Category Archives: Work & careers

Long-term sickness leaving 1.6m UK adults over 50 unable to work

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Campaign charity Rest Less says figures illustrate not only a national health issue but an economic one

More than 1.6 million adults aged 50 and over are unable to work because of long-term sickness amid ballooning NHS waiting lists and an exodus from the British workforce since the pandemic, according to the most detailed analysis yet of official data for this age group.

The number has increased 20%, or 270,000 in three years, according to an analysis of Office for National Statistics figures by Rest Less, a digital community and advocate for over fifties.

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Labour plans to embed career advisers in health services to help people into work

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Exclusive: employment strategy aimed at those ‘written off’ by society like young people with mental health issues, says Jonathan Ashworth

Labour will “put health and wellbeing” at the heart of its employment strategy by embedding career advisers in health services, including addiction clinics, rehab centres and primary care, the party has said.

In an interview with the Guardian, Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow work and pensions secretary, said the strategy would help people who had been “written off” to access work.

Devolving employment support to local authorities to target the best routes into work.

Tailored extra support to work flexibly for those with caring responsibilities or chronic conditions.

Offers of “in principle” decisions for access-to-work funding for disabled people.

Change the work capability assessment regime to allow people to accept a job without fearing they would not be able to return to the benefits they were receiving.

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Zero-hours contracts among over-50s hit highest level recorded

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According to ONS data, there are now nearly 300,000 people aged 50 or over in insecure employment

Zero-hours contracts among the over-50s have reached their highest level since records began, according to new analysis of official government statistics.

There are nearly 300,000 people aged 50 and older with zero-hours contracts, the highest number for this age group since records began in 2013 and almost double the number 10 years ago, from 149,000 in October to December 2013 to 296,000 in July to September 2022.

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UK government looks to lure early retirees back to work, reports say

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People who quit during pandemic may be offered ‘midlife MOT’ as way to address labour shortage

Plans to coax middle-aged retirees back into work to boost the economy are being considered by the government, according to reports.

Older people who have given up work could be offered what is being described as a “midlife MOT” to entice them back into employment, the Times has reported.

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Exodus of more than half a million from workforce ‘puts UK economy at risk’

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Loss of employees since Covid raises fears of weaker growth and higher inflation, says Lords report

An exodus of more than half a million people from the British workforce since the Covid pandemic is putting the economy at risk of weaker growth and persistently higher inflation, a Lords report has warned.

The House of Lords economic affairs committee said the sharp rise in economic inactivity – when working-age adults are neither in employment nor looking for a job – since the onset of the health emergency was posing “serious challenges” to the economy.

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Job discrimination faced by ethnic minorities convinces public about racism

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Study finds exposing inequalities in applications for employment ‘catches racism red-handed’

Researchers believe they may have found the best way to convince the public that racism is a real problem and requires major change: tell them about an Oxford University study exposing discrimination faced by job applicants.

A groundbreaking project exploring how better to boost public support for action against systemic racism tested which messages best move people towards a more anti-racist position.

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Portsmouth University loses discrimination case against Indian lecturer

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Dr Kajal Sharma was only one of 12 senior academics not to be reappointed to her post

A university has been found to have discriminated against an Indian lecturer on the grounds of race after it failed to reappoint her for a job she had been doing for five years, replacing her with a white candidate with no experience of the role.

Dr Kajal Sharma was one of only two senior lecturers at the University of Portsmouth who were not reappointed to their jobs when their contract came to an end, while 11 out of 12 white colleagues were successful, an employment tribunal heard.

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Free preschool childcare for all would boost UK growth, report finds

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Labour-endorsed study finds initiative would save families thousands of pounds, cut benefits spending and raise tax revenues

Free universal preschool childcare and more funding for after-school clubs could increase government revenues and save a family with young children between £620 and £6,175 a year, a joint report endorsed by the Labour party has revealed.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and the charity Save the Children have called for a universal childcare guarantee for all families until the end of primary school to allow more women to get back into work and reduce the attainment gap between rich and poor children in their early years.

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EasyJet looks to over-45s in cabin crew recruitment drive

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Airline launches campaign targeting ‘empty nesters’ or people looking for challenge later in life

The airline easyJet has launched a recruitment drive urging people over the age of 45 to join its cabin crews, as firms devise new strategies for hiring staff in the UK amid a shortage of workers.

The airline said it has seen a 27% increase in crew aged 45 and over in the past four years, including a 30% increase in over-60s in the past year.

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Minority ethnic Britons’ educational success not reflected in pay, study finds

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‘Clear evidence’ of discrimination in terms of salary and careers despite academic progress, IFS study finds

Most minority ethnic groups in the UK have made remarkable progress in educational achievement but “clear evidence” of discrimination remains in their pay and careers, according to a study published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

The IFS report found that most of the largest minority ethnic groups obtain English and maths exam results at least as good or better than those achieved by white British students in England, and are more likely than white teenagers to go on to university.

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Rise in back pain and long-term sickness linked to home working – ONS

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Sharp rise in people leaving labour market in past three years could be related to home working since Covid

Back and neck injuries caused by working from home during the Covid pandemic has been identified by the UK’s official number crunchers as a possible factor contributing to a sharp rise in people leaving the labour market over the past three years.

The Office for National Statistics said there had been a marked increase in disabilities often associated by medical experts with excessive screen use, after the increase in the number of people home working while offices were shut during the pandemic.

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March of the Mummies: thousands to turn out in push for UK childcare reform

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Founder of campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed says parents are being set up to fail

More than 15,000 people are expected to take to the streets across the UK calling for government reforms to a childcare and parental leave structure that critics describe as dangerous and devastating.

Saturday’s March of the Mummies, organised by the campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed, is expected to bring out thousands of parents and children across 11 cities, with the author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the actor Sarah Solemani and the Labour MP Stella Creasy among those expected to attend.

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Starmer ‘should bring in workplace pension for the self-employed’

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Fabian Society also says Labour needs to be radical and introduce better provision for the lowest paid

Sir Keir Starmer should promise that a future Labour government would introduce a new workplace pension for self-employed workers and more generous retirement provision for the low paid, a leading left-of-centre thinktank has said.

Calling for the biggest shake-up of the pensions’ system in two decades, the Fabian Society said Labour needed to copy the radical approach of the Turner Commission two decades ago, which encouraged saving through opt-out schemes.

Increasing the minimum contributions for workplace auto-enrolment pensions to 12% of total earnings from the current 8%. This would be done by phasing in higher contributions from employers over time.

The introduction of new pension credits for carers, who are primarily women, to reduce the “gender pensions gap”

Changes to how people access pensions at retirement so that separate pensions are automatically consolidated into a single fund and then converted into new whole-of-retirement pension plans designed to increase with inflation.

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UK drivers for Bolt ride-hailing app pursue worker benefits claim

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Lawyers acting for more than 1,600 drivers say they have been wrongly classed as self-employed

More than 1,600 UK drivers working for the ride-hailing app Bolt are seeking compensation for missed holiday and minimum wage payments as they argue they have been wrongly classed as self-employed contractors.

Lawyers for the drivers have written to the government-backed workplace conciliation service Acas, in the first stage of lodging the claim against Bolt.

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Kwasi Kwarteng to shrink part-time work benefits to grow labour supply

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New UK chancellor aims to reverse inactivity in labour market, especially among over-50s

Kwasi Kwarteng will tighten benefit rules for part-time workers, requiring them to work longer hours or take steps to increase their earnings.

The new rule will require benefit claimants working up to 15 hours a week to take new steps to increase their earnings or face having their benefits reduced. The current threshold is nine hours, though it was increased this summer to 12 hours, which will come into force next week.

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‘Pace yourself’: lessons for King Charles on working in your 70s

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From failing eyesight and tiredness to dealing with younger colleagues – some of the challenges facing the new king

The biggest challenge for those, like the King, who are working in their 70s is adapting to change, according to David Smith, 73, who, for the past 20 years, has been chief officer of the men’s charity, 15 Square.

“I think a lot of people get into their 70s and say ‘I’ve always done it this way and this is how I’m always going to do it’,” says Smith, who is the same age as Charles. “And that is a recipe for disaster. You have to embrace change.”

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Short breaks can help boost energy at work, study suggests

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Romanian research shows ‘micro-breaks’ of up to 10 minutes may help to reduce fatigue

It may not be long enough to pop to the shops or head out for a run, but taking a work break of less than 10 minutes could still boost wellbeing, research suggests.

The team behind the analysis say “micro-breaks” appear to reduce fatigue and help workers feel more vigorous.

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Labour sets out plan to link minimum wage to cost of living

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Exclusive: Earnings of lowest paid could rise by £832; lower rates for 18- to 22-year-olds to be scrapped

Labour has drawn up plans to put hundreds of pounds into the pockets of the lowest paid by instructing the Low Pay Commission to factor in living costs when it sets the minimum wage.

They also want to scrap the lower pay categories for workers aged between 18 and 22, so they would all be paid at the higher rate.

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Muslims’ high unemployment rate ‘not due to cultural and religious practices’

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Study challenges idea poor outcomes are due to Muslims’ so-called ‘sociocultural attitudes’

Poor outcomes for Muslims in the British labour market cannot be explained by sociocultural attitudes, such as commitment to traditionalism, a study has found.

The research, published in the peer-reviewed Ethnic and Racial Studies journal, confirmed the existence of a “Muslim penalty” in the employment market but rejected previous suggestions that it was due to cultural and religious practices.

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Maya Forstater was discriminated against over gender-critical beliefs, tribunal rules

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Researcher lost job at thinktank after tweeting that transgender women could not change their biological sex

A researcher who lost her job at a thinktank after tweeting that transgender women could not change their biological sex has won her claim that she was unfairly discriminated against because of her gender-critical beliefs.

Maya Forstater suffered direct discrimination when the Centre for Global Development (CGD), where she was a visiting fellow, did not renew her contract or fellowship, an employment tribunal found on Wednesday.

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