Search Results for: employment

HR offers the key to enhanced employee financial wellbeing, claims report

HR offers the key to enhanced employee financial wellbeing, claims report

With poor financial wellbeing impacting on productivity, a new paper claims that, despite growing interest, there remains a lag in employers taking action in this area – and that Human Resources departments are key to building a business case for support. Published by the Institute for Employment Studies (IES), the paper, Building the business case for employee financial wellbeing, draws on findings from a Money Advice Service-funded study trialling financial wellbeing guidance from IES and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

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New analysis sets out to define fastest growing sectors in London in 2018

New analysis sets out to define fastest growing sectors in London in 2018

A new analysis from Instant Offices sets out to identify the largest business sectors driving London’s economy. It claims that the three most prominent are information and communication, financial and insurance, and professional, scientific and technical services. The UK Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES) showed distinct trends in growth for specific sectors, in London and in the UK as a whole.

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Flexibility, daylight and a well-designed office are amongst most desirable workplace features

Flexibility, daylight and a well-designed office are amongst most desirable workplace features

Capital One has published the results of its latest survey of US full-time professionals for their thoughts on workplace design and the working environment as it relates to their productivity, innovation and collaboration with colleagues. According to the resulting 2018 Work Environment Survey of 3,500 office based respondents in urban centres across the US, many value flexibility and workplace design, particularly when evaluating whether to stay at their current job or consider a new employment opportunity. Employees also place a great deal of focus on technology, design elements such as lighting and agile workspaces, and personal wellbeing.

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Shortage of tech skills and 600,000 job vacancies costing UK economy £63 billion a year

Shortage of tech skills and 600,000 job vacancies costing UK economy £63 billion a year

An estimated 600,000 vacancies in digital technology are costing the country £63 billion a year, according to information provided by techUK in a report on skills shortages published by the Edge Foundation.The second of the education charity’s bulletins on the UK’s skills shortages, shines a spotlight on the tech industry and the devastating economic impact of the government’s failure to encourage young people to study relevant subjects and upskill existing workers. The bulletin, Skills Shortages in the UK Economy, brings together the most current statistics and analysis of skills shortages in the UK which cost the economy £6.3 billion each year in direct costs such as recruitment and temporarily filling gaps, according to the Open University’s 2018 Business Barometer.

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Google should be an example to all when it come to interactive workplace design

Google should be an example to all when it come to interactive workplace design

Google is known to be a wonderland for tech professionals everywhere. It is a sought after and coveted workplace, which is designed to cater to the individual. Comparably has recently named Google as the “tech company with the best corporate culture”, but how does this culture work beyond the realms of the Google institute? The question that many employers are asking is, does the Google culture really work? And is it sustainable for a normal business? Company culture has become a focus for recruiters and hiring managers, but if we break this down what does it actually mean? Company culture is shaped by the employees for the employees and should work in collusion with the services a business is providing. Google’s company culture model is based around flexibility and the freedom to be creative in a fun environment.

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The satisfaction of self-employed people depends on skills development rather than business growth

The satisfaction of self-employed people depends on skills development rather than business growth

Developing skills and knowledge is more important for self-employed people’s sense of career progression than increasing their rate of pay, a new report by IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) and the IPA (the Involvement and Participation Association) claims. The report, Working well for yourself: What makes for good self-employment?, surveyed 800 people across the country about what constituted ‘good work’ for them. First of all, it found that work satisfaction levels are remarkably high among the self-employed. This reinforces the findings of a 2015 CIPD Employee Outlook survey, which showed that general work satisfaction is higher among the self-employed (81 percent) than employees (61 percent).

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

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

More effort needed to tackle widespread sexual harassment in workplace say MPsSexual 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.

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Firms are reluctant to hire women if they suspect they plan to have children in the near future

Firms are reluctant to hire women if they suspect they plan to have children in the near future

Nearly one in three UK bosses admit they have or would reject a female job applicant and might be generally reluctant to hire women if they suspect they ‘might start a family soon’. Although this form of employment discrimination is unlawful, 15 percent anonymously admitted that they had broken sex discrimination laws. The new research of 501 bosses, carried out by law firm Slater and Gordon, also revealed that one in four bosses has rejected or would reject a woman, simply because she was a single parent. A further 29 percent said they have discounted or would discount a woman for a job role because she had young children and 28 percent said they have or would because she was recently engaged or married.

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Freelancers and small business owners find it impossible to stop working on their holidays

Freelancers and small business owners find it impossible to stop working on their holidays

Small business owners and freelancers are unwilling or unable to switch off from work during their holidays, a new study claims. The survey from cloud accounting company FreeAgent claims that over 90 percent of micro-business owners admit to checking work-related emails or doing work-related admin while they are on holiday – with nearly two thirds (61 percent) saying that they do so regularly. In the poll of nearly 600 freelancers and micro-businesses about their experiences of self-employment, 38 percent of respondents said they work more than 48 hours in a typical week – while 7 percent said that they typically work 64 hours or more per week. In addition, one in nine (11 percent) respondents will just take a week or less of holiday in 2018 – including 5 percent who do not expect to take any time off at all from their business this year.

Artificial intelligence will create more jobs than it displaces, claims new study

Artificial intelligence will create more jobs than it displaces, claims new study

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and related technologies are projected to create as many jobs as they displace in the UK over the next 20 years, according to new analysis by PwC. In absolute terms, around 7 million existing jobs could be displaced, but around 7.2 million could be created, giving the UK a small net jobs boost of around 0.2 million. While the overall net effect of AI on UK jobs may be broadly neutral, this varies significantly across industry sectors. The most positive effect of AI is seen in the health and social work sector, where PwC estimates that employment could increase by nearly 1 million, equivalent to around 20 percent of existing jobs in the sector. On the other hand, PwC estimates the number of jobs in the manufacturing sector could be reduced by around 25 percent, representing a net loss of nearly 700,000 jobs.

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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