Search Results for: employers

July 26, 2018

MPs say more effort needed to tackle widespread sexual harassment in workplace

by Sara Bean • Legal news, Wellbeing, Workplace

Sexual harassment in the workplace is widespread and commonplace, with unwanted sexual behaviours such as sexual comments, touching, groping and assault seen as an everyday occurrence and part of the culture in workplaces, and the Government, regulators and employers are failing in their responsibilities to tackle the problem says an influential group of MPs. Employers and regulators have ignored their responsibilities for too long, found the Women and Equalities Committee following a wide-ranging six-month inquiry and often legal protections are not available to workers in practice. The Committee found that despite 40 percent of women and 18 percent of men having experienced unwanted sexual behaviour in the workplace there has been a failure to tackle unlawful behaviours, despite the Government’s obligations under international law. The report calls on Government to focus on five priorities to put sexual harassment at the top of the agenda for employers.

July 26, 2018

CBI counsels a common-sense approach to managing staff during heatwave

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

At the risk of stating the obvious, with the Met Office suggesting temperatures could reach their peak on Friday (27 July) in some areas of the UK, Britain’s largest employer organisation is encouraging companies to consider ‘a range of measures to keep employees comfortable during the heatwave’. Matthew Fell, CBI Chief UK Policy Director, said: “While the current hot spell has provided welcome fillip for consumer-facing sectors, large numbers of employees are feeling the heat as they carry out their day-to-day tasks, especially those working outdoors. Responsible employers take the welfare of their employees very seriously, particularly during this unusual weather. Companies can help keep their employees cool by considering a range of measures, from flexible working to help those with punishing commutes to relaxed dress codes, so staff feel more comfortable in their place of work. Ultimately a common sense approach is needed, as some employees will have less flexibility than others, for example those wearing safety equipment on construction sites. In all cases, staff should have easy access to drinking water as temperatures soar to help keep them healthy and productive.”

July 24, 2018

Barclays to create up to 2,500 jobs at new Glasgow tech hub

by Neil Franklin • News, Property

Barclays has announced plans to develop a new campus at Buchanan Wharf, Glasgow, which will provide what it claims is a state-of-the-art workplace for the bank’s functions, technology and operations teams. The aim is to create a working environment that will ‘help the bank deliver outstanding services to customers and clients by fostering innovation and collaboration’. Barclays has agreed to purchase the campus development from Drum Property Group Ltd and is currently working with them to finalise the design of the new facility as part of the wider Buchanan Wharf development. It is expected that, once completed, the campus will be able to accommodate up to 2,500 additional roles, doubling Barclays’ current workforce in Scotland and making the bank one of Glasgow’s biggest commercial employers.

July 20, 2018

Training and flexible working are the keys to staff retention

by Neil Franklin • 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.

July 17, 2018

The talents of older people are going to waste because of discrimnation, claims government report

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

The talents of more than a million people aged over 50 who want to work are being wasted because of discrimination, bias and outdated employment practices, claims a new report from the UK government. The report from The Women and Equalities Committee also concludes that Government and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) are failing to enforce the law on age discrimination and must be clearer that prejudice, unconscious bias and casual ageism in the workplace are all unlawful under the Equality Act 2010. Although the Committee concludes that the Government’s employer-led approach has its advantages, it does not present a strong enough challenge to discriminatory practices or attitudes.

July 15, 2018

British businesses missing key productivity and skills boost by ignoring military veterans

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

Businesses are missing out on key opportunities to boost their skills base and productivity by not effectively employing well-qualified former military personnel, according to new information released by The Institute of Leadership & Management. According to The Institute, 86 per cent of veterans say business managers still don’t understand how military honed skills can transfer into boosting businesses on civvy street. Coinciding with both Armed Forces Day and the 100th anniversary year of the ending of World War One, The Institute of Leadership & Management has released its new report Tales of Transition (registration required), which claims to identify the barriers to helping ex-forces personnel enter the civilian workplace. The report also details the steps that business leaders can take to support the transition of around 15,000 people who leave the UK Regular Armed Forces each year.

July 11, 2018

A beauty industry veteran makes the case for corporate wellness

by Leena Jain • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Wellness is a term that today transcends the consumer and business worlds, but it is so much more than a buzzword. Today, the wellbeing of employees is essential for organisations to flourish, so much so that the term has in many ways replaced ‘productivity’ as the way to measure the success of an organisation. Both the beauty and workplace design sectors are very personal areas of high emotional involvement. There is a very real and physical contact with these products — in beauty, women are particularly (and increasingly men too) engaged in developing a customised routine because it gives them a sense of happiness, wellbeing and identity.

July 9, 2018

Quarter of British workers have a side hustle as well as their main job

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Academics at Henley Business School have revealed a growing trend in ‘side hustles’ which shows that as many as 1 in 4 people in the UK are running at least one business project alongside their main day job, contributing an estimated £72 billion to the UK economy. Henley has published a white paper on the emerging side hustle economy. Its study of over 500 business leaders and 1,100 UK adults found the trend is now happening at an unprecedented pace across the UK. A side hustle is defined as a secondary business or job that brings in, or has potential to bring in, extra income. 73 of people who start a side hustle do so to follow a passion or explore a new challenge, but there are financial benefits too, with side businesses contributing 20 percent to side hustlers’ income.

July 4, 2018

Staff at larger organisations take three times as many sick days as those at micro firms

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Employers with over 250 employees are more likely to have a significant absence issue among staff says new research from Group Risk Development (GRiD). According to HR decision makers companies with over 250 employees have the highest absence rates – averaging 7.5 days per year yet micro businesses with between 1-9 staff only see their staff take an average of 2.8 days absence per year. Five per cent of HR decision makers also admitted to not recording or monitoring absence at all, although this is more prevalent amongst SMEs (6 percent) than those with over 250 employees (1 percent). More →

July 4, 2018

Why you should definitely stand in meetings (and not care what others think about it)

by Benjamin Gardner Lee Smith and Louise Mansfield • Features, Wellbeing

People who stand in meetings may enjoy a number of health benefits, but it can also make them feel self-conscious, anxious about how others perceive them, and disengaged from the meeting. These findings, taken from our recent study, suggest that efforts to encourage office workers to sit less and move more must acknowledge the realities of the workplace that conspire to keep people chained to their seats. Sitting has been linked to adverse health outcomes, including increased risk of obesity, heart disease, some cancers, and poorer mental health. While some evidence suggests that the harms of sitting can be offset by at least one daily hour of moderate physical activity, this seems an unrealistic target. More →

June 29, 2018

Edinburgh is best UK location for growing technology businesses but office space is becoming scarce

by Neil Franklin • News, Property, Technology

Scotland’s capital city is the best place for tech companies looking to scale up, access funding, and do business in, according to a new Government backed report examining the UK’s tech landscape. Edinburgh tech companies responded with the highest approval rating in the UK when asked to assess how good their city was for ‘doing business’ – a combination of sub factors including access to finance and talent – as part of The Tech Nation 2018 Report – an annual series that captures the strength, depth and breadth of digital tech activity in the UK which employs over one million people. Although 62 percent of Edinburgh’s tech community are satisfied with local access to affordable office space, commercial property firm JLL, who sponsor the report, said one of the main challenges which now faces a burgeoning tech industry in Edinburgh is the room to accommodate continued growth of the sector.

June 29, 2018

Companies need to capitalise more on enthusiasm for data amongst the workforce

by Sara Bean • AI, News, Technology, Workplace

A major global report has revealed a lack of confidence in data is limiting corporate success in the emerging era of robotics and automation. The global research launched by Qlik, has revealed an escalating skills gap preventing business decision-makers asking the right questions of data and machines. Despite McKinsey reporting that up to 800 million global workers will lose their jobs by 2030 as a result of automation and robotics, and Gartner hailing data literacy at the must-have skill in the workplace, most business decision-makers (76 percent) lack confidence in their ability to read, work, analyse and argue with data. The highest level of doubt in data skills can be found among European executives (83 percent), followed by those in APAC (80 percent) and the US (67 percent). According to the report, as organisations look to be data driven, those employees who can read, work, analyse and argue with data will be able to contribute more to their roles and organisations and employers need to capitalise on this enthusiasm to drive the programme for data literacy.