News: HRDs excluded from public company boardrooms due to “prejudice”
HR directors hold less than 1% of board positions at UK’s top public companies, with only five of 595 FTSE 50 board directors coming from HR backgrounds. Experts attribute the underrepresentation to prejudice against the HR function, despite its critical role in organizational success.
News: Expert verdicts on the Queen’s Speech Bill by Bill
The Queen’s Speech introduced key HR Bills including the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, which reforms employment tribunals and introduces binding shareholder votes on director pay, and the Pensions Bill, which raises the state pension age to 66 by 2020 and simplifies pension benefits.
News: Up to 33,000 City jobs axed already this year
The City of London has lost up to 33,000 jobs this year, with employment falling to 255,000—the lowest level since 1996. Economic experts predict UK unemployment will continue rising until 2016, particularly in northern regions facing public sector job cuts.
News: Informal training as effective as traditional methods – study
A study by XpertHR finds that informal training methods like mentoring and work-shadowing are as effective as traditional approaches, with 31% of employers reporting improved L&D effectiveness after cutting costs and 47% seeing no decline in results.
News: Budget cuts see public servants improvise to get training
Budget cuts have forced UK public sector workers to rely on colleagues and online research to develop essential skills, with 41% learning new competencies through informal means as external training provision shrinks.
News: Whitehall contractor status crackdown mauled for ‘missing the point’
The UK government plans to crack down on over 2,000 senior civil servants paid as contractors rather than staff, but industry experts argue the crackdown misses the point about legitimate contracting arrangements and tax compliance responsibilities.
News: Temp hiring on the up as employers continue to shed permanent jobs
Temporary hiring surged 33% in early 2012 as UK employers shed permanent positions across financial services, commerce, and the public sector. The North West led growth at 61%, while HR and IT professionals faced particularly strong demand despite the double-dip recession.
News: UK’s long-term unemployment levels could ‘trigger social unrest’
A UN study warns that the UK’s long-term unemployment at a 16-year high could trigger widespread social unrest as jobless individuals become increasingly alienated. The research found that prolonged joblessness leads to demoralisation and anger toward authority, with five developed nations—including the UK, US, Spain, Ireland, and Denmark—identified as at-risk.
Talent Spot: Donna Miller, European HR director at Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Donna Miller, European HR director at Enterprise Rent-A-Car, views her role primarily as sales—selling people into jobs and company initiatives. After studying marketing and working in retail and personnel recruitment, she joined Enterprise and transitioned into HR, learning on the job and developing a management philosophy that encourages employees to take risks and learn from mistakes.
News: Charities and spooks replace financial services on employer wishlist
Financial services firms have dropped out of the top ten graduate employers for the first time, replaced by charities and intelligence agencies. According to The Guardian’s UK 300 poll of 25,000 students, Google topped the list, while organisations like Amnesty International, Oxfam, MI6 and MI5 all surged in popularity, reflecting graduates’ preference for employers with positive social impact.
SMEs refuse staff extra day’s holiday for Diamond Jubilee weekend
Two-thirds of small and medium-sized businesses are refusing to grant employees an extra day’s holiday for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee weekend, instead requiring staff to use annual leave or work as usual, according to a survey of 700 SMEs.
Mental ill-health issues cost employers £30 billion per year
Mental ill-health costs UK employers £30 billion annually in lost productivity, with half from worker absences totaling 91 million days. The Centre for Mental Health reports the remainder stems from presenteeism, when ill employees work below capacity. New guidance from Acas and Workways helps employers support staff and create psychologically supportive workplaces.
Blog: What economic impact is ‘gross national happiness’ likely to have?
A UN conference on happiness and wellbeing concluded that economic growth alone doesn’t guarantee increased national happiness. The report identifies four independent factors—community trust, mental and physical health, quality governance, and rule of law—as equally important drivers of well-being alongside financial wealth.
EC campaign unveiled to promote funded international work placements
The European Commission is launching its ‘We Mean Business’ campaign to encourage employers to offer fully-funded international work placements to young people. The initiative aims to fund 280,000 placements over two years through existing vocational and higher education programs, boosting skills and employability amid high youth unemployment across Europe.
Graduate starting salaries lowest for nearly a decade
Graduate starting salaries are predicted to reach their lowest level in nearly a decade, with median pay frozen at £25,000 as employers take advantage of a buyer’s market and high competition for jobs among graduates.
Does affirmative action in recruitment work?
Research comparing UK and US employment data shows affirmative action has significantly reduced African-American unemployment, while the UK’s lack of equivalent policies correlates with higher joblessness among black workers. Analysis of 2.7 million survey responses reveals greater ethnic inequality persists in Britain than America across gender lines.
Employers shun temps in wake of Agency Worker Regs
Six months after the Agency Worker Regulations took effect in October 2011, employers are shifting hiring practices by converting temps to permanent roles, using excluded worker categories, or adopting Swedish Derogation contracts to avoid compliance costs.
Chancellor ‘shocked’ by millionaires’ tax avoidance schemes
Chancellor George Osborne has expressed shock at discovering that some of the UK’s wealthiest individuals legally pay virtually no income tax through avoidance schemes. HMRC’s confidential study found top earners exploiting loopholes like business losses and charitable donations to reduce their effective tax rate to around 10%, prompting the chancellor to propose a minimum “tycoon tax” rate.
Do UK workers get too many bank holidays?
UK bank holidays cost the economy billions annually, with the Centre for Economics and Business Research estimating £19 billion across all eight breaks. However, economists debate whether reducing them is worthwhile, noting that fewer working hours than international peers and social factors complicate the purely economic argument.
Experts welcome two-year freeze on skilled migrant cap
The UK government will freeze the skilled migrant cap at 20,700 annually until April 2014, maintaining current limits rather than reducing them. Experts welcomed the decision as providing employers with greater certainty and access to specialist talent needed for business recovery, though skill requirements have been tightened.
