Search Results for: london

March 28, 2017

Post Brexit UK sets out its case at MIPIM 2017 ⁰

by Anna King • Cities, Features, Property

Cannes-based international real estate fair MIPIM has always been a magnet for cities, determined to extoll their virtues to investors, developers and occupiers, but this year the UK was in charm overdrive. Buoyed no doubt in part by the presence of the UK government’s Department of International Trade (DIT), waving its ‘open for business’ flag for UK PLC, many of the towns and cities that would normally have ploughed their own furrow, instead came together to leverage critical mass. So Bradford and Leeds combined, conurbations across the central belt conjoined on a Midlands pavilion, and so on. Whether it was panic or confidence, the net result was an unusually prominent UK presence, up a quarter on last year. Of course the UK is just one nationality among the 24,200 real estate and city professionals from 100 countries who come together in Cannes every March.

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March 28, 2017

New wellbeing index measures level of support for staff with poor mental health ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Just over half (53 per cent) of staff who had disclosed poor mental health at work said they felt supported, and 72 per cent said they’d been made aware of the support tools such as Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs), counselling, staff support network or informal buddying systems, a new piece of research has disclosed. The data has been gathered by mental health charity Mind to give an insight into the mental health of 15,000 employees participating in Mind’s first ever Workplace Wellbeing Index, a brand new benchmark of best policy and practice when it comes to staff mental health. Thirty organisations participated in Mind’s first ever Workplace Wellbeing Index, including Deloitte, HMRC, the Environment Agency, Jaguar Land Rover and PepsiCo. Over half (56 per cent) of employees who reported mental ill health were offered reasonable adjustments or support measures, such as changes to hours worked or the nature of some of their duties.

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March 16, 2017

White paper sets out challenges of Brexit for UK’s built environment sector ⁰

by Neil Franklin • News, Property

BSRIA has published a new white paper to explore how issues related to Brexit will impact the UK’s built environment sector. The report highlights the ways in which the industry that supports the built environment has a major impact on the overall UK economy and plays a positive role in supporting the government’s climate change and emissions reduction objectives. According to the white paper, the sector is particularly sensitive to the uncertainties surrounding Brexit because it is technology intensive, requires a highly-skilled workforce, and is very dependent on international trade.

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March 16, 2017

New guide to creating an accessible and inclusive built environment ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Architecture, Facilities management, News, Workplace design

The Construction Industry Council has published a new guide to creating an accessible and inclusive environment. The guide sets out six principles as suggested by the Office for Disability Issues to ‘guide, support and motivate’ industry professionals. The guide is an initiative that emerged from the Built Environment Professional Education Project – a government project that has been championed by CIC. The aim is to build on the legacy of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games by helping to generate a change in the way skills related to inclusive design are taught in the UK. The aim is that all built environment professionals will receive mandatory, quality teaching about inclusive design so that they can help create inclusive building, places and spaces for future generations.

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March 15, 2017

Mobile and internet connectivity should be a priority for commerical real estate ⁰

by Sara Bean • Comment, Facilities management, News, Property, Technology

Cluttons has proposed that a mobile coverage rating should be added to lettable workspace criteria, because despite mobile and internet connections being the fifth essential utility for the modern environment they are often overlooked when leasing space. With the rise of dependence on SIM-based equipment, the property firm argues that workplaces should be let with a coverage rating, measuring connectivity within a property. It argues that given the fast-paced evolving nature of the sector, landlords who invest in excellent telephony infrastructure are likely to secure tenants for longer periods and potentially achieve higher rental values. The approach is being borne out by the government recognising the importance of better mobile and internet infrastructure, by making it a focal point to extend superfast broadband to 95% of the UK by the end of 2017. This comes as no surprise given that several emerging markets are leap-frogging the adoption of technology and are quickly outpacing the UK in the sophistication of infrastructure on offer to occupiers. London is ranked near to the bottom of the internet connectivity league table when looking at Europe.

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March 14, 2017

Western European cities ranked high by multinationals on quality of infrastructure ⁰

by Sara Bean • Cities, Facilities management, News, Property, Workplace

City infrastructure plays a key role when multinationals decide where to establish locations abroad and send expatriate workers, claims a new report. Mercer’s 19th annual Quality of Living survey now includes a supplementary question on city infrastructure, as easy access to transportation, reliable electricity, and drinkable water are all important considerations when determining hardship allowances based on differences between a given assignee’s home and host locations. Western European cities hold most of the top ten places in the city infrastructure ranking, with Frankfurt and Munich jointly ranking 2nd worldwide, followed by Copenhagen (4) and Dusseldorf (5). London is in 6th place, and Hamburg and Zurich both rank 9th. However, in terms of quality of living which is ranked separately, Vienna (pictured) occupies first place for overall quality of living for the 8th year running, and despite increased political and financial volatility in Europe, many of its cities offer the world’s highest quality of living and remain attractive destinations for expanding business operations and sending expatriates on assignment. In the UK, London is favoured for its overall quality of living and for its city infrastructure.

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March 10, 2017

British workers reveal their pet peeves when commuting ⁰

by Neil Franklin • News

British workers have a range of pet peeves about their daily trip to work are unwilling to travel for more than 1 hour 14 minutes, even for their dream job, according to a survey of 1,002 UK adults, carried out by AllCarLeasing.co.uk, The study found that men are willing to travel up to 1 hour and 29 minutes to work in contrast to women who would prefer to travel for just 59. Londoners are willing to endure the longest commute at an hour and a half, while Manchester residents would be willing to commute just 23 minutes each day. When quizzed on the things that made commuting frustrating or annoying, respondents admitted that getting stuck in traffic infuriated them the most (63 percent). Other passengers not letting others off public transport before getting on (58 percent) and people playing loud music (55 percent) took the top three spots. Not standing to the right on escalators enraged 51 percent of commuters – this is purely a London thing – and taking up spare seats with feet or bags was found to be a big annoyance for 49 percent.

March 9, 2017

Google reveals latest designs for new California headquarters ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Case studies, Facilities management, News, Technology, Workplace design

Google has revealed the latest designs for its new Mountain View office campus, designed by Bjarke Ingels Group and Heatherwick Studio, the partnership that is also collaborating on Google’s new London offices. This is the third iteration of the designs which will now be presented at a public hearing pending approval by Mountain View City Council. The designs of the purpose built office complex and campus maintain the tent like structures from previous ideas as well as a heavily landscaped environment. The public spaces, pavilions, cafes, research labs, event spaces will be at ground level with offices on a mezzanine level. The new design for the roof incorporates curved metal shapes in grey which will discourage birds from flying into the structure.

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March 3, 2017

Majority of workers ‘working for free’ until 9th March in unpaid overtime ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

The average amount of overtime workers put in equates to around 68 working days a year and the fact that only one third are paid for this means the majority of people are essentially working for free until the 9th of March each year, claims a new study. The research by TotallyMoney.com with OnePoll, which looked into overtime in the UK in 2017 found that unsurprisingly 60 percent of British workers say they don’t have a good work-life balance. Common reasons given for working overtime were pressures from colleague and excessive workloads; with almost 65 percent of people surveyed not being paid for overtime worked. Only a third of British workers say they typically leave work on time; which ties in with recent TUC analysis which revealed that the number of employees working longer hours grew by 15 percent over the last five years. Working longer hours, warns the union, not only has negative impacts on health, but can actually lead to workers being less productive.

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February 28, 2017

Digitisation of workplace boosts earning powers in creative and design sector ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace

The rise of the gig economy and social media platforms have pushed creative and design jobs up the salary ranks, according to the latest UK Job Market Report from Adzuna.co.uk. In January, average salaries in this sector saw an annual increase of 2.2 percent to £31,828, with its popularity being driven by factors such as the new digital age coupled with the expertise of graduates who step into the jobs market with a fresh outlook on social media channels such as Snapchat and Instagram, which are highly valuable to employees. Across the job market, the employment rate stands at 74.6 percent, the highest since comparable records began in 1971 according to the ONS. This has been helped by a record proportion of women in work, with so-called ‘returnships’ – a type of later-life work experience helping older people, predominantly women back into the workplace – boosting the figures. Immigration may have tailed off in the wake of Brexit, but this also previously helped stimulate the jobs market.

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February 21, 2017

What you need to know about changes to business rates and lease renewals ⁰

by Alex Watt • Comment, Facilities management, Legal news, Property

Business rates are a substantial overhead for many businesses, and therefore those occupying a property need to be aware of the impact of the 1 April rates revaluation and the forthcoming changes to the rates valuation appeals process. The revaluation may affect the level of compensation payable to some business tenants seeking to renew their leases. Current business rateable values took effect in England and Wales on 1 April 2010, based on rateable values on 1 April 2008. However, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is revising rateable values on 1 April 2017. While the rateable value of some properties is reducing, others (for example many London retail and restaurant premises) face a significant increase. You can check the draft values on the VOA website to see whether your property is due to change.

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February 20, 2017

Always on culture of work is literally killing people ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Workers in the City of London are often more stressed about work when at home than in the office, claims a new peer reviewed study published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. The study of workers at some of London’s major banks suggests that more than half find they are more stressed when trying to balance their home and professional lives with the result that they are more at risk of cardiovascular disease. The stress levels of participants were measured using wrist monitors and found that there are significant spikes in heart rates when people interrupt their domestic lives with work. The authors conclude that the culture of always on working is literally killing people.