Search Results for: self employed

The four day week won’t necessarily help us cope with workplace stress

The four day week won’t necessarily help us cope with workplace stress

by • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

four day weekScotland is to become the latest nation to trial a four-day working week, after the SNP government announced it was setting up a £10 million fund to enable some office businesses to cut workers’ hours without reducing their pay. Similar trials are underway in Ireland and Spain, following on from trials in Iceland several years ago. Some firms have also been experimenting with a four day week, while other nations such as Japan are encouraging their employers to think about it too. More →

Uncertainty remains, but many people looking forward to meeting colleagues again

Uncertainty remains, but many people looking forward to meeting colleagues again

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

As businesses in the UK prepare to open their office doors en masse in the first week of September, new research reveals that office workers have got that back-to-school excitement and are feeling largely positive about the transition. Recruitment firm Michael Page questioned over 2,000 UK office workers on their attitudes to returning to the office and found that after eighteen months at home, around half claim to be ‘excited’ or ‘happy’ to spend more time in the office with their colleagues. Reminiscent of the first day back at school, almost three in ten (28 percent) said that they had picked out their outfit and packed their bag ahead of their first day back in the office. More →

Inclusive workplaces will be focus of new disability strategy

Inclusive workplaces will be focus of new disability strategy

by • News, Wellbeing

two people talking to illustrate inclusive workplacesA new strategy from the UK government promises more inclusive workplaces, easier commuting and better job prospects for millions of disabled people. The strategy sets out 100 immediate commitments supported by £1.6bn of funding alongside an ambitious agenda for future reform. As well as inclusive workplaces, the strategy covers a range of other areas including accessible housing and better access to justice, culture and the arts. More →

Plans for a new single status for workers don’t cover everyone, says lobby group

Plans for a new single status for workers don’t cover everyone, says lobby group

by • Flexible working, News, Workplace

IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) has responded to the UK Labour Party’s proposal for a single worker status saying that although it is welcome the party is attempting to clear the confusion around worker rights, the party’s proposals fail to grasp the nettle of employment status. The comment comes after Labour announced it would create a single worker status to “replace the three existing employment categories” of employee, worker and dependent contractor. Labour said the category would encompass “all but the genuinely self-employed”. More →

Over a quarter of freelance businesses are back to pre-pandemic levels

Over a quarter of freelance businesses are back to pre-pandemic levels

by • Business, News

businessesNew research from IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) claims almost a quarter of freelancers (24 percent) report their businesses returning to pre-pandemic levels, while nearly a third (29 percent) predict the easing of restrictions will give an added boost to their businesses. A fifth (19 percent) said their businesses had been largely unaffected by the pandemic. More →

Finance directors set out plans for truly remote workforces

Finance directors set out plans for truly remote workforces

by • Flexible working, News, Workplace

A new global survey by CFO Research and Globalization Partners, claims that 81 percent of the CFOs who responded say their company’s long-term growth strategy includes international expansion,  either currently ongoing or in their future plans. The survey also uncovered changing perceptions about hiring and remote work because of their pandemic experiences, with 85 percent of respondents indicating the ability to tap into a more cost-effective, global talent pool that is equipped with the appropriate skills would be desirable. More →

From the archive: A new approach to office design is redefining property

From the archive: A new approach to office design is redefining property 0

by • Comment, Facilities management, Property, Workplace design

office design At the end of the 18th Century it was becoming apparent that overpopulation was something the human race would need to address for perhaps the first time. Advances in technology and the urbanisation that followed the Industrial Revolution had created a new set of challenges. These were most famously laid out in a 1798 book called An Essay on the Principle of Population, written by an English cleric called Thomas Malthus.

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Half of freelancers planning to stop contracting in the UK after IR35 reforms

Half of freelancers planning to stop contracting in the UK after IR35 reforms

by • Business, News, Working lives

freelancers

Half (50 percent) of freelancers are planning to stop contracting in the UK after the changes to IR35 come into effect in April – unless they can get contracts unaffected by the changes – according to new research by IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed). Instead, they are planning to seek contracts abroad (24 percent), stop working altogether (12 percent), seek an employed role (17 percent) or retire within the next year (11 percent). More →

Highly educated entrepreneurs rarely want to grow their firms

Highly educated entrepreneurs rarely want to grow their firms

by • Business, News, Working culture

entrepreneursHighly educated solo-entrepreneurs value the autonomy of their work above everything else and as a result do not want to employ people, according to new research from Trinity Business School. The researchers used a survey to interview solo entrepreneurs as they started their business to investigate their hiring plans. They claim that only one third of solo entrepreneurs intend to hire employees later on. More →

Work is the silver lining to the pandemic for employees

Work is the silver lining to the pandemic for employees

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

pandemicThe COVID-19 pandemic has brought anxiety to many, but people are positive about their work, claims a new survey from The Myers-Briggs Company, which looks at how people’s personality type influences their feelings about the pandemic. More →

Freelancers stimulate entrepreneurship levels, claims research

Freelancers stimulate entrepreneurship levels, claims research

by • Business, News

entrepreneurshipFreelancers actively promote entrepreneurship, claims research from Trinity Business School, suggesting that a 10 percent increase in freelancers within the workforce leads to a 1 percent increase in entrepreneurial activity in the economy. More →

Covid-19 is levelling the playing field for disabled workers

Covid-19 is levelling the playing field for disabled workers

by • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

two people talking to illustrate the growing number of disabled people in self-employmentAs many of us cope with yet another lockdown, optimism is easy to misplace but, for disabled workers, this could result in monumental change for future employment. On the month commencing the 25th anniversary of the Disability Discrimination Act and the run-up to International Day of Disabled Persons, could this be the final push for change? As we swing in and out of remote-working, whether you love it or loathe it, one thing is abundantly clear – it can be done. Something that the 2 billion people currently living with disabilities have always known. Life can be accessible anywhere if you put your mind to it. More →

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