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13th June 2022
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THE HOT STORY
Four day week catches the imagination of workers
The Telegraph looks at how UK employers are coping with trials of four-day week working patterns as a six-month nationwide pilot gets underway. Alex Fleming, who oversees northern Europe for recruiting giant Adecco, says the pilot's success will depend not just on output but also on trust. Productivity needs to increase and bosses need to trust staff to put in the extra effort when they are working. But regardless of how the pilot pans out, the idea has already caught the imagination of thousands of employees across the UK. "People will start to ask for it more and more," Fleming predicts. A report from the Social Market Foundation last year warned that those most likely to benefit from fewer hours were "higher earners, senior professionals and male [workers]," conferring a "degree of elitism" to the four-day week.
PEOPLE SUCCESS
How to Build and Maintain a Strong Hybrid Culture

While organizations are committing to long-term hybrid work, many aren’t prepared for the complexities of this new norm, particularly when it comes to building and maintaining a strong hybrid culture.

The good news? When companies become intentional about workplace culture, prioritise inclusivity, and proactively seek out the right information, teams and business leaders can reap many benefits.

In this article, we explore the common challenges businesses are facing and outline the 3 ‘I’s’ that will set your business on a path to people success and business success.

Learn more in our eBook: eBook: Driving Engagement and Retention in the Hybrid Workplace


 
HYBRID WORKING
Homeworking has not helped equality in UK, report says
A report from the Resolution Foundation claims the shift to working from home has not helped to close the gap between rich and poor parts of the UK. Despite early claims that homeworking could help rebalance economic equality, the changes have not been transformative, the think tank found. Last month, data from the Office for National Statistics found working from home was the preserve of the middle-aged and wealthy, with high earners being most likely to "hybrid work." There have also been concerns expressed about the impact of home working on productivity, with research from PwC UK suggesting a hit to GDP of about £15bn a year. Lalitha Try, a researcher at the Resolution Foundation, said: “It is encouraging that strong jobs growth has reduced regional employment gaps. But with many deprived parts of outer London struggling, and the WFH [work from home] revolution mainly benefiting already prosperous areas, Britain’s big economic divides are as entrenched as ever. This makes the task of ‘levelling up’ the country all the more challenging and all the more pressing.”
WORKFORCE
Doctors and lawyers threaten strikes over pay
Junior doctors have joined criminal law barristers in threatening to strike over pay with the British Medical Association backing a campaign to press ministers for the “full restoration of their pay.” They claim that their real wages have fallen by 22% in 12 years and that rising inflation is accelerating losses. A potential strike has been approved, with officials saying it would take place by early next year “at the latest.” Meanwhile, the Criminal Bar Association is balloting 2,500 of its members and claims a 25% increase in pay is needed in order to boost barrister retention. There is currently a backlog of up to 60,000 cases in English and Welsh crown courts after the coronavirus pandemic caused major disruption to the justice system. The disputes come ahead of walkouts by rail workers later this month.
Union battles for £15 an hour minimum wage for care workers
The GMB union will step up its campaign for carers to earn £15 an hour when members meet for their annual conference in Harrogate this week. General secretary Gary Smith said the move would make “a huge difference to the whole sector, it would be life-changing for lots of low-paid, women workers, it would also mean we could recruit and retain carers in a way we couldn't do.” He also warned of potential strikes unless care workers are given a pay rise, saying: “If employers won't work with us, if councils won't address equal pay, then we have to be prepared to take action."
HEALTH & SAFETY
Mental ill health drives worklessness among UK young men, research finds
Mental ill health is driving increasing numbers of young men in the UK into long-term worklessness, according to an analysis warning against a “vicious cycle” barring young people from the workforce.
LEGAL
UK textile workers still suffering
A new report reveals that workers servicing the UK's textiles industry are still suffering widespread abuse two years after The Sunday Times exposed exploitation in Leicester factories. Research by the Leicester Garment and Textile Workers Trust found that staff suffered physical violence, were denied maternity leave and were paid just £3 an hour. Some interviewees said they were forced to work 14-hour shifts in cold and poorly-ventilated factories while some ethnic minority groups were twice as likely to be paid below the minimum wage and three times as likely to be emotionally abused. In 2020, an investigation found workers in a Leicester factory were being paid £3.50 an hour to pack clothes destined for the fashion giant Boohoo. Leah Riley Brown, sustainability policy adviser at the British Retail Consortium, said: "We need a licensing scheme that empowers enforcement agencies to proactively inspect working conditions in factories, check wages are being paid accurately, and bring to justice exploitative owners and managers." 
Austrian banker ‘lured to London on false pretences by CIA’
Austrian banker Peter Weinzierl, the former chief executive of Vienna-based Meinl Bank, is facing extradition from Britain to the United States on money laundering charges. He has been charged in connection with a case of money laundering and tax evasion in Brazil. But his lawyers say he is the victim of a CIA plot to trace billions of dollars of American government money that disappeared from Ukraine several years ago and which is suspected of having passed through the Austrian banking sector. Mr Weinzierl’s lawyer, David Pack, suggested the charges were a “ruse” to put pressure on other Austrian banking executives to give up their “dirty secrets” about missing money. He said: “We do not believe this action has anything to do with the investigation into allegations of money laundering and tax evasion in Brazil but is actually about the United States government trying to trace billions of dollars of public money which they believe went missing in Central and Eastern Europe.”
PwC partner claims he was pushed out for aiding disabled colleague
Justin LaHood, a former tax partner in PwC's financial services team, has alleged that he was forced into early retirement after supporting a disabled colleague who brought a discrimination complaint against the Big Four firm. He said his efforts to accommodate the disabled employee "were not supported by other partners and the management of the firm, some of whom took steps to undermine the efforts I was making," according to documents filed at an employment tribunal. PwC said it was "vigorously contesting" the allegations.
Culture of ‘blatant’ racism in Mayfair casinos alleged by staff
Widespread racism and other staff abuses at London’s top casinos as managers pander to super-wealthy customers have been highlighted in a case brought by black croupier Semhar Tesfagiorgis, reports the FT.
Why aren’t employment tribunals being recorded and transcribed?
Failure to adopt audio-recording and transcription in most employment tribunals recently prompted more than 300 equal justice campaigners to write in protest to the heads of the UK’s employment tribunal services.
STRATEGY
US banks concerned over EU’s bid to move bankers out of London
Wall Street banks are resisting pressure from the European Central Bank (ECB) to move staff from the City of London to their EU operations, preferring access to London’s deeper liquidity pools. Staff also prefer life in London, the banks say. US bank bosses plan to voice concerns to the ECB in the coming months, the Telegraph reports. The ECB conducted a desk mapping review and determined that US banks needed to shift more of their UK operations into the bloc. But some fear the ECB’s clampdown is overly political, with one US bank executive warning that driving staff and operations out of London will ultimately lead to worse deals for European customers and cause less efficient and effective risk management.
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
Smaller listed firms resist diversity push
Roughly 50% of companies in the FTSE Small Cap index have no women in their most senior positions, according to a report by networking group Women on Boards UK and consultants Protiviti. When it comes to ethnic minorities, three-quarters of small-cap firms have no people of colour on their boards. “There remains a high number of firms yet to reach even the most minimal levels of diverse representation, at both executive and non-executive level,” said Fiona Hathorn, head of Women on Boards UK. “To these firms I say, catch up - and quickly.” Women on Boards UK is now calling on gender and diversity targets introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority for financial services companies to be extended to all UK firms that employ more than 250 people. “This would be in line with growing investor, customer and stakeholder expectations that diversity is increasingly core ‘business as usual’ - not an optional add-on,” Hathorn said.
MANAGEMENT
McKinsey’s Bob Sternfels: ‘We’re OK if you don’t agree with us’
The FT speaks with McKinsey’s Bob Sternfels, the consultancy’s senior partner, who wants to build a culture of “humility” about the firm's mistakes in the wake of reputational crises.
INTERNATIONAL
Google agrees $118m settlement over claim it underpaid women
A class action lawsuit brought against Google, covering 15,500 female employees across 236 job titles, has been settled by the tech giant for $118m and agreements on third-party monitoring of Google’s hiring practices. Plaintiffs accused Google of putting overqualified women in roles that were paid less, denying promotions to women, and generally paying female employees on average close to $17,000 less than men. Law firms for the plaintiffs said "an independent third party expert will analyse Google's leveling-at-hire practices and that an independent labour economist will review Google's pay equity studies" as part of the settlement. An external "Settlement Monitor" will supervise progress on the terms of the agreement "over the next three years."
 


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