Search Results for: government

Working parents still not getting enough support to deal with pandemic

Working parents still not getting enough support to deal with pandemic

by • News

A new report from work-life balance charity Working Families claims that there remains a pressing need for increased support for working parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report is informed by queries to the charity’s free legal advice helpline, which the charity says have quadrupled since the start of the pandemic. Since mid-March, over 36,000 people have accessed the charity’s coronavirus-focused legal advice web pages. (more…)

Two thirds of SMEs confident of prospects after restructuring

Two thirds of SMEs confident of prospects after restructuring

by • News

Nearly two thirds (62 percent) of UK small business owners remain confident about their business prospects despite the coronavirus crisis, according to a study from Bionic. The government’s response to the pandemic has forced many SMEs, particularly in the retail, hospitality and leisure space, to close their doors to customers. Responding to the lockdown, 78 percent of small businesses have pivoted the way their business operates to continue trading through the crisis.

(more…)

Most workers not productive while working from home, report claims

Most workers not productive while working from home, report claims

by • Flexible working, News

working from homeNo more than 15 percent of healthy workers confined to their homes will work productively, argues new research from right leaning think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs. Government restrictions on social interaction designed to slow the spread of coronavirus have led to a rapid increase in the number of people working from home. But a new briefing paper from the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) suggests this is unlikely to be maintained in the long term. (more…)

A lack of clarity is “shutting down construction”, say builders

A lack of clarity is “shutting down construction”, say builders

by • News, Property

Members of the National Federation of Builders (NFB) have expressed concerns that the lack of clarity from the Government is causing the construction industry to close down. As well as reducing productivity to ensure on site social distancing, reduced access to materials and public opinion has made it extremely difficult for industry to operate. (more…)

New task force to reduce health burden of COVID-19

New task force to reduce health burden of COVID-19

by • News

Task force

The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) has announced that it is setting up a task force to reduce the enormous health burden from COVID-19 and other respiratory infections. Its goal is to define the critical role buildings, organisations and communities play in prevention and preparedness, resilience and recovery. The task force’s work will take a broad approach, considering both new and recurring infectious agents that can affect large populations. (more…)

Nudges do not change the behaviour of commuters

Nudges do not change the behaviour of commuters

by • News

The use of nudge theory in the UK government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic has raised some fresh questions about the applicability of the idea. The idea – that people can be encouraged to make significant changes in their behaviour with small interventions – has gained widespread acceptance around the world. While some have argued that the use of nudge theory in the initial response was questionable, other analysis has suggested it did have an effect. (more…)

Loneliness has always been a workplace issue

Loneliness has always been a workplace issue

by • Comment, Wellbeing, Working lives, Workplace design

Loneliness is increasingly recognised as a serious issue in modern society. In the UK, the Office of National Statistics reported that 5 percent of adults feel lonely ‘often’ or ‘always’, with further 16 percent of adults reporting feeling lonely ‘sometimes’, equivalent to approximately 9 million adults suffering from loneliness to some degree. (more…)

Have your say on the coronavirus pandemic

Have your say on the coronavirus pandemic

by • Knowledge, News, Wellbeing

Coronavirus pandemicOne of the first research projects aimed at gauging the UK public’s attitude and responses to the coronavirus pandemic is being launched. Experts at Cardiff University and Cardiff Metropolitan University are urging people from across the UK to take part in a survey to assess how people feel about – and how they are responding to – one of the biggest health crises facing the country in recent history. (more…)

Commercial tenants will be protected from eviction if they cannot pay rent

Commercial tenants will be protected from eviction if they cannot pay rent

by • News, Property

Commercial tenants who cannot pay their rent because of coronavirus will be protected from eviction, the government has announced. Many landlords and tenants are already having conversations and reaching voluntary arrangements about rental payments due shortly but the Government says that it recognises businesses struggling with their cashflow due to coronavirus remain worried about eviction. (more…)

Freelancer groups call for emergency fund during Coronavirus crisis

Freelancer groups call for emergency fund during Coronavirus crisis

by • News, Wellbeing

Coronavirus crisisIPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed), the Creative Industries Federation and other organisations representing freelancers have written an open letter calling on Prime Minister Boris Johnson for a Temporary Income Protection Fund to support the self-employed during the Coronavirus crisis. (more…)

Will coronavirus mean the death of the office?

Will coronavirus mean the death of the office?

by • Comment

Betteridge’s law of headlines declares that “Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no”. And so I simultaneously ask and answer the question of whether the coronavirus pandemic will really lead to the death of the office. So it goes. Of course, I’m not the first person to raise the question over the last few weeks as the world adapts to the threat of the pandemic. But it’s worth reminding ourselves that the demise of the office has been predicted for at least a quarter of a century, although never in such circumstances. (more…)

Pandemic highlights precarious reality of workplace legislation

Pandemic highlights precarious reality of workplace legislation

by • Comment, Legal news

precarious workplace Less than a week on from the Budget, and already the government’s emergency measures to respond to covid-19 feel like they belong to another crisis. While attention this weekend has rightly focused on how our health services and older people can be supported, we also need urgently to revisit the impact on the workplace and especially how we’ll support the many millions of workers who will find themselves off work – sick or in self-isolation – over the coming months. (more…)

«< 65 66 67 68 69 >»