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20th June 2022
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THE HOT STORY
A fifth of UK workers plan to quit this year
More than 6.5m people in the UK plan to quit their jobs within the next year as they search for better pay and benefits, as well as an improved work/life balance. About 20% of workers said it was likely they would leave their role in the next 12 months, according to a survey of more than 6,000 British workers by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. This marks an increase on the 16% who said the same last year. While 35% cited better pay and benefits as the chief reason for searching for a new job, 27% wanted better job satisfaction and around the same proportion wanted a better work/life balance. The research found that a lack of development opportunities was holding back workers in low-paid roles, with 25% of those earning up to £20,000 a year saying that their job offered good skill development opportunities, compared with 51% of those earning £60,000 or above. A quarter of lower earners said their job offered good career advancement prospects, compared with more than half of those on a higher salary.
PEOPLE SUCCESS
How to Build the Best Employee Development Programme

Any organisation that counts itself amongst today’s “best places to work” will already be prioritising employee success and professional growth.

A good employee development programme not only improves employee retention and performance, but also creates a dynamic, positive company culture and increases business growth. For many employers, not knowing where to start is the first challenge.

In this article we outline the core elements of a successful employee development programme and explore how it makes career advancement more accessible.

Learn more in our eBook: HR's Ultimate Guide to Employee Development

 
REMOTE WORKING
Research into remote work and wellbeing shows mixed results
New research into remote work and wellbeing has shown mixed results. Researchers working on Microsoft’s 2022 New Future of Work Report found that although remote work can improve job satisfaction, it can also lead to employees feeling “socially isolated, guilty and trying to overcompensate.” Nicola Hemmings, a workplace scientist at mental healthcare provider Koa Health, says: “When working remotely, we miss out on the social cues of a busy office and much needed social-interactions – catching up in the corridor, or making a drink in the kitchen while checking in and asking about the weekend . . . These seemingly small moments can collectively have a large impact on our wellbeing.” One survey showed 81% of under-35s feared loneliness from long-term home working, and studies have showed heightened levels of stress and anxiety among younger workers since the shift to remote work.
More UK workers choose three-day office week
A growing number of UK workers are choosing a three-day office week as they become accustomed to a hybrid model, according to data from workspace provider IWG which found that staff preferred coming to the office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, with these days accounting for 23% more visits than on Mondays and Fridays. "The data shows there is strong appetite to spend part of the time in an office environment, particularly local flex spaces, and that the era of long daily commutes is well and truly over," IWG CEO Mark Dixon said. The data accrued from IWG's 300 UK workspaces covers hundreds of thousands of workers, and also showed 15% more employees visited their offices in May than in April.
WORKFORCE
Unions call on government to 'get round the table'
The general secretaries of 14 trades union, including the TUC, NEU, Unison, Unite, GMB, and the Communication Workers' Union, have signed a joint letter calling on the Government to "get round the table with unions and employers to help deliver a fair resolution" to the dispute behind this week's rail network strike. While Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has attacked the strike as a "huge act of self-harm," TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said the government "should be working in good faith to find a negotiated settlement." Conservative MP Jake Berry, chair of the party's Northern Research Group, also urged the government to "get around the table," saying the only way the dispute will be solved is by "sitting down and sorting this out."
LEGAL
Law change will let agency staff do jobs of strikers
Ministers are set to repeal laws banning businesses from using temporary workers to replace striking staff amid concerns over increasing walk-outs. A Whitehall source told the Times that ministers are trying “urgently to protect against future strikes.” Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has presented plans enabling agency staff to be used to perform the roles of striking workers to cabinet colleagues, with the statutory instrument making the change expected to be tabled this week and new rules set to come into effect in mid-July. The ban on agency workers has been in place since 1973. Former Prime Minister David Cameron had pledged to change the law in his 2015 election manifesto but later abandoned the proposal amid intense union opposition.
French bank reprimanded over handling of discrimination case
BNP Paribas was reprimanded by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) over how it handled complaints by a female banker who suffered sexual discrimination while working in its London office. The City watchdog held several meetings with senior members of the French bank’s HR department, looking into how Stacey Macken’s accusations of unfair treatment and discrimination were dismissed. Ms Macken, who worked in BNP's prime brokerage division, told an employment tribunal that she suffered years of bullying and was paid less than men in comparable roles. She made repeated internal complaints about her treatment but these were brushed aside. In March 2019, the tribunal ruled that BNP had subjected Ms Macken to “direct sex discrimination and victimisation.” She won a £2m payout over the matter earlier this year.
RETENTION
Why pay rises for your company’s ‘flight risks’ can backfire
The FT’s Pilita Clark looks at how the Great Resignation has complicated the practice of counter-offering to a worker who threatens to leave. Counter-offers can backfire if not handled with care.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
IoD proposes code of conduct for company directors
The Institute of Directors (IoD) has suggested that company directors should sign up to a code of conduct to improve behaviour in boardrooms. It has proposed a voluntary nine-point code covering ethics, diversity, competence and lawfulness.  The plan would supplement the existing corporate governance code administered by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) and general legal duties under UK company law. Roger Barker, the IoD's director of policy and governance, said: “There is a risk that each new corporate scandal or collapse will renew pressure on government to impose prescriptive regulatory obligations relating to directorship.” The IoD has asked the Department of Business and FRC to support the development of the code, which would be administered by industry rather than a regulator or government. It has suggested that a whistleblowing process could be established to allow the reporting of poor conduct, adding: “An appropriate investigations and sanctions process would also need to be defined.”
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
Greater trust drives increases in data sharing
There is an increasing amount of trust when it comes to handing over personal data voluntarily, according to PwC partner Lucy Stapleton. Taking part in an expert panel discussion about improving diversity, equity and inclusion during mergers and acquisitions, she said the rate of personal data shared voluntarily has jumped from 15% in 2018 to 80% this year. At the partner level, voluntary data sharing increased to 85%. She noted that PwC’s action plans on gender, ethnic and socio-economic background diversity and representation are all based on data, “which helps us to track the impact of our actions.” Ms Stapleton added that the firm’s gender and ethnicity pay gaps “are moving in the right direction,” while it hopes to see the same for socio-economic background “in the years to come.”
TAX
HMRC expands MTD system trial
HMRC has expanded trials of a new system designed to make tax returns easier for the self-employed after a steep decline in the number taking part. The trial, which began in 2018, has seen participant numbers slide after the tax office made it harder for self-employed people to join - excluding those with overseas income or taxpayers who had claimed coronavirus support. Analysis by Saffery Champness shows that while 877 people were taking part in the trial in 2019, HMRC last year removed 500 and 368 withdrew. As of next month, all self-employed people will be eligible to take part. The system is part of the Government's Making Tax Digital programme and is set to be running by April 2024. Richard Wild from the Chartered Institute of Taxation comments: "To go from the small numbers in the pilot to the millions of businesses and landlords that need to comply in less than two years is a mammoth task."
TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT
Alphabet warns of tech skills shortage
Ruth Porat, chief financial officer of Google-owner Alphabet, has warned that a technology skills shortage is a “risk to businesses and economic growth”, arguing that there is a “strong economic need for more skills for the critical digital transformation.” Noting that customers have reported a “dearth of talent,” Ms Porat said: “During the pandemic, one in three small businesses said they would have failed if they didn’t have digital skills.” In a bid to tackle this skills shortage, Google is teaming up with businesses to offer recognised certificates for training in areas where there is high demand, such as data analytics, digital marketing and IT support. A number of British businesses have agreed to accept the accreditation that students receive when they complete a course, including Deloitte.
Special Report – Upskilling
Finding staff with the right knowhow is a growing challenge for business, and this two-part FT report looks at how both companies and workers can acquire the skills they need.
STRATEGY
PwC partners see windfall from mobility unit sale
PwC’s 950 partners in Britain are set to see one-off six-figure windfalls from the sale of the firm’s mobility services arm. They will be handed an average of just over £100,000 each following a $2.2bn deal with the private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice that completed in April. The proceeds from the global mobility deal being distributed to PwC's UK partners total approximately £100m, with the same amount earmarked for investment in the firm's growth and technology priorities. Kevin Ellis, PwC's UK chairman, said: “As with any partnership there is always a balance to be struck between investment to underpin future growth and making a distribution to the partners as owners of the business,” adding "Half of the proceeds will be invested in growth opportunities linked to our people, technology and strategic programmes . . . to strengthen our partnership into the future."
WORKPLACE
Slaughter and May lets lawyers bring dogs to the office
Slaughter and May is set to let lawyers bring their dogs into the firm’s London offices. New managing partner Deborah Finkler is getting ready to hold the Magic Circle firm’s first-ever "Bring your Dog to Work Day" on June 24th in an effort to boost morale and alleviate stress. The managing partner said: “I have long been an advocate of having our dogs in the office." The plan comes as the top City law firms are increasingly struggling to recruit and retain staff due to a battle for talent that has seen them offer increasingly eye-watering salaries and ever more inventive perks.
INTERNATIONAL
SpaceX fires staff involved in letter rebuking Musk
Private rocket company SpaceX has fired employees who helped write and distribute an open letter criticising CEO Elon Musk's behaviour, the New York Times has reported, citing three employees with knowledge of the situation. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell sent an email saying the company had investigated and "terminated a number of employees involved" with the letter, the newspaper said. It was unclear how many employees were terminated, the report said. The letter called the billionaire’s public behaviour and tweeting “a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment” and asked the company to rein him in. In her email, Shotwell said the letter had made other employees “feel uncomfortable, intimidated and bullied and/or angry because the letter pressured them to sign onto something that did not reflect their views . . . We have too much critical work to accomplish and no need for this kind of overreaching activism.”
OTHER
Millions receive wrong pension payments 'for decades'
Millions of people have received the wrong pension for decades because of government IT failures. The errors, which have reportedly been known about since the 1990s, have still not been corrected. Official analysis suggests 23% of pensioners were underpaid, while 17% were overpaid. Some people have been both overpaid and underpaid in different years, with the vast majority of errors worth one or two pence per week. 
 


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