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UK Edition
31st July 2024
 
THE HOT STORY
Cost of staff sickness grew to £103bn in 2023
The hidden cost of rising workplace sickness in the UK has increased to over £100bn a year, and there has been a significant loss of productivity due to presenteeism, according to a report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). The cost of staff sickness grew to £103bn in 2023. The annual bill was £73bn in 2018. Most of the increase (£25bn) was attributed to lower productivity. Employees now lose an average of 44 days of productivity due to working through sickness, up from 35 days in 2018. The report highlights the negative impact of presenteeism on productivity and calls for a change in approach to protect workers and boost profits. Dr Jamie O'Halloran, a senior research fellow at the IPPR, said: "Too often, UK workers are being pressured to work through sickness when that's not appropriate - harming their wellbeing and reducing productivity." He added: "This can be because of a bad workplace culture, poor management, financial insecurity, or just weak understanding of long-term conditions among UK employers."
REMOTE WORKING
Spain is the best country for remote workers, new report says
A new digital nomad report from global advisory firm Global Citizen Solutions which reviewed relocation programs from 65 countries around the world ranks Spain first among the best countries for remote work. Spain’s top ranking can be attributed to a new start-up law which aims to boost the country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, zero taxation on foreign earned income, affordability, availability of high speed internet, and an environment ideal for technology and innovation. The Netherlands and Norway are in second and third place on near-equal scores. Nine of the top 10 countries are in Europe. The only non-European country to make  the top 10 is Canada, at No. 8. “The most notable aspect of the report is the dominance of European countries,” observed Patricia Casaburi, chief executive officer at Global Citizen Solutions. “Additionally, it's striking that 91% of the 65 active digital nomad programs were launched after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrating a rapid response to the shift towards remote work.” 
HIRING
Review to assess dependence on overseas employees
Computing and engineering firms have relied on significant numbers of foreign workers for at least a decade, according to the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper. Ms Cooper, who has announced a review by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to assess the dependence of certain sectors on overseas employees, argues that there has been a failure to teach British workers the necessary skills. The MAC will specifically examine the IT and engineering sectors, which have consistently been included on shortage occupation lists and have relied on international recruitment. The review will also consider curbs on overseas students, family and care workers bringing in family members, as well as raising the salary threshold for skilled worker visas. The minimum salary to sponsor someone on a family visa will also be reviewed. Official data shows that net migration has tripled in the past five years, reaching 685,000 in 2020. 
HEALTH & WELLBEING
Excessive overtime deters would-be auditors
The latest audit quality inspection report by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) suggests that the amount of overtime worked by auditors is a significant barrier to entry to the profession, while a lack of a reasonable work/life balance remains the principal reason why people leave the industry. The FRC found that there were “significant” variations in the definition of excessive overtime between firms, from a few additional hours to almost double the normal working week. The report suggests that many auditors feel “under unreasonable pressure and do not have sufficient time to undertake quality audits.”
TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT
More people question value of university degree
Research by King's College London's Policy Institute has found that the public are increasingly sceptical that a university education is worth the investment of time and money. The research found that 31% of people currently believe a university education is not worth it, up from just 18% in 2018. Three-quarters of people would prefer to see increased opportunities for apprenticeships rather than increased access to university, while 48% of parents of children aged 11-17 said they would prefer their child to study for an apprenticeship rather than a degree. Prof. Bobby Duffy said that with "clear tensions" around value for money, the findings illustrate "how limited the government's options could be" around raising fees to support struggling universities.
New government scraps plan to replace A-levels
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has confirmed that plans announced by then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to scrap A-levels in favour of a new "Advanced British Standard" have been scrapped. The proposed new system would have seen pupils study five subjects - three 'major' subjects and two 'minor' subjects - with all children studying English and maths in some form up to 18. Reeves said that while the policy "was supposed to be the former Prime Minister's legacy . . . it turns out he didn't put aside a single penny to pay for it". "So", she said, "we will not go ahead with that policy because if we cannot afford it, we cannot do it." NAHT general secretary Paul Whiteman welcomed the decision to scrap what he described as "an expensive repackaging of the current A-levels and T-levels."
CORPORATE
Directors sanctioned over share scam
Ten listed company directors, deal advisers and senior lawyers have been branded dishonest and deceitful in a stock market scandal dating back to 2009 that has only now been disclosed. The Takeover Panel says the scandal involved "deceit and wrongdoing" through "a web of sham transactions and false trails stretching across many jurisdictions." It centred on MWB Group and saw managers and outside investors hide the fact that their shareholdings had risen above the 29.9% mark - which is normally a mandatory trigger point for having to make a full offer. The panel declared that no regulated firm in the UK should agree to act for the ten men in takeover offers. It also ruled that three members of MWB's management team - Richard Balfour-Lynn, Jagtar Singh and Richard Aspland-Robinson - should pay £33m in compensation plus interest to shareholders.
ECONOMY
Optimism across UK firms hits seven-year high
Optimism among British companies has reached its highest level in over seven years, according to a survey by Lloyds Bank. The bank's Business Barometer shows that trading prospects for the next 12 months rose to 56% in July, up from 44% in June. This is the highest level since April 2017. The survey also found that optimism about the economy and employment expectations has increased. Confidence has improved among services, manufacturing, and construction companies. The poll also shows that the proportion of companies planning to raise prices has increased, although it remains below the level seen in May. "Retail-focused businesses were the main driving force behind the positive rise in trading prospects," said Hann-Ju Ho, senior economist at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking. The survey, which was conducted between July 1 and July 15, included 1,200 companies with annual sales of at least £250,000. 
INTERNATIONAL
Wells Fargo to face lawsuit over sham job interviews
Wells Fargo has been ordered to face a lawsuit which claims the San Francisco-based bank defrauded investors by proclaiming a commitment to hiring diversity at a time when it was conducting fake job interviews of non-white and female applicants that it had no plans to hire. U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson in San Francisco, who dismissed a version of the lawsuit in August last year, on Monday found direct and indirect evidence that the bank intended to defraud shareholders about its hiring practices. Thompson rejected arguments that there was insufficient proof that the sham interviews were widespread, or that top officials including Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf knew about the practice. Shareholders who challenged several bank statements about the alleged success of its diversity policy  cited interviews with former employees, an internal whistleblower email, and the sudden retirement of a senior wealth manager who it is claimed pressured the whistleblower into conducting sham interviews. "The employee-submitted complaints, the peculiar timing of [the manager's] departure, and defendants' demonstrated focus on diversity issues supports a strong inference of [fraudulent intent] that is cogent and at least as compelling as an opposing inference that defendants remained oblivious," Thompson wrote.
Biggest float in Japan this year offers innovative fix to labour crunch
The developer of Timee, an innovative job matchmaking app, has gone public in Japan. Timee aims to help Japan tackle its severe labour shortage by offering a so-called "spot work" service that matches employers with people seeking jobs for specified periods of time and locations. With a market value of about 138 billion yen, Timee is the biggest among 95 listings of application software companies in Japan since 1994. The company won't receive any proceeds from the IPO, but going public may help boost its profile among clients, jobseekers, and investors. Timee plans to expand its service to industries such as hotel, nursing care, childcare, and manufacturing. The company faces competition from other similar services, but analysts believe Timee is a leader in an untapped and underpenetrated space.
OTHER
Two in three recent first-time buyers ‘moved to an unfamiliar location'
Two-thirds of first-time buyers who have got on the property ladder in the past two years were unfamiliar with their new neighbourhood, according to research by Santander UK. This compares with just over half of those who bought more than five years ago. The research indicated that moving to an area they had never previously heard of and being further away from family and friends were among the main compromises people were willing to make to get a foothold on the property ladder. The research also found that more than a third of people who moved to an unfamiliar neighbourhood did so because it was less expensive. 
 


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