When I co-founded the Jobs Foundation, our initial idea was borne out of something simple: to champion business as the most potent poverty-busting tool that our society has. As many of us appreciate, a job isn’t just about a pay packet, but about dignity, aspiration and the chance to build a better future – which […]
Whitehall is losing over four million working days a year to staff sickness: absenteeism in the Civil Service is on course to surpass its previous peak of 8.3 days per employee, with the Department for Transport already averaging 9.2 days lost per head. For taxpayers, this is not simply an HR statistic, but a bill […]
Labour’s long march against British prosperity continues. Indeed, the last week has seen a deluge of statistics that read like the worst school report imaginable. Figures published in the last few days had Labour trailing behind Reform UK in almost every poll. The proportion of the public with a positive view of Keir Starmer has […]
Nurses have now decided to follow the example of resident doctors, and reject the Government’s latest pay offer. The Royal College of Nursing announced this week that 91% of its members voted against accepting a 3.6% pay rise. Resident doctors were offered a 5.4% pay increase but went on strike for a 29% pay increase […]
The Government came into office hoping that by boosting economic growth it could maintain and expand welfare provision and pursue its many other objectives without excessive levels of taxation. It has not so far been successful; indeed, GDP appears to have fallen in the last two months. The UK’s poor growth performance in recent years […]
This publication of this week’s Industrial Strategy, and the first of five associated ‘Sector Plans’, marks the latest step in delivering on the Government’s ambitions to boost economic growth. There is much in the papers published that seems sound, including the importance of unlocking investment in skills, R&D and infrastructure – all of which are […]
“Police and employers are cracking down on staff secretly working numerous full-time jobs after a rise in ‘polygamous working’”, reports The Times. This refers to the practice of someone working from home holding down more than one full-time job; apparently, there is a burgeoning network of online advice for people attempting this. It is easy […]
The Employment Rights Bill is a gargantuan piece of legislation, running to 191 pages; even its title comes out at 125 words, with a challenging obstacle course of semi-colons. It covers an astonishingly wide range of topics, from the Seafarers’ Wages Act to the School Support Negotiating Body, from statutory sick pay to arrangements for […]
Is there any problem that can’t be made worse by the big state slamming down its clunking fist? In the 2015 Budget, George Osborne, then the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced that we were to have an apprenticeship levy – a new tax on businesses to fund apprenticeship schemes which was implemented in 2017. Osborne […]
The Government’s recent ‘Get Britain Working’ white paper was received without much enthusiasm. While it rightly highlighted the need to reduce the numbers of working-age Brits who are economically inactive, especially those on benefits, its proposals seem underwhelming. The difficult part – restructuring the system to turn back the rising numbers on long-term benefits – […]
The Government’s own impact assessment for its employment rights legislation estimates that the measures could cost businesses up to £5 billion annually. To start, this is a substantial amount. Past economic studies and business surveys tell us that it will largely be passed onto consumers through higher prices, workers earning lower wages and/or job losses. […]
The Government has introduced its Employment Rights Bill with the promise of ‘the biggest upgrade to rights at work for a generation’ and is seeking to be both pro-worker and pro-business. While it is obviously important that people are free from being exploited at work and the measures are well-intentioned, the Government should be cautious […]
An employment tribunal has ruled that predominantly female store staff at Next have been unfairly treated because they have been paid less than predominantly male warehouse staff. This judgment, which is retrospective and will entail substantial back-payments to current and former employees, could cost the clothing retailers up to £30 million. This is not an […]
Rachel Reeves confirmed today that she will agree to pay review recommendations for 5.5% increases for over half a million teachers and 1.3 million NHS workers. This commitment includes an inflation-busting offer to the junior doctors which – though it’s complicated – seems to amount to 22% over two years. It’s by no means certain […]
