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20th May 2022
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THE HOT STORY
Banks ordered to pull staff out of the City
The European Central Bank (ECB) has told eight unnamed banks to shift staff out of London, saying it has identified 56 groups of traders who should be doing their jobs from within the EU following an investigation into whether the institutions are seeking to dodge post-Brexit rules. An ECB exercise known as “desk mapping” found that the banks, which all have headquarters outside the EU, haven’t boosted sufficient local capabilities to manage their business in the region, people familiar with the process said, adding that part of the reason for the staff shortfall is a reluctance among senior executives to move from London to cities including Dublin, Frankfurt and Paris. The ECB’s review included US lenders such as Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, and also Barclays, HSBC and UBS, the people said. It is noted that the number of professionals leaving the City post-Brexit has been much smaller than initially predicted. EY estimates that around 7,000 roles have moved since 2016, far fewer than the 200,000 job losses that were forecast before the Brexit vote. 
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.

 
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
The executive pay system isn’t working, says Church
The Church of England’s pension board has warned that the system of executive pay is “broken.” Adam Matthews, the Church’s chief responsible investment officer, has raised concerns over “excessive pay” at large companies in a post on LinkedIn, saying there is a “need to recognise that fundamentally the executive pay system we have isn’t working.” He said that this is “particularly egregious” at a time when staff at many companies will be struggling with the growing costs of living. Mr Matthews also pointed to “major increases in executive pay in consumer-facing companies such as Next where the workforce are not accredited as being on a living wage.” Mr Matthews said he would be inviting chairs of boards and remuneration committees, and meeting with other fund managers, to discuss reforms. Despite a number of firms coming in for criticism over executive pay, Mr Matthews said there was rarely widespread backlash from investors, writing: “There are occasional rebellions of shareholders, but then attention diverts and we all waste our time trying to decipher ever complicated justifications for excessive pay.”
REMOTE WORKING
Workers reluctant to give up home working despite mental health concerns
A survey of 6,000 professionals from Robert Walters has found 87% of people are reluctant to give up the option to work from home. A third said that they want to maintain homeworking for at least one day of the week. However, 30% of respondents claimed long-term working from home has had a negative impact on their mental health. These respondents pointed to a lack of physical interaction with the team (69%), inability to separate home and work life (59%), and distractions at home (47%) as the primary reasons.
WORKFORCE
A bad commute can set the tone for the day
New research quantifies the cost of commuting on performance. The data show that a difficult morning commute precipitates ill-effects felt down the line throughout the day. “Commuting, especially if it’s not well-planned and predictable, raises stress levels,” said study co-author Pino Audia, a professor of management and organisations at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business. The researchers meanwhile found that walking or cycling to work could make a worker more productive.
HIRING
Big Four look to Indian workforce
City AM reports that the Big Four appear to have been focusing on India for recruitment since the start of the year. Research from analytics firm GlobalData shows that EY had the highest job postings for India during the first quarter, followed by Deloitte, PwC, and KPMG, respectively. The paper says the number of big data and cloud roles the firms are recruiting for stands out, and notes that they are also hiring for sustainability-related roles.
Irish employers set for record hiring spree
Ireland will see record-breaking hiring activity in Q3, according to an employment outlook survey by ManpowerGroup. The overall employment outlook in the Irish labour market is the strongest in Europe, with 42% of employers intending to hire between July and the end of September. This represents a 10-point rise on Q2 and a 24-point year-on-year jump. However, more than 79% of employers in Ireland are having difficulties filling vacancies, up seven points on Q2.
TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT
Call to expand skills minister remit
The education and skills think tank EDSK says the government should create a new minister for skills and youth employment role that is shared between the Departments for Education and Work and Pensions to help tackle the crisis around young people who are ‘not in education, employment or training’ (NEETs). “After two decades of failing to make any notable progress in reducing the number of young people who become NEET after leaving school or college, it is time for government to look again at why thousands of students are still leaving our education system every year with poor academic results and low self-esteem,” said Tom Richmond, director of EDSK. The think tank’s ‘Finding a NEET solution’ report observed that at the end of 2021 there were over 700,000 16 to 24-year-olds – equal to one in ten young people - classified as NEET in England. “Worse still, despite endless initiatives and interventions from successive governments, the proportion of young people who are NEET after leaving school or college stands at 12.6 per cent – just 0.4 per cent lower than in 2016, and only 0.7 per cent lower than two decades earlier,” the report said.  The think tank made 14 recommendations to the government to tackle the issue, including the creation of new roles and responsibilities in government.
INTERNATIONAL
French court upholds charge against Lafarge
An appeals court in France has confirmed a charge of complicity in crimes against humanity against French cement group Lafarge - now part of the Swiss building materials conglomerate Holcim - over alleged payoffs to ISIL (ISIS) and other armed groups during the war in Syria. The court’s decision paves the way for an eventual trial, and rights activists hope the case will serve as a precedent for the prosecution of multinational companies accused of ignoring “terrorist” operations in return for continuing to operate in conflict zones. The appeals court sided with prosecutors who said Lafarge had “financed, via its subsidiaries, Islamic State [ISIL] operations with several millions of euros in full awareness of its activities.”
Wells Fargo accused of faking interviews
Former Wells Fargo wealth management executive Joe Bruno has accused the US bank of scheduling fake interviews with black and female candidates for roles that were already filled in order to boost its diversity statistics. Mr Bruno claims he was fired after he blew the whistle to his bosses about the alleged fake interviews. He is one of seven current and former Wells Fargo employees who claim their bosses in the bank's wealth management unit instructed them to interview diverse candidates for positions that had already been filled. “To the extent that individual employees are engaging in the behaviour as described by The New York Times, we do not tolerate it,” the bank’s spokesperson, Raschelle Burton, said.
Coles announces paid gender transition leave
Trans and gender-diverse staff at Australian retailer Coles will be entitled to up to 10 days of paid “gender affirmation” leave, the supermarket group has announced, a policy it says is an important step to promoting LGBTQI+ inclusion. “We know that we have at least 900 team members who identify as transgender or gender diverse," said David Brewster, Coles' legal and safety chief. “We need to have proper policy and education in this area so there is clear guidance around taking leave for this important transition in their life." In a statement, Coles said its trans staff were also able to use the toilets of their chosen gender. “You'll be supported as the gender with which you identify, wear the clothes or uniform of your affirmed gender, use the toilets and change rooms of your affirmed gender and be referred to by the name of your affirmed gender too.” 
Saudi megacity NEOM to stay within the law
Saudi Arabia has dismissed suggestions that the kingdom’s planned futuristic megacity - known as NEOM - will abide by different rules and function like a “country within a country.” Andrew McEvoy, head of NEOM's tourism sector, had told UAE's The National newspaper: “NEOM will be treated as a country within a country, with its own economic zone and its own authority. We need to make sure its laws and regulations match the ambitions of those we are trying to attract to work and live here.” Mr McEvoy said that residents of the $500bn Red Sea project would be known as “Neomians” rather than Saudis and that alcohol, which is banned in Saudi Arabia, could potentially be sold there. But the company that is developing NEOM has said the site will be “absolutely subject to the sovereignty and systems of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” according to a report by the official Saudi Press Agency, which observed that NEOM will be “subject to all rules that are applied to any part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in terms of issues related to security, defence and border protection,” although it  “will enjoy some special regulations related to investment.” A senior Saudi official said last year that NEOM would be home to its first businesses and residents by 2025.
OTHER
Co-op launches 'walking deliveries' in rural areas
The Co-op is set to launch "walking deliveries" across 200 stores in smaller towns and rural villages in the UK not served by rapid delivery firms, following successful trials in Cornwall. The grocer said shoppers who live within 15 minutes' walking distance from the participating stores will order online for delivery within two hours. The Co-op claims to be the first modern supermarket to introduce deliveries on foot, adding that it will launch a pilot scheme for autonomous delivery robots in Cambridge, in addition to Milton Keynes. 
 


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