NASUWT says full entitlement should be increased to 26 weeks and paternity pay also improved
Full maternity pay for teachers across the UK should be increased to 26 weeks to help stem the exodus of women in their 30s from classrooms, a union leader has said.
Matt Wrack, the general secretary of the NASUWT teachers’ union, said it was a “national scandal” that so many teachers who quit said inadequate maternity support was one of the reasons.
Continue reading...From steel to screen, podcasts to defence, Sheffield’s economy is diversifying amid a wave of new investment
It has seen its fair share of Hollywood parties – albeit with a twist. Instead of champagne and caviar it is usually Guinness and scampi fries. Red carpet? There aren’t even cushions on the seats.
The tiny Sheffield pub, Fagan’s, has raised more than a few toasts in the last year as Adolescence, the Netflix hit made by two of its owners, scooped multiple awards at the Emmys and Golden Globes and became one of the world’s most-watched dramas.
Continue reading...Figure above 40% every week since early January as report says situation ‘no longer in freefall nor in recovery’
Workers are heading back to offices across the UK in droves, pushing office occupancy to the highest since before the Covid-19 pandemic, as an expert described the numbers as “no longer in freefall nor in recovery mode but settling”.
Investment banks such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chasehave led the push with strict return-to-office mandates despite anger among many employees about being ordered back to the office five days a week. Companies in other sectors have also increased days in the office but many businesses, including law and accounting firms, still allow staff to work remotely two days a week.
Continue reading...Hourly rate to increase in April by 95p to £14.80 in London and by 85p to £13.45 for the rest of the country
Almost half a million workers are to receive a pay boost after it was announced that the real living wage paid voluntarily by 16,000 UK companies will rise to £13.45 an hour in April.
Distinct from the national living wage, which is a statutory minimum, the real living wage is calculated each year based on the cost of essentials, and is paid by more than half of the companies in the FTSE 100.
Continue reading...IPPR report warns of ‘productivity crisis’ and says many firms out of step with gen Z shift away from alcohol
One in three UK workers have called in sick after drinking at a work event or after hours with colleagues, research has found.
Many staff feel under pressure to drink in work-related settings against their wishes, despite a big shift among younger adults away from consuming as much alcohol as their predecessors.
32% of workers had called in sick the next day after drinking at a work event or with workmates in the last year.
41% of 18- to 24-year-olds had been too hungover to work, and 47% of 25- to 34-year-olds.
22% of staff in education and 24% in health and social care had cried off work the next day after drinking at or after work in the past six months, and a fifth in both sectors had turned up late the next day.
28% think drinking at work events excludes non-drinkers or creates cliques.
Continue reading...Recruitment report identifies sharp rise in vacancies for warehouse staff and cleaners but large fall in graduate opportunities
Graduates fresh from university will find it difficult to find a job after a 35% drop in hiring by employers over the last year, according to analysis by a leading recruitment data provider.
Hiring freezes at many employers have taken the biggest toll on graduates and meant there is fierce competition for the few jobs left for younger workers.
Continue reading...Recruitment report identifies sharp rise in vacancies for warehouse staff and cleaners but large fall in graduate opportunities
Graduates fresh from university will find it difficult to find a job after a 35% drop in hiring by employers over the last year, according to analysis by a leading recruitment data provider.
Hiring freezes at many employers have taken the biggest toll on graduates and meant there is fierce competition for the few jobs left for younger workers.
Continue reading...Official agency’s figures indicate those who took journalism or marketing far more likely to regret their decision
The UK’s most satisfied graduates are those who studied healthcare subjects, while those who opted for journalism or marketing are far more likely to regret their choices, according to data obtained by the Guardian.
Vets, midwives and paramedics were the happiest with their degrees after entering the workforce, alongside those who studied vocational subjects such as architecture, computer science and construction, and were most likely to say they would study the same course if they were making their university choices again.
Continue reading...Findings suggest since 2004 ONS failed to properly account for fact it received more data from larger employers
The UK’s gender pay gap has been underestimated for more than 20 years, according to research that could raise fresh questions about the quality of data used to inform key pay decisions across the UK.
The findings, released in the British Journal of Industrial Relations on Monday, suggest that, since 2004, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) had failed to properly account for the fact that it received more data from larger employers, when it reported its annual survey of hours and earnings (Ashe).
Continue reading...Workers in their 20s and 30s that may annoy by socialising found not to be breaking workplace equality rules
Older employees who are disturbed by younger, more boisterous colleagues in the workplace are not victims of age harassment, an employment tribunal has ruled.
Employees in their 20s and 30s may annoy more mature co-workers by chatting, socialising and looking at their phones but they are not breaking workplace equality rules, the tribunal said.
Continue reading...Big Motoring World founder Peter Waddell says Freshstream made him forfeit sum as it saw him as a nuisance
A private equity company accused of ousting a multimillionaire used car salesman from his own business has offered to pay €1.1m (£950,000) to settle a separate case with him.
Peter Waddell filed his first high court claim against Freshstream last year, alleging that the investment firm used an independent investigation into contested sexist, racist and abusive comments “as a means of securing [his] exclusion” from his used car empire, Big Motoring World. Freshstream had acquired a one-third share in Big during 2022.
Continue reading...Revived body will examine future of the retirement system as analysis shows pensioner income is set to fall
The government is resurrecting the Pensions Commission, amid fears that a retirement crisis could mean today’s workers will be poorer in retirement than the current crop of pensioners.
The move by ministers to revive the landmark commission, established by Tony Blair’s government in 2002, comes as analysis shows that the income of pensioners is set to fall in the coming decades.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Analysis shows covering part of salaries from first day off can boost productivity and employee retention
Changes to sick pay to cover part of workers’ salaries from the first day off could end up benefiting British businesses by as much as £2bn, according to analysis commissioned by the UK’s main union body.
The Trades Union Congress (TUC), which is pushing for the government to stick with its plans for workers’ rights, said modelling showed businesses would gain benefits of £2.4bn thanks to productivity boosts, while facing direct costs of £425m to pay for extra sick days.
Continue reading...Peter Kyle calls on employees and businesses to act now to get to grips with technology amid forecasts of job losses
Workers in the UK should turn their trepidation over AI into “exhilaration” by giving it a try or they risk being left behind by those who have, the technology secretary has said.
Peter Kyle called on employees and businesses to “act now” on getting to grips with the tech, with the generational gap in usage needing only two and a half hours of training to bridge.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Staff in Britain now average 1.8 days a week of remote working, above global average of 1.3 days
UK workers continue to work from home more than nearly any of their global counterparts more than five years after the pandemic first disrupted traditional office life, a study has found.
UK employees now average 1.8 days a week of remote working, above the international average of 1.3 days, according to the Global Survey of Working Arrangements (G-SWA), a worldwide poll of more than 16,000 full-time, university-educated workers across Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa that began in July 2021.
Continue reading...Yvette Cooper to announce proposals to reduce net migration as government reacts to growing pressure from Reform UK
Visas for skilled overseas workers will be time-limited for those not taking a graduate-level job, the Home Office has announced.
The measure comes as part of a preview of wider plans being unveiled this week that are designed to reduce net migration to the UK.
Continue reading...Growing numbers of older people are creating enterprises in everything from baking to biodiversity – but does the freedom make up for the graft?
Kari Johnston felt ready to retire after 45 years in nursing when, at 63 years old, she decided to launch her own business – a professional decluttering and organising service.
She had read about decluttering and, fascinated, quickly created a website and advertised. Her first clients were friends. Three-and-a-half years later, Johnston, from St Monans in Fife, is now fully retired from nursing, and feels delighted with the success of her new venture.
Continue reading...Three claimants allege Mumbai-based consultancy firm discriminated against them during restructuring
A UK division of the Indian conglomerate Tata “deliberately orchestrated” a redundancy programme in a way that unfairly targeted older, non-Indian nationals, an employment tribunal has heard.
Three claimants allege the Mumbai-based Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which is valued at almost £110bn on the BSE stock exchange in Mumbai, discriminated against them on grounds of age and nationality during a restructuring that began in mid-2023.
Continue reading...Chancellor says autumn budget enabled £25bn of extra investment into NHS and shorter waiting lists
Rachel Reeves has defended the £40bn in tax increases in autumn’s budget as businesses brace for their impact, saying NHS waiting lists would now be higher if she had not taken action.
Employers are set for a £25bn increase in national insurance contributions (NICs), which comes into force on 6 April, at the same time as consumers are being hit by a slew of increases in bills for everything from utilities to car tax.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Most only take a week’s leave, and paternity pay for back-office staff in Met is nearly three times higher
Police officers have described being ostracised for taking paternity leave, as it is revealed that back-office staff in the Metropolitan police are entitled to proportionately nearly three times as much paternity pay as frontline fathers.
A freedom of information request has revealed that most serving police officers in England and Wales only take one week of paternity leave, with some describing being on “blue lights” duty and carrying Tasers a week after the birth of their babies.
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