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UK labour and skills shortages set to increase as number of EU nationals fall

UK labour and skills shortages set to increase as number of EU nationals fall

by • News, Workplace

Labour and skills shortages in UK set to increase as number of EU applicants fall

A noticeable fall in the flow of EU nationals into the UK has coincided with a drop in the quantity and suitability of job applicants being reported by employers, the latest quarterly Labour Market Outlook from the CIPD and the Adecco Group has revealed. The data suggests that while the short-term outlook for employment remains strong, labour and skills shortages are finally starting to bite, with evidence that the number of applicants per vacancy has dropped across all roles (low, medium and high-skill) since summer 2017. This strong demand for labour is finally increasing recruitment pressures for employers, exacerbated by a ‘supply shock’ of far fewer EU nationals coming into the UK. According to the latest official data, the number of EU-born workers in the UK increased by just 7,000 between Q1 2017 and Q1 2018, compared with an increase of 148,000 from Q1 2016 to Q1 2017. This represents a fall of 95 percent and has fed into a tightening of the labour market. The report also found that while wage growth for the wider workforce is set to remain at around 2 percent for the foreseeable future, new starters and key staff may be more likely to be getting a salary increase.

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Youngest workers prefer simple perks such as free coffee, flexi hours and birthday leave

Youngest workers prefer simple perks such as free coffee, flexi hours and birthday leave

by • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Youngest workers prefer simple perks such as free coffee, flexi hours and birthday leaveAs fresh graduates from generation Z, i.e. those born between the mid 1990’s and 2000 are enter the workplace, new research from Perkbox claims that over 1 in 3 (36 percent) admit that the workplace perks are one of the most important deciding factors on whether to accept a new job or not. These post-millennials are also the group most likely (32 percent) to prefer smaller benefits that they can enjoy on a more frequent basis, all-year-round, over one annual event, such as a Christmas party. The top three workplace perks most popular amongst Generation Z included simple benefits, such as receiving a day’s annual leave on your birthday (86 percent), followed by free coffee and hot drinks (85 percent), and flexi-hours (83 percent). Despite this, Generation Z feel less deserving of workplace benefits than co-workers born pre-1995, with fewer than half (38 percent) believing they should benefit from such offerings – which is less than any other age group.

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Government launches challenge to shape future transportation strategies

Government launches challenge to shape future transportation strategies

by • Cities, Flexible working, News, Technology

The UK government has begun work on its Future of Mobility Grand Challenge. First announced in May, the government believes the initiative has the potential to make the UK a world leader in strategies for moving people and goods. The announcement includes two calls for evidence, the first focused on improving first mile/last mile transportation connections, with a focus on electric vehicles and microtransit. The second addresses the more general issue of new technology and trends for urban transport. The government also claims the move will address changes in working cultures including lower levels of commuting and flexible working.

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Home Offices launches Brexit toolkit for employers to support EU settlement programme

Home Offices launches Brexit toolkit for employers to support EU settlement programme

by • News, Workplace

Employers, industry groups and community groups in the UK will be able to give EU citizens practical advice on how to apply for settled status in the wake of the Brexit vote with the help of a new toolkit published by the Home Office. The toolkit will be published on GOV.UK and contain how-to guides, briefing packs, practical plans, leaflets and posters. The Home Secretary launched the toolkit at the Home Office last night (Tuesday 24 July) at a gathering of some of the UK’s biggest employers of EU citizens, as well as industry bodies, local government agencies and community groups, many of whom played a key part in developing the toolkit.

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Businesses told to consider the interests of workers and other stakeholders in new code

Businesses told to consider the interests of workers and other stakeholders in new code

by • News

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published its new Corporate Governance Code in a bid to improve trust in UK business. The new Code will remain on the “comply or explain” basis mandatory for which it has been criticised in the past, but has been broadly welcomed by industry bodies. The code sets out a number of recommendations aimed at improving culture and trust in business, of which it suggests at least one be applied. They include having a director appointed from the workforce, a formal workforce advisory panel and a designated non-executive director. The Code will apply to accounting periods from January 2019 and is applicable to all companies with a premium listing.

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London’s poor connectivity is holding back commercial property occupiers

London’s poor connectivity is holding back commercial property occupiers

by • News, Property, Technology

Connectivity is more than just broadband speeds and 4G coverage. New research from property consultancy Cluttons claims to reveal the impact it has on everything from the properties we choose to live in, to the places where we can work and our overall happiness both at home and in the office. The research suggests that London is lagging behind other national and global hubs when it comes to good connectivity in both residential and commercial property, failing our needs both as residents and businesses.

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A beauty industry veteran makes the case for corporate wellness

A beauty industry veteran makes the case for corporate wellness

by • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Wellness is a term that today transcends the consumer and business worlds, but it is so much more than a buzzword.  Today, the wellbeing of employees is essential for organisations to flourish, so much so that the term has in many ways replaced ‘productivity’ as the way to measure the success of an organisation. Both the beauty and workplace design sectors are very personal areas of high emotional involvement. There is a very real and physical contact with these products — in beauty, women are particularly (and increasingly men too) engaged in developing a customised routine because it gives them a sense of happiness, wellbeing and identity.

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Fathers Day offers a chance to ponder the disadvantages faced by many working dads

Fathers Day offers a chance to ponder the disadvantages faced by many working dads

by • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

Father’s Day – a day when fathers up and down the UK are supposed to feel valued – whether it’s hand print cards from their 2-year old, a pair of socks from their teenager or BBQ accessories from their fully-grown son or daughter. Fathers looking to the government for an offering will be disappointed. Its response to the Women & Equalities Select Committee’s excellent recommendations on fathers and the workplace is the equivalent of a nicely wrapped box with very little in it. For self-employed fathers, the box appears to be empty.

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Women and younger people are transforming the UK’s freelance economy

Women and younger people are transforming the UK’s freelance economy

by • Flexible working, News

The workforce is changing as more people swap the security of a 9-to-5 job for the flexibility of freelancing, with key demographics and industries leading the self-employed sector, according to a new study from Instant Offices. ‘Millennials’ and UK workers facing significant lifestyle changes, such as motherhood, or nearing retirement, and are looking for more flexible ways to work. According to the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE), the self-employed sector now includes approximately 4.8 million people, with freelancers comprising 42 percent of that population and 6 percent of the UK workforce as a whole. The IPSE reports that in 2016, freelancers contributed £119 billion to the national economy. This was up from £109 billion in 2015 and experts are predicting that this number will only continue to grow in the years to come.

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Artificial intelligence, robots and automation set to transform the office environment

Artificial intelligence, robots and automation set to transform the office environment

by • Features, Technology

In today’s highly digital landscape, tools like AI and machine learning were developed to significantly improve productivity in the workplace. But despite their existence, many companies still trail behind in terms of integrating AI in their office environments. In fact, an article on Workplace Insight previously noted that over a quarter of employers fail to provide staff with digital and flexible tools. Though it is predicted that the next couple of years will see businesses adapt to a human-and-machine environment, organisations still have a lot of catching up to do in terms of digital basics.

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Optimal workplace productivity gains could add £39.8 billion to British and Irish economies

Optimal workplace productivity gains could add £39.8 billion to British and Irish economies

by • Facilities management, News, Technology, Workplace design

The United Kingdom could reshape its economic future and unlock its share of £39.8 billion in untapped GDP if organisations were to ‘optimise their workplaces’, according to a new study by Ricoh and Oxford Economics, titled The Economy of People (registration required). The UK could achieve a 1.8 percent increase in GDP, equal to £36.8 billion, which could pay for the cost of Brexit twice with change to spare. Similarly, the Irish economy could expand by 1.0 percent, or £3 billion, if businesses commit to creating the optimal office. The findings from The Economy of People are based on forecasts of how productivity in various industries will improve, if investment in workplaces makes them optimal for those that work there and their employers. Surveys and interviews were conducted with employees and executives to uncover how workplace elements, such as culture, physical workspace and technology affect performance and productivity.

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No surprises in new report on future workplace trends

No surprises in new report on future workplace trends

by • Comment, Flexible working, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The latest Global Workplace Trends report from Sodexo focuses on the ‘workplace experience’ and how it affects levels of engagement, wellbeing and corporate performance. It’s an undemanding study that sets out seven trends covering familiar themes in a familiar way, even though the authors claim it offers ‘fresh insights’. As well as the idea of ‘experience’, it touches on ideas about the intersections of digital and physical space and the implications for people and organisations as well as the workplace professions. It uses the standard vocabulary, various buzzwords and the usual presuppositions to look at the impact of Millennials, AI, the sharing economy and so on. The visuals are the usual parade of smiling, diverse – but no unattractive, disabled and old – hipsters sharing screens and being creative in sun-dappled interiors. Sauce it with some virtue signals and it’s job done.

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