January 24, 2018
Business in the community aims to improve the quality of work for lowest-paid staff
Financial concerns are increasingly affecting the performance of workers across the UK, with one in eight UK workers (3.7 million) now living in poverty. According to the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, a quarter of the UK workforce are, to some extent, experiencing financial insecurity. One in five employees (21 percent) report that they are just about managing financially, while a further 5 percent say they are finding things difficult. Aside from the undue stress this causes families, this can also have significant repercussions for employers, in terms of recruitment, retention and productivity. This has prompted Business in the Community, (BITC) with support from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, to make the case for all employers to improve the quality of work for their lowest-paid staff. Its new campaign, Good Work for All draws on best practice from forward-thinking organisations including Starbucks, Royal Mail and Sodexo, and over a third of BITC members have reported taking company-wide action on low-paid work with successful outcomes.
Managers are working an extra 44 days a year over and above their contracted hours, up from 40 days in 2015. These long hours are taking their toll, causing a surge in sick leave amongst managers suffering from stress and mental ill health, claims the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), which is calling on UK employers to provide greater support. Long hours and constant communication are having a detrimental effect on the wellbeing of managers it argues resulting in one in ten managers taking time off for mental health in the last year, and for those who do take time out, it’s for an average of 12 days. Of the 1,037 managers surveyed for the report, the average boss puts in an extra day each week. This is an extra 7.5 hours beyond their contracted weekly hours (44.4 hours actual compared to 37.3 contracted), adding up to an extra 43.8 days over the course of the year. This is up from 39.6 days in 2015. The rising gap between contracted and actual hours of work is in addition to an ‘always on’ digital culture, with 59 percent of managers saying they ‘frequently’ check their emails outside of work – up from 54 percent in 2015.
There has been a rise in the number of people who believe businesses in the UK have a good reputation, with a significant number of younger people helping to create this positive picture. The research, comparing perceptions of businesses between May and November 2017, reveals 2 in 3 people think UK businesses have a good reputation, up 7 percent in 6 months. The tracker, conducted by the CBI in partnership with global PR agency, Porter Novelli, and research company, Opinium, revealed that the public are more aware of the value business provides in local communities with an increasingly vocal business community emerging in recent months. Importantly, the improvement in business reputation has largely been driven by young people and those in work, with a significant 15 percent rise in positive views among 18-34 year olds. This reinforces the view that younger people are more engaged in the debate about the UK’s future, with the Brexit negotiations and a sharper political debate intensifying the focus on jobs and the economy.
December 22, 2017
Five employment law milestones from the past year we need to remember in 2018
by Lucy Gordon • Comment, Workplace
The past twelve months have been an eventful period for employment law; from the uncertainty surrounding Brexit and the rights of EU Nationals working in the UK, to the mounting attention on employee data protection as the GDPR edges ever closer. Issues of Employment Tribunal fees, holiday pay and the gig economy have similarly captivated headlines, and these significant milestones from the past 12 months are set to have a big impact on the challenges facing the sector into 2018. (more…)