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UK Edition
9th August 2024
 
THE HOT STORY
Reports of employees cheating their workplace are growing
Reports of employees cheating their workplace, known as "insider threat," rose 14% last year, according to fraud prevention service Cifas. Around half of these were employees stealing devices for their own use or to sell on to others for profit. There was also an increase in "polygamous" working, where employees work a second job at the same time as their main one in work time. The growth of working from home means some people have realised they can work two full-time jobs at the same time, through careful management of their calendars. "As the uncertain economic climate and cost-of-living pressures continue to create financial challenges, some employees are being driven to commit dishonest conduct," says Duncan McLellan, senior fraud intelligence analyst at Cifas.
WORKFORCE
Migrant numbers fall sharply after visa curbs
Curbs on visas have contributed to a sharp decline in the number of foreign workers and students applying to come to the UK. Compared with last year, the number of migrants and their family members applying to come to Britain on skilled worker, health and care and study visas fell by more than a third in July to 91,300. The Migration Observatory at Oxford University warned that the fall in numbers could lead to significant “trade-offs” as universities struggle to cope with falling revenues and the health and social care sector faces potential recruitment problems.
HEALTH & WELLBEING
‘Ill-ish’ and the new rules of working when sick
Research suggests remote-working employees are pressurising themselves to work when ill - but there's a risk that people will be iller for longer amid uncertainty over whether to take time off.
REMUNERATION
Barclays scraps EU bonus cap
Barclays has removed an EU-imposed cap on bonuses for some of its top bankers and traders, with material risk-takers now able to earn a bonus worth up to 10 times their base salary, up from a current ratio of 2:1. The EU introduced the restrictions on pay in an effort to curb excess risk-taking at banks following the financial crisis. UK regulators have opted to remove the bonus cap in an attempt to improve the competitiveness of the country's financial sector. While banks including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan have already removed the cap, Barclays is the first UK bank to do so. Noting that the revised bonus cap “will not alter the way Barclays sets its incentive pool, which is based on overall group performance,” a spokesperson said: “It will allow us greater flexibility to differentiate individual bonuses within a small and defined group of colleagues, enabling Barclays to continue to compete effectively to retain and attract the best talent globally.”
TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT
Teacher recruitment programme for career changers secures funding for 2025
A teacher recruitment programme for career changers, called Now Teach, has secured funding for 2025 after its funding was axed by the Department for Education. The programme, which has received £4.47m in government funding since 2022, will now be able to continue recruiting career changers for at least another year thanks to donations from philanthropists, trusts, and foundations. The donors include The Hg Foundation, the Rothermere Foundation, and individuals such as Dr Tony Trapp. However, the co-founder of Now Teach, Lucy Kellaway, said that funding the scheme should not be left to philanthropists. Now Teach plans to recruit 250 teachers for September 2025, an increase from the 215 recruits this year. The programme aims to support career changers from various professions and provide them with a network of support in the teaching world. Now Teach is also planning to meet with the Labour government next term.

 
Tes
New 'passport' aims to help autistic young people transition from education to work
A 'passport' has been introduced to assist young individuals with autism who are moving from school to the workforce. The 35-page Autism Education Leavers Passport includes tips on job interviews, benefits, and moving from school to a university. The brochure, which the Disability Advice and Welfare Network (Dawn) and the Suffolk Law Centre produced, aims to aid those who have dropped out of school due to neurodivergent issues in finding employment. The passport is a continuation of Dawn's earlier programme to assist people with autism while they are in medical institutions.
LEGAL
Female broker was encouraged to be 'flirty' with harasser
A female broker has filed a lawsuit against TP Icap and Citigroup, alleging that she was encouraged to submit to unwanted sexual advances by a client to secure business. Christine O'Reilly claims that she was bombarded with unwanted sexual messages from a senior trader at Citigroup, Ben Waters, and that both companies ignored her pleas to intervene. O'Reilly accuses Janie McCathie, her superior at Icap, of encouraging her to be "fun" and "flirty" with Waters to win business. She is seeking damages for discrimination and a hostile work environment. The defendants have not yet filed their defences.
Judge escapes sacking over love letter to junior staff
A High Court judge has narrowly avoided being sacked after sending a love letter to a junior staff member. The letter, which was described as "plainly inappropriate," left the woman feeling distressed and devalued. Mr Justice Marcus Smith was given a formal reprimand, the most serious sanction short of removal from office. The investigation found that he had shown little insight into why his actions were wrong. The reprimand was agreed upon by the Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr and the Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood.
Linklaters bans partner from drinking
A partner at Linklaters has been banned from drinking alcohol at work events after being accused of inappropriate behaviour during a business trip to Vienna. The partner allegedly inappropriately touched a female associate and made inappropriate comments to another female associate. Linklaters has given the partner a final warning and restricted their alcohol consumption at work events.
Council manager found guilty of age discrimination after breaking wind on colleague
A council manager in his late 50s has been found guilty of age discrimination after breaking wind on a junior colleague. Lee Marsh was said to have found it "amusing" to pass wind on a younger colleague eating his lunch. An employment tribunal heard that after Marsh did so, he told the younger worker: "I can get rid of you like I have the others in the past." The pair were both subjected to gross misconduct allegations over a related incident, leading to the junior housing worker going off work sick and then resigning. The tribunal ruled that the manager had a problem with his ambitious colleague potentially having authority over him. Although the tribunal ruled in favour of the younger colleague, he will not receive compensation for the breaking wind incident as he brought the claim too late.
REGULATION
Regulators propose new scoring system for pension schemes
Regulators are planning reforms to improve the value of pension schemes for savers. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is proposing a new scoring system to identify the best and worst performing plans. The system would shift the focus from lowest cost to highest value for money, allowing schemes to invest in higher-returning illiquid assets. The FCA's proposals would apply to workplace pension schemes and aim to encourage better performance and member transfers. The scoring system would provide value-for-money scores based on performance and service levels. The measures of performance would be standardised to ensure comparability. The reforms are supported by a report from think tank Policy Exchange, which suggests a more adventurous approach could boost the average pension pot by £12,000. However, some experts have raised concerns about the simplicity of the proposed system.
UK to introduce bill to regulate ESG rating agencies
A law to regulate agencies that evaluate the environmental, social and governance performance of companies is set to be introduced in the UK next year, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said.
INTERNATIONAL
Washington D.C. buildings official resigns after probe finds she had second full-time job
A top official at the Washington D.C. Department of Buildings, Caroline Lian, has resigned after an ethics probe found that she was secretly working a separate full-time private-sector job on her city "telework" days. Lian, who was the No. 2 ranking official at the Department of Buildings, was hired in October 2022 as the chief operating officer and promoted last year to deputy director. The probe found that Lian never disclosed on required financial disclosure forms that she was also working as a risk management director at Freddie Mac. In addition, Lian allegedly attended to council business on D.C. time as a Falls Church City Council member. Lian is the second D.C. employee in a top management position to be cited for working a separate full-time gig on city time. The violations resulted in a $25,000 fine from a D.C. ethics board. Lian has resigned from her position and is no longer employed by the District government.
Indian corporates adapt employee rewards and recognition for Gen Z
India Inc is re-evaluating its approach to employee rewards and recognition as Gen Z enters the workforce, The Times of India reports. Companies are moving away from traditional certificates and embracing digital rewards including badges, notes, and points to provide instant gratification. Epsilon India has introduced a 'passport' called 'Citizen of Youniverse' to cater to the younger generation's desire for fun and social media engagement. Roche Information Solutions India has an internal marketplace called Applause where employees can redeem points for various items. Merck India, Thryve Digital, and Allstate India have all implemented leaderboards to enable colleagues to congratulate or thank each other. Digital badges are also gaining popularity as a way to recognize talent and can be shared on social media platforms. Gamification and peer recognition are seen as effective tools for employee engagement and motivation.
German drugstore chain Rossmann shuns Teslas over Musk's support for Trump
German drugstore chain Rossmann has announced that it will no longer purchase Tesla cars for its corporate fleet due to Tesla CEO Elon Musk's support for US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. The decision is effective immediately and is based on what the company calls an "incompatibility" between Musk's statements and the values that Tesla represents. "Elon Musk makes no secret of his support for Donald Trump. Trump has repeatedly called climate change a hoax - this stance is in stark contrast to Tesla's mission to contribute to environmental protection through the production of electric cars," said Raoul Rossmann, the son of Rossmann's founder. Rossmann, one of Europe's largest drugstore chains, will continue to use the Teslas it already owns for sustainability and resource conservation. The company has not disclosed the size of its corporate fleet or the number of Teslas it currently uses. 
OTHER
More Russell Group clearing places available
Thousands more courses have been made available in clearing at top universities this year, according to new analysis. Eighteen of the 24 Russell Group universities had between them more than 4,000 degree courses with vacancies by late Wednesday afternoon. According to Ucas, more than 200 courses were available at Sheffield, Birmingham, Cardiff, Exeter, Nottingham and Liverpool universities and more than 300 at Newcastle, Manchester, Southampton and Glasgow. It has been suggested that pupils receiving their grades next week could find many vacancies on results day, particularly in cash-strapped universities that are relying on income from tuition fees. Nick Hillman, from the Higher Education Policy Institute think tank, warns that universities under pressure financially will need a successful clearing process to stay afloat. Lee Elliot Major, a professor of social mobility, adds that unfilled degree courses are a concerning prospect for universities reliant on tuition fees.
 


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