February 10, 2020
More than half of the people in the UK classified as living in poverty are members of a working family. According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s state of the nation report on poverty in the UK, poverty has risen for children and pensioners over the last five years. Although employment has increased, in-work poverty has also gone up because often people’s pay, hours, or both are not enough. (more…)
February 7, 2020
Two surveys have highlighted continuing fears among freelancers about the changes to the IR35 rules due to take effect in April. The reforms will shift the responsibility for defining contractors’ tax status from the individual to the employer to crack down on so-called ‘disguised employment’, where off-payroll workers are able to pay less tax than employees. However, concerns have been raised that the rules could force organisations to bring genuine contractors and freelancers on to the payroll, reducing flexibility for both parties. (more…)
February 7, 2020
According to new government figures, the country’s digital sector contributed £149 billion to the UK in 2018, accounting for 7.7 percent of the economy. This is up 7.9 percent on the previous year, meaning growth in the sector is nearly six times larger than growth across the economy as a whole, which increased by 1.4 percent. (more…)
February 4, 2020
Outdoor workers in the capital are exposed to 15 percent more pollution than the average Londoner, new research has claimed. Over six months, the Canairy app developed by King College London gathered data from two groups of Londoners, some mostly working in offices and others mostly working outside. Both groups were exposed to high levels of air pollution but those working outside fared worst, being exposed to air pollution breaching guidelines for NO2, particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) and ozone. Some maximum exposures were nearly two thirds higher than recommended World Health Organisation (WHO) limits. (more…)
February 3, 2020
Time spent in the great outdoors is worth abour£4.5 trillion a year in the improved mental health of people, according to results published by a team of researchers from Griffith University’s School of Environment and Science, Centre for Work Organisation and Wellbeing, Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith Business School and School of Medicine. (more…)
January 31, 2020
Six in ten new cars must be electric by 2030 yet a third of people have told researchers they won’t ever buy an electric vehicle. The UK government’s current policy is to insist that by 2030, all new cars and vans sold in the UK should be zero-emissions capable – that means battery electric, plug-in hybrid electric or hydrogen. (more…)
January 31, 2020
Policy makers should resist claims by Uber that its drivers fall into a middle ground between traditional employees and independent contractors, a new study says. The research report, Profits Uber Everything?, by Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, examines Uber’s argument that its drivers are “independent workers” who are, in some respects, like individuals working for others and in other respects are like independent businesses. The company is only trying to establish this new category to exonerate itself of any responsibility for the workers, the researchers claim. (more…)
January 30, 2020
The promised flexibility of the gig economy is an illusion for many workers, who need to put in long hours to make ends meet, a new report has claimed. The report by Doteveryone, a think tank set up by businesswoman Martha Lane Fox, calls on the government to create a ‘minimum gig wage’ to ensure workers have enough to live on after expenses such as petrol. It also urges employers to be clearer with workers about their true pay and to inform customers where their money goes. (more…)
January 30, 2020
Policy makers should beware of classifying all gig economy workers as “employees”, a new research report has claimed. Such workers vary in age, income and education in a similar way to the traditional workforce and crafting regulations that treat both fully committed and occasional gig workers as one group is unlikely to be an efficient solution, the report from IZA World of Labor contends. (more…)
January 29, 2020
Two-thirds of employees believe class is an issue when it comes to securing a new job, with one in three saying they’ve been discriminated against because of it, a new study has claimed. In contrast, more than half of employers said they don’t think class discrimination is an issue when hiring. (more…)
January 28, 2020
A new report from Qlik and Accenture, titled “The Human Impact of Data Literacy” and conducted on behalf of The Data Literacy Project, claims that while most organisations understand the incredible opportunity of data, a gap has emerged between organisations’ aspirations to be data-driven and their employees’ ability to create business value with data. The report argues that data is a ‘gold mine’ that can fuel a culture of innovation and growth as part of a data strategy. However, when employees struggle to make sense of data, productivity and business value can be affected.
January 23, 2020
A new report from Deloitte claims that poor mental health costs UK employers up to £45 billion each year. This is a rise of 16 percent since 2016 – an extra £6 billion a year. The research also looks at how employers can tackle this problem, finding that it pays to support employees’ mental wellbeing. On average, for every £1 spent on supporting their people’s mental health, employers get £5 back on their investment in reduced presenteeism, absenteeism and staff turnover. (more…)
