Week starting 25th July

Recruitment Outlook Less Bright But Holding Up

Manufacturing may be in recession and the economy stalled but it seems 4 out of 10
organisations still anticipate an increase in their own recruitment activity over the next 6 months. Although its a drop on 3 months ago when nearly 5 out of 10 were expecting such an increase.

The latest Recruitment Confidence Index survey (from Cranfield and the Daily Telegraph) also shows that despite the fact organisations are experiencing fewer recruitment difficulties, the need to recruit managerial and professional staff remains high in:- engineering (nearly 60% of firms surveyed), production (51%), sales (46%) and computing / IT (42%).

Commenting on the findings, Shaun Tyson from Cranfield School of Management, said, “There are signs that the labour market is easing somewhat in the face of uncertainty in business confidence, with lower levels of labour turnover and fewer difficulties overall, but the evidence so far is patchy.”

Top of Page

Living And Working Longer Messages Failing To Get Through

People don’t believe they’re likely to live longer than their parents or accept that they may need to work longer before collecting their state pensions, according to new research from the IPPR (Institute of Public Policy Research).

Its research into attitudes towards retirement and pensions shows the public do not accept that life expectancy is increasing and that when it comes to pensions, they mistrust government, the financial services industry (see below) and employers.

It says this public mistrust makes it vital that clear political consensus on pensions and retirement is vital if people are to be persuaded to work longer.

The research was carried out with people aged 25-55. They expected their health to decline from the age of 70 and viewed retirement at, or before 65, as sacred. They were hostile to the suggestion they might have to work longer before collecting a state pension and felt that they should be able to choose when and how to retire.

The IPPR argues that if the UK pensions system is to be sustainable and to reflect increases in life expectancy, the state pension age should rise to 67 between 2020 and 2030.

The IPPR claims that a consensus on increasing the basic state pension to the level of the pension credit guarantee and restoring the link to average earnings would help shift public opinion.

Top of Page

 

New Deal For Disabled Extended

The New Deal for Disabled People (NDDP) programme is being extended until March 2007 - it had been due to end in March 2006.

Since its start in July 2001, NDDP has helped more than 62,000 people into jobs. This voluntary programme provides people with health conditions and disabilities with access to a network of Job Brokers from private, voluntary and public-sector organisations, to help them find and keep jobs.

Margaret Hodge, Minister for Employment and Welfare Reform, said, “I am delighted to be able to give reassurance to people on incapacity-related benefits that the help provided by this successful programme will continue to be available.

This extension will give us time to take considered decisions about the help we need to provide disabled people in order to support them to stay in their jobs or return to work elsewhere.”

Top of Page

 

Over Two Million Facing Endowment Mortgage Shortfall

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) estimates that more than 2 million people with endowment mortgages are facing a shortfall.

Many people were told that the endowment policies they were sold were guaranteed to pay off their mortgages but those promises have frequently proved false.

The FSA reckons that nearly 70% of those faced with a shortfall have now either remortgaged, sought financial advice or applied for compensation but that still leaves nearly 700,000 people who have done nothing about it. Presumably many of these will have to go on working, in order to pay it off.

The average endowment shortfall is estimated to be £7,200 per household.

Top of Page

Week Starting 18th July

New Disability Laws To Come Into Effect in December

From December this year new disability rights will come into effect. They will extend enforceable rights and give further protection to the nearly 10 million people in Britain who will be covered by the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 2005.

Included in it is a public sector disability duty requiring public bodies to carry out their functions with ‘due regard’ to the need to eliminate discrimination and harassment against disabled people, promote positive attitudes to disabled people; and encourage disabled people to take part in public life.

The Act will also extend its protection to people with all types of cancer, multiple sclerosis and HIV, from the point of diagnosis.

Nearly a fifth of people of working age (some 6.9 million) are considered as disabled. 50% of them are in work - compared to 81% of non-disabled people. The income of disabled people is, on average, less than half that of non-disabled people.

Top of Page

 

Employers Groups Lobbying For Delay To Age Regulations

Both the British Chamber of Commerce and the EEF are lobbying Ministers to delay the implementation date of the age discrimination regulations.

Although the Government has said the regulations will come into effect on 1st October 2006, the EU Directive on which they are based gives the UK until 1st December next year in which to implement them.

The BCC and EEF say that because the Government has allowed the regulatory timetable to slip so much, and that employers need time to properly prepare, the implementation date should be delayed by those two months at least.

Top of Page

IOD Calls For State Pension Age To Rise To 70

As part of its submission to the Pensions Commission, the Institute of Directors (IOD) has called for the state pension age to be increased to 70 – in order to fund an increase in the basic state pension. But it will also call for a more flexible approach to retirement.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, Miles Trempleton, the IOD’s Director General said, “The retirement age should not be too rigid…In Sweden, as the average rate of mortality rises, so does the pensionable age. This is more in line with the country’s pension needs and reflects the fact that we are living longer.”

He argued that if some workers wanted to continue beyond 70, it would have a significant impact on pension shortfalls. And stressed that businesses must start thinking about how to accommodate older workers, but that employees’ attitudes must needed change.

“The notion that your last job is also your most senior role is wrong. Employers must think of those jobs that are less demading in terms of time and energy for workers as they approach retirement.”

The IOD is one employers’ organisation that believes mandatory retirement ages should be abolished.

Top of Page

 

Small Firms Also Facing Skill Shortages

New research shows that small firms in the UK are finding it more difficult to recruit skilled staff than their counterparts in other European countries. The problem is particularly acute in the Midlands and Wales.

Some 40% of 400 SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) polled said finding skilled staff was a ‘major concern’, compared with fewer than 20% of similar firms in Germany.

However, British firms had more confidence in the national economy and were less concerned about the threat posed by competition from low-wage countries. Well placed confidence – or complacency ?

Top of Page

Week Starting 11th July

Draft Age Regulations Published – At Last

Arguably 18 months behind schedule, the draft age discrimination regulations have finally been published. And the third, and final, round of consultation – snappily titled ‘Coming of Age’ - has begun.

The draft regulations contain no great surprises. The decision to introduce a default retirement age of 65 was announced last December. The process governing an individual’s ‘right to request’ to work on past retirement and an employer’s ‘ duty to respond’ is spelled out. Unfair dismissal and statutory redundancy rights are being extended to those aged over 65, however it won’t be unfair to dismiss an individual on the grounds of retirement if they are over the employer’s retirement age or 65 – as long as the correct procedure is followed. So called ‘positive action’ is permitted, ‘positive discrimination’ is not.

So the $64,000 question – will these regulations take ‘age’ out of the employment and training equation?

The answer is – no.

Although they should make a positive difference, there are a raft of exemptions written into them which mean that someone’s age can still count against them.

The 3 tiered national minimum wage for different age bands stays with certain provisos; a fairly broad general exemption is given around the use of age in occupational pensions; service related and non-pay benefits accruing below 5 years of service are exempted and there is a fairly easily-met justification for any which come with even longer service. It must be said that many of these exemptions are not detrimental to older employees.

But the regulations will allow employers and training providers to discriminate both directly and indirectly on the grounds of age – as long as they can objectively justify it.

The test of objective justification consists of two elements: pursuing a legitimate aim and proportionality. The consultation document provides a helpful list of such ‘legitimate aims’. These include; business needs and considerations of efficiency; health, welfare and safety; facilitation of employment planning; particular training requirements; encouraging and rewarding loyalty; the need for a reasonable period of employment before retirement and recruiting or retaining older people.

Employment lawyers are going to be rubbing their hands at the prospects.

The consultation period will close on 17th October. A full set of documents can be found at www.dti.org.uk/er/equality/age.htm Hard copies can be obtained from the DTI Publications Order Line on 0845 015 0010.

Click here to read TAEN’s press releases on this subject.

Top of Page

Increase In Public Sector Employment Halved

Continuing recruitment by the health and social services and education sectors mean public sector employment increased by 1.3% (or 72,000) in the 12 months to the end of March. However the rate of increase has more than halved from the 148,000 recorded over the same period the previous year.

The total number of people employed in the public sector rose to 5.8 million.

The biggest increases were recorded in health and social services (up by 50,000), education (up 23,000), public administration (up 9,000) and the police service – including civilians – which rose by 7,000.

Over the same period employment in the private sector increased by 130,000 (0.6%).

Top of Page

 

Absence Gap Widens

According to a new survey from the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) the gap between the number of sick days taken in the private sector compared with those taken in the public sector has widened again.

The survey found the average absence levels per employee in the public sector stood at 10.3 days versus 6.8 days in the private sector.

Stress is one of the leading causes of sickness absence and around half of public sector organisations say that it’s the leading cause of long-term absence for non-manual workers they employ.

Absence levels were highest in local government and the health sector.

Sickness absence brought on by stress at a work is estimated to cost British businesses nearly £4 billion a year. So its timely that a new booklet providing guidance for dealing with the problem has just been published.

The booklet is designed to raise awareness of the issue and act as a tool to help business to deal with the problem. It has been jointly produced by the TUC, CBI, the DTI, the Health & Safety Executive and others.

Top of Page

 

New Skills Training Pilot Scheme Announced For Employees

Speaking at a Skills summit this week, Ruth Kelly – the Education Secretary - announced trials in the North West and West Midlands regions in which the Government will cover up to half the cost (£40 million) for employers to train staff for a first NVQ level 3 qualification with plans to extend it nationwide.

An NVQ level 3 is the equivalent of 2 ‘A’ levels and is sometimes referred to as representing an ‘intermediate’ skills level.

Speaking about meeting the challenge of staging the Olympics in 2012, Kelly commented, “By 2012, two thirds of new and existing jobs will need Level 3 qualifications. We must focus on these priority skills needs. Currently fewer than 60% of electricians and plumbers have the crucial technical qualifications needed, and this figure is under 50% for construction.

Lack of technicians, advanced craft, skilled trade and associate professional skilled people must not hold us back. That is why today we are also calling on industry leaders to develop National Skills Academies for each major sector of the economy.

The productivity and competitiveness of our nation is dependent on the skills of our workforce. Today, new initiatives have been unveiled that will inspire employers to add their investment to public funding. Only by working together can we ensure that all young people and adults in our country have the knowledge and skills to match the best in the world".

TAEN will be asking the Secretary of State what plans she has to help those who are not currently working and don’t have this qualification to access a similar programme so that they can improve their employment prospects…..

Top of Page