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16th May 2022
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THE HOT STORY
Ministers urged to act over ‘broken’ sick pay system
Analysis shows that Britain has among the fewest working days lost to illness in the developed world. Sickness absence rose last year as the economy reopened, from a record low in 2020. However, despite rising from 3.6 to 4.6 days a year, the average number of days lost to sickness has been falling steadily – from seven a year in the mid-1990s. Almost 36m fewer working days were lost in 2021 compared with 1995, a decline of a fifth to 149.3m. A survey of 6,000 workers by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the trade body for HR professionals, found that over the past three months, almost half of employees went to work despite not feeling well enough to fulfil their duties. The CIPD says fixing sick pay should be a top priority for workers and employers, with policy adviser Rachel Suff saying the absence figures “mask the true picture for the health of the working-age population.” Research by the TUC suggests that around 19% of the average UK salary is covered by sick pay. The £99.35 a week statutory sick pay (SSP) paid by employers for up to 28 weeks is one of the lowest rates in the OECD group of economies. Unions and business groups say SSP needs to be brought closer to the real living wage of £9.90 an hour and £11.05 in London – the equivalent of £361.35 and £403.33 for an average working week. Kate Bell, head of economics and rights at the TUC, says: “It’s reckless and counterproductive for ministers not to have fixed our broken sick pay system.”
THE 'GREAT RE-EVALUATION'
The bad news? Some 46% of employees in Europe’s small and medium-sized companies plan to look for a new job in the next 12 months. That number alone shows a very clear change in the needs and opportunities at hand for top talent.

Now, onto the good news: we delved into why more and more employees are thinking about quitting their jobs. Teaming up with the market research institute Opinium, Personio conducted a pan-European study to dig deeper. In the process, we discovered some eye-opening insights – alongside a host of possible solutions and strategies for organisations.

Get the insights you need – read the HR study in full.

 
REMOTE WORKING
PM wants staff to return to offices
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged people to return to the office, saying logging on from remote locations does not work. He says full workplaces will lift productivity and revive town and city centres. Arguing that staff are “more productive, more energetic, more full of ideas” when surrounded by colleagues, Mr Johnson said: “I believe in the workplace environment.” In an interview with the Mail, he insisted: “We need to get back into the habit of getting into the office.” The PM said: "My experience of working from home is you spend an awful lot of time making another cup of coffee and then, you know, getting up, walking very slowly to the fridge, hacking off a small piece of cheese, then walking very slowly back to your laptop and then forgetting what it was you're doing."
Britain leads way in Europe on switch to homeworking
Research shows Britons believe homeworking has increased their efficiency more than people in other European countries, and UK office occupancy is unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels.
REMUNERATION
Employers reluctant to increase pay
A quarterly survey of 2,000 employers by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) shows that just 27% of companies across all sectors are willing to increase pay to retain or attract labour in Q2. This comes despite 45% saying they were struggling to fill vacancies and two thirds saying they expect hiring shortages to persist for the next six months. The poll suggests that the average pay increase in the second quarter will be 3%. While this is the highest level since the report began in 2013, it falls below average inflation of 9.1% in Q2, according to the Bank of England. With firms set to offer staff increased incentives rather than large pay rises, CIPD labour market economist Jonathan Boys said: “Employers are running out of steam on their ability to increase pay any further, so they’re switching their focus to retention and keeping their existing workforce happy.”
LEGAL
MPs want dodgy bosses to go to jail
A group of MPs including Kevin Hollinrake and Dame Margaret Hodge have said bankers and accountants should be held responsible for failings in their checks and balances and should go to jail if they fail to prevent economic crime. Dame Margaret said: “It is tragic that it has taken the war in Ukraine to bring the dirty money crisis to a head. We must act in a determined and effective way.” The lawmakers have published a manifesto on economic crime urging the government to step up the fight against fraud and money laundering. The group praised the government for pushing ahead with its Economic Crime Bill but urged ministers to strengthen it in the four key areas of transparency, enforcement, accountability and regulation.
WORKFORCE
Riders at Deliveroo unionise with GMB
Over 90,000 self-employed riders at Deliveroo have unionised with the GMB union, giving them rights to collective bargaining on pay and consultation rights on benefits and other issues, including riders’ health, safety and wellbeing. Will Shu, Deliveroo founder and CEO, said he was delighted to partner with the GMB in a “first-of-its-kind voluntary agreement.” However, the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain, which has lobbied for Deliveroo riders to be recognised as employed, criticised the move. The union said Deliveroo had made a “backroom deal” with the GMB, which “presents no threat to their exploitative business practices.” 
BA hit by pilot rebellion over pay cuts
Nearly two-thirds of British Airways pilots are opposed to a mechanism that forces them to accept cuts to their salaries to pay for colleagues left out of work due to the pandemic. A deal struck in July 2020 saw pilots agree to temporary pay cuts of 20%, falling to 8% over the following two years. But BA has now attempted to schedule the cuts over the longer term, ending in 2028. The proposals were agreed by pilots' union Balpa but rejected by 64.9% of the union’s members in a consultative ballot. Pilots were said to be irked by the plan because BA has told investors that it expects to return to profitability in the second quarter of 2022.
Workers warned over pausing pension contributions
Workers who pause their pension contributions during the cost of living crisis risk losing out on thousands of pounds in later life, Aegon has warned. Analysis by Aegon shows that skipping pension contributions for one year could mean savers miss out on £4,600. If savers opt out for two years, they could lose £9,100, and for three years, the cost could be £13,600. Aegon says the figures are based on a 25-year-old on an average salary of £29,000, and making pension contributions of £75 a month. 
HIRING
EasyJet offers cabin crew £1,000 bonus
EasyJet is offering cabin crew a £1,000 bonus as the carrier looks to recruit and retain staff. The bonus will be available for all new and existing crew and will be handed out in October as a reward for efforts during the busy summer period. It matches British Airways' £1,000 golden handshake for trained staff who join from rival carriers but goes further as it will also be awarded to current employees. The airline has recently launched a major recruitment drive and is understood to have increased its hiring target from 1,500 to 1,700. Both EasyJet and British Airways have recently cancelled large numbers of flights as a result of staff shortages.
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
Law firm launches social mobility scholarship scheme
International firm Ropes & Gray has launched a social mobility scholarship programme for first-year university students from "diverse and under-served low socioeconomic backgrounds." The programme aims to provide students with the chance to learn about legal and compliance careers and will offer a dozen students a two-week paid work experience scheme this summer at Ropes & Gray and financial news service Bloomberg, which is supporting the initiative.
Male managers in UK block gender balance efforts, research suggests
Male managers are blocking efforts to improve the gender balance at UK companies, according to Chartered Management Institute research that raises fresh concerns about entrenched sexist views in the workplace.
HEALTH & SAFETY
PwC to offer summer hours after trial delivered a wellbeing boost
PwC is reintroducing summer working hours first trialled last year. Kevin Ellis, chairman at PwC UK, said the decision came after last year's pilot scheme, in which "positive impact on wellbeing surpassed expectations." A survey of 6,000 PwC staff found that more than 90% thought summer working hours were a good idea and 73% said it positively impacted their wellbeing. Joe Ryle, campaign director for the 4 Day Week campaign, has welcomed a move away from the eight-hours-a-day, five-days-a-week model, saying: “I think we are seeing companies having to change the way they work to retain staff and attract new talent. Workers feel they deserve a far better work-life balance and are looking for better options."
CULTURE
Law Society calls for ‘change of culture' to fix mental health crisis
The Law Society and charity LawCare have called on the legal profession to review its working culture amid mounting evidence of high levels of stress and burnout. New figures indicate 69% of lawyers have experienced poor mental health in the past year. The research found younger lawyers, aged between 26 and 39, had the longest working hours and that they were also most likely to have experienced burnout. Women working in the legal sector were also more likely to have experienced burnout than their male colleagues. Law Society president I. Stephanie Boyce said that while the “onus is often on the individual to fix their mental ill health,” everyone in the legal sector has a “collective responsibility” to ensure working conditions are not contributing to a mental health crisis.
Law firm wants to be well-rounded
Browne Jacobson has partnered with the O Shaped Lawyer to become the first law firm to join the soft skills movement. The initiative, founded in 2019 by former Network Rail GC Dan Kayne, is based on a framework of five ‘O competencies' – optimism, opportunism, originality, openness and ownership – representing the mindset of a well-rounded lawyer. Browne Jacobson says it will embed O Shaped's purpose and vision into its own culture as well as support O Shaped events, including knowledge and best practice sharing, workshops and toolkit development for clients.
INTERNATIONAL
Goldman Sachs boosts hiring team in diversity push
Goldman Sachs has doubled its diversity recruiting team to help meet its goals to add more women, Black and Latino people to its workforce. Chief Diversity Officer Megan Hogan said the team’s budget had been increased by $10m to fund the expansion. "It made a lot of sense to expand the team to include people who could reach a more experienced professional audience in terms of years of tenure and have more in depth conversations with them about career paths to the firm," said Hogan. The bank says it wants to have 7% of its employees with the title vice president to be Black and 9% to be Latino in the Americas, while it plans to have women accounting for 40% globally by 2025.
 


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