UK jobs market weak ahead of lockdown despite rise in vacancies November 3, 2020 The number of firms looking to add to their workforces grew in the third quarter after a historic contraction in the spring, but the UK jobs market remained weak ahead of the recently announced second lockdown, a survey has shown. In the third quarter, 37 per cent of firms attempted to recruit, according to the [...]
Criminal gangs steal £2bn through furlough fraud October 23, 2020 Criminal gangs have scooped up almost £2bn of government cash intended for furloughed workers, according to official tax estimates. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) said that between 5 and 10 per cent of the £39bn sum handed out by chancellor Rishi Sunak to support workers during the pandemic had been claimed fraudulently. A report published [...]
London jobs market shows signs of recovery after 50 per cent hike in listings October 21, 2020 London has begun to recover from a swathe of redundancies handed out during the pandemic, with job listings in the capital hiking more than 50 per cent over the last three months, according to new research. Adverts for jobs based in London jumped 52 per cent between July and September, data from independent job board [...]
Employers have a crucial role to play in tackling domestic abuse October 2, 2020 Domestic abuse has been referred to as a “shadow pandemic” by the UN, with the number of cases increasing significantly across the world throughout lockdown. For many people suffering abuse, the respite of the weekday commute and being able to go to office were lost overnight. Recognising the signs of abuse and having the confidence [...]
Rishi Sunak’s Kickstart scheme can help blunt the impending youth unemployment crisis September 18, 2020 This week’s unemployment figures from the Office for National Statistics paint a gloomy picture for Britain’s young people. In the UK those aged 16 to 24 have been hit hardest by job losses since the economy locked down. There were 156,000 fewer young people in employment in the three months to July when compared with [...]
Pandemic hysteria is blinding us to the virus’s real risks August 31, 2020 I have long held off writing this column, as I well know it will lead to some hysterical responses. Nevertheless, the credo of any good opinion writer surely must be to be fearless, to fly in the face of received opinion if the cause is just. And there has rarely been a greater need for [...]
The UK must close its digital skills gap — or face an unemployment crisis August 18, 2020 With the economy plunging a catastrophic 20 per cent between April and June, the magnitude of challenges facing UK industries is becoming clearer. A wave of unemployment is likely, and when the furlough scheme officially ends there is no knowing how many people employers will let go. Even with additional taxpayer bailouts, there are large [...]
Misnomers, uncertainty, and a need for compassion – how to get the UK’s future immigration system on the right path August 18, 2020 Priti Patel’s latest statement on immigration post Brexit quietly came and went last month. While it did not give anything new away, it was what was missing that was most interesting. The paper set out how the immigration system will work after Brexit, and it should do a decent job for larger businesses. The skilled [...]
Finding the best way to incentivise management July 14, 2020 | City Talk With cash at a premium, businesses could be considering an award of shares to employees instead of bonuses. This could be a good way to incentivise key employees in the long term without utilising cash and perhaps a first step towards unlocking liquidity for owners through, for example, a management buy-out. However, with share values [...]
The City View: The ‘cardiac arrest’ of the UK jobs market – with Andrew Hunter of Adzuna June 25, 2020 In this episode, City A.M. Deputy Editor Andy Silvester is joined by Andrew Hunter, co-founder and chief executive of Adzuna, now Europe’s fastest growing job search engine. Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS Andrew discusses the “cardiac arrest” in the UK job market caused by Covid-19, the competition for job offers and steps the government could [...]