Analysis: Private sector fails to offset public sector jobs cull as unemployment soars

Unemployment has experienced the largest quarterly hike since August 2009, driven by a faster than expected public sector jobs cull that a slowing private sector is failing to offset. According to official labour market figures published by the Office for National Statistics, unemployment stood at 7.9% or 2.51 million for the three months to July, […]

Cap is not damaging economy, says immigration advisor

Although there is “no evidence” that the immigration cap is damaging the UK economy, it is creating an employment “dilemma” in the public sector, the government’s chief advisor has warned. Professor David Metcalf, who chairs the Migration Advisory Committee, pointed to the fact that, although the cap on skilled migrants from outside of the European […]

Skills shortages and unemployment to remain endemic, warns study

The UK’s education system is not fit to meet the changing needs of industry and, as a result, skills shortages and unemployment seem set to remain endemic issues for UK Plc into the foreseeable future. This is the stark warning of a joint study between the Daily Telegraph and think tank The Work Foundation, which […]

Engineering suffers from lack of jobs not skills, says study

Claims that there is a shortage of graduates with the engineering skills required to drive economic growth may be overstated, according to research from Birmingham University. Researchers at the institution say that fewer than half of graduates who leave university with a degree in engineering are actually still working in the field six months later. […]

“Millions” of public servants to strike in November, warns union

Leaders of the civil servants’ union have agreed to hold a second strike over public sector pensions in November as the TUC warned that it was “prepared and ready” to coordinate national industrial action if government talks failed. Officials said that as many as 10 unions could support the proposed walk-out which, according to Mark […]

Outsourcing and shared services will get bobbies back on beat, claims report

A programme of shared services and outsourcing could help the British Police save millions of pounds by moving officers out of back offices and into frontline roles, according to a provocative report. The Home Office should provide incentives for police forces to move to outsourcing, according to the study by the Policy Exchange entitled ‘The […]

Does performance-related pay provide value for money?

While the average new hire’s salary is 3% down on 18 months ago, pay packages for FTSE 350 bosses have soared 700% since 2002 – despite company share prices spectacularly failing to correspond. A report by The High Pay Commission revealed that most of the jump in directors’ renumeration came in the form of annual […]

First 2,000 armed forces personnel are axed

Nearly 2,000 armed forces personnel out of a projected 22,000 will be told that they face redundancy today following the coalition government’s controversial Strategic Defence Review. The army plans to release 920 soldiers, of which 660 will be voluntary departures and the rest compulsory. More than half of the 260 being forced out are Gurkhas, […]

Going for gold – the role of HR in Olympic tenders

With less than a year to go until the Olympics, much is being written about the expected impact on the workforce, including an increase in sickness absence and requests for flexible working. But another much less discussed issue is the stringent tender process that companies are having to go through to be considered ‘fit to […]

Blog: Is more home-working the Olympics’ legacy for employers?

‘Olympic legacy’ is a phrase mentioned on a daily basis at present. But what effect will London 2012 have on businesses in the capital? For starters, a meltdown of public transport according to Olympic Games organisers and Transport for London. There’ll be three million more journeys a day including one million more Tube passengers during […]

Birmingham Council to hire out staff using workforce planning tool

Birmingham City Council plans to commercially hire out workers to other local authorities with the help of a newly introduced ‘Talent Net’ workforce planning framework. The framework will also be employed to ensure that the local authority’s skills needs are met in the face of thousands of job cuts by enabling it to identify critical […]

Modern Workplaces consultation: the view from payroll

Back in May, the government launched a four part consultation on Modern Workplaces to explore the pros and cons of four key regulatory proposals. These proposals comprised: the introduction of a system of flexible parental leave a right for all employees to request flexible working changes to the Working Time Regulations affecting the interaction of […]

Goldman Sachs takes away bankers’ two-year old pay rise

Goldman Sachs is taking the unusual step of cutting the salaries of hundreds of its London bankers by invoking a contractual clause to phase out former pay increases by the end of the year. The move follows a previous announcement by the New York-based investment bank’s that it plans to cut about 1,000 staff across […]

Digital and social media specialists’ wages soar 70% in three years

Senior digital and social media specialists have seen an explosion in pay over the last three years as companies increasingly divert marketing budgets to online campaigns. Wages have soared by almost 70% over the last three years, according to recruitment company, ReThink Recruitment. ‘Head of Search’ jobs, responsible for managing a company’s Search Engine Optimisation […]

Coulson paid by NotW while working for Prime Minister

Allegations that former News of the World editor Andy Coulson received two years’ contractual pay from News International while working as the Prime Minister’s communications chief have led to calls for a probe of Conservative election funding. Coulson resigned from the editorship of News of the World in 2007 after the Sunday tabloid’s royal correspondent […]

Cycling staff saved employers £128 million last year

 The cycling industry is worth £2.9 billion a year to the UK economy and employs about 23,000 workers, a report by the London School of Economics has found. The figure includes the contribution made by bicycle manufacturing, retail and cycle-related employment, which contributed more than £600 million to the economy in wages and taxes last […]

Blog: Got sick while on holiday?

After months of hard work you finally booked a few days off to enjoy the gorgeous (?) British summer weather. But, a day before taking your long awaited break you got really ill and had to spend all of your holiday in bed. Ouch! The good news is that you are entitled to take sickness […]

School leavers lack necessary workplace skills

Whether school leavers obtain the A-Level results they hope for today or not, almost half of employers do not believe that they have the necessary skills to work in a business environment. A survey of 2,000 micro-companies undertaken by the British Chambers of Commerce revealed that 47% would be ‘fairly’ or ‘very nervous’ of hiring […]

Part-time worker numbers hit record high

A lack of full-time jobs saw the number of people working part-time hit a record high as unemployment levels took an unexpected leap last quarter. According to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics, the number of people out of work rose to a peak not seen since February 2010. Unemployment jumped by […]

Second wave of enterprise zones to create 30,000 high-tech jobs

The Coalition Government has announced its second wave of enterprise zones, which are intended to kick-start the UK’s sluggish economy and create 30,000 jobs in high-tech industries. The first 10 zones located in English cities such as Manchester, Birmingham and Newcastle were named in the spring, but a further 11 have now been added to […]