working and improvements to technology that make it feasible. More →

June 5, 2014

Record uptake of flexible working masks what is really changing about the way we work

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Technology

This week the Office for National Statistics has released new figures which show that flexible working is at a record high in the UK. The headline figure from the ONS is that 14 percent of the UK workforce now either work at home full time (5 percent) or use their home as a base (8.9 percent). This represents a 1.3 million increase over the six years since the onset of the recession. The report shows that those working from home are typically skilled, older (half between the age of 25 and 49 with 40 percent of over 65s classed as homeworkers) and better paid than the average worker (30 percent higher than the national average). The Government is claiming it as a victory for the promotion of flexible working through legislation and the TUC as a sign of the increasingly enlightened approach of bosses in helping employees find a better work life balance. And they’re both wrong.