Part time and temporary jobs across the UK

The “Queens” speech

Paul — Wed, 09 May 2012 19:13:17 +0000

The Queen has outlined the Government’s priorities for the coming Parliamentary year in the official state opening of Parliament today.

The two Business Bills which BIS is responsible for are the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, and the Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill.

The main elements include measures:

- To set the purpose of the UK Green Investment Bank and ensure its independence.
- Implement the competition landscape reforms.
- Overhaul the employment tribunal system.
- Cut unnecessary red tape for businesses.
- Reform directors’ pay.

Business Secretary Vince Cable said:

“Securing economic growth through business investment and trade is absolutely essential to recovery.

“Government’s plans to cut red tape, boost green investment, reform the competition landscape and reform the banks are vital moves that would help strengthen the business environment and boost consumer and business confidence.”

The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill
The Bill will:

Overhaul the employment tribunal system, and transform the dispute resolution landscape.
Improve the effectiveness and efficiency of competition enforcement and the competitiveness of markets, by strengthening the regime and improving the speed and predictability for business.
Set the purpose of the UK Green Investment Bank and ensure its independence.
Strengthen the framework for setting directors’ pay by introducing binding votes.
Extend the Primary Authority scheme, reduce inspection burdens on business and strengthen the legal framework for sunset clauses on regulation.
Repeal unnecessary legislation, cutting the burden on business and citizens.

Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill

This Bill will create a Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) to uphold the Groceries Code. It will address the market dominance of the large retailers and ensure suppliers are treated fairly and lawfully.

The GCA would address these competition issues by arbitrating disputes between retailers and suppliers, investigating anonymous complaints, and taking sanctions against retailers who break the rules.

It is expected that both Bills will receive an early introduction.

Mayor secures more than £100 million to boost house building, jobs and construction across London

Paul — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 20:16:42 +0000

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, announced a vital boost for the capital’s construction industry after he revealed a £103 million funding package to kick-start building projects across London’s boroughs.

As part of the government’s Get Britain Building programme, the funding has the potential to create more than 2,700 homes and thousands of jobs in Barnet, Brent, Bromley, Enfield, Hackney, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Lewisham, Wandsworth, Southwark, Croydon and Haringey.

Get Britain Building is intended to unlock stalled sites with planning permission to support construction and provide new homes for Londoners. Its aim is to address difficulties in accessing development finance faced by some housebuilders and to help bring forward marginal sites by sharing the risks involved.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “This programme offers us a fantastic opportunity to accelerate the delivery of desperately needed new homes and provide a real boost for jobs in the construction industry. As well as driving economic growth these sites have all been identified as having the potential to create stronger and thriving communities to live in.”

Submitted bids were assessed by the Homes and Communities Agency, which was looking at those projects which offered the best value for money and the most likely to be delivered. The shortlisted schemes will now be invited to enter a due diligence process before contracts are signed.

The current shortlist, totalling £103 million, builds on the first sites announced under a special commissioning phase in February. Grahame Park in Barnet, where a total of 3,000 new homes are being built, featured in the initial list of sites and secured £5 million, bringing total programme funding to £108 million.

UK unemployment falls for first time in 12 months.

Fraser — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 21:41:44 +0000

UK unemployment has finally seen its first fall since spring 2011. Unemployment fell by 35,000 to 2.65 million over the December-to-February period, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed.

This is good news for the job market and comes in the same week that recruitment software company Bullhorn has claimed that 9 out of 10 of its recruitment clients expect to see increased profits and growth this year.

TUC and unions launch campaign to fight job cuts and fare hikes on the railways

Paul — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 07:58:15 +0000

The TUC, railway unions and transport campaigners have launched a campaign to fight job cuts, service reductions, ticket office closures and fare hikes in the rail industry.
At a meeting with MPs at the House of Commons on Tuesday 20 March, union leaders and representatives from the Campaign for Better Transport raised their concerns about the government’s proposals for the future of rail as outlined in the Rail Command Paper. They were joined by Shadow Transport Minister Maria Eagle.
Concerns raised included:
The creation of multiple regional ‘Railtracks’ through the fragmentation of Network Rail, its capture by private operators through greater integration with Train Operating Companies (TOCs) and the selling of rail infrastructure through regional concessions, putting maintenance and safety at risk.
Service reductions and punishing fare hikes for peak time commuters resulting from more flexible and longer TOC franchises.
The closure of more than 650 ticket offices across the country, penalising staff and passengers.
Job cuts of up to 20,000 rail staff on stations, trains, ticket offices, signalling and maintenance.
Plans to undermine existing union agreements across the industry, with the freezing of above inflation pay rises and revised terms and conditions for new starters.
Rail unions also continued to highlight the costs of privatisation and pressed the case for better value for money and cost effectiveness through a national integrated railway under public ownership.
TUC Deputy General Secretary Frances O’Grady, who was chairing the event, said: ‘Our railways are critical to the success of our nation and our economy. But for too long, the costs of our dysfunctional privatised rail system have fallen on the passenger and the taxpayer while billions have leaked out of the industry through wasteful transaction costs, dividends and profits.
‘The government’s proposals do nothing to address the problems created by privatisation. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, the government mantra remains: privatisation works, let’s have more of it.
‘The TUC is proud to support railway workers, passengers and communities in defence of affordable, accessible and safer rail. We will be stepping up our efforts and building on the fantastic partnership we have put in place with unions and transport campaigners in the months ahead.’
General Secretary of ASLEF Mick Whelan said: ‘There is no strategy at the heart of the Rail Command Paper. It leaves a lot of guesswork. TOCs are going to have to find £700m savings year on year, and they will effectively be writing their own franchises. The simplest way for them to make those savings is to cut staff and wage costs.’
General Secretary of RMT Bob Crow said: ‘The McNulty Review was right on some things. European railways are often more cost-effective and offer better and cheaper services. The case is clear that integrated, national state run railways offer better value and efficiency than the fragmented privatised mess we face in this country. The solution is simple, bring back rail under a single integrated management under public ownership.’
General Secretary of TSSA Manuel Cortes said: ‘All the evidence suggests that passengers want staff on trains and at stations. In many cases, the booking office workers are the only staff left at that station. You close those ticket offices and those stations become deserted, with huge implications for passenger safety and security. If the government and TOCs want to cut ticket office staff, they are going to have the fight of their lives.’
National Officer for Rail at Unite Julia Long said: ‘We need a rail industry that delivers for passengers and the wider UK economy. That includes train procurement that supports UK manufacturing. The government has made some positive statements around the need to secure UK benefits from train orders - following hard union campaigning - but plans to delegate more train procurement to the train operators will undermine any serious attempts at an effective industrial strategy for UK train manufacturing.’
Campaigns Director at Campaign for Better Transport Richard Hebditch said: ‘Some of the proposals on ticketing reform, such as the commitment to part-time season tickets and increasing smart ticketing technology, could be helpful. However passengers want available staff, they want affordable trains and they want a reliable service.
‘The government claims to want to reduce ticket prices but this is only once the ambitious savings have been achieved and economic circumstances change. For the foreseeable future, we expect to see inflation plus three per cent fare rises on regulated fares and now there will punishing fare hikes for those commuters who travel during peak hours, most of whom are forced to do so by the hours that they work.’
Responding to the other speakers Maria Eagle said: ‘The government’s rail strategy is set to put private profit before passengers thanks to its inability to stand up to vested interests. Passengers are already feeling the impact of fare rises of up to 11 per cent this year thanks to the government’s decision to give back to train companies the right to hike fares by more than the so-called fare cap. We now know from the refranchising tender documents that bidders have been promised the right to hike fares by eight per cent above inflation in 2013 and 2014 and then six per cent above inflation every year for the next 15 years.
‘To add to the pressure facing commuters, ministers are also set to give TOCs even greater freedoms, including permitting even more expensive ’super peak’ tickets and closing ticket offices, making it harder to get the cheapest deals.
‘It’s no surprise that the party that brought us the botched and costly privatisation of the rail industry is hell bent on finishing the job of handing control of Britain’s rail network to private TOCs.
‘As a result of these plans, profit will now be the driving principle behind rail infrastructure in addition to rail services. The proposed deep alliances will see a single regional manager for the first time being accountable not just to Network Rail, but equally to private train company bosses. The creation of a set of mini-’Railtracks’ will take us back to the days when decisions on infrastructure and maintenance were profit-driven.’

£75m temporary jobs scheme launched

Paul — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 19:28:19 +0000

A £75 million scheme to create 12,000 temporary jobs for young people is to be officially launched by the Welsh Government.

Jobs Growth Wales aims to boost employment opportunities for people aged between 16 and 24 by giving them paid work for a period of six months.

Participants will earn at least the National Minimum Wage for a minimum of 25 hours per week.
Officials say the programme caters for those who are “job ready”, but cannot find employment.

The Welsh Labour-led Government in Cardiff Bay, who made Jobs Growth Wales one of its key commitments in its election manifesto last year, insisted it would help local companies as well as boost young people’s job prospects in the long term by giving them valuable experience.

Jeff Cuthbert AM is the deputy minister for skills.

He said: “The current financial climate has led to the emergence of a growing number of 16 to 24-year-olds who have fallen outside work or education.

“Jobs Growth Wales will enable individuals to gain good quality work experience to progress into permanent employment or where appropriate an apprenticeship.”

The Caerphilly AM also said there would be three specific streams of the scheme, which would target graduates, micro business and “green” jobs.

First Minister Carwyn Jones is set to officially launch Jobs Growth Wales when he visits call centre company Scarlet Communications in Carmarthen.

Nissan makes Sunderland’s day with jobs a plenty

Fraser — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 19:41:55 +0000

The Japanese Car maker Nissan is to make in excess of 1,000 staff for new jobs new UK jobs in the North East as it confirms to Prime Minister David Cameron that a new model of the car will be built in the UK. It means that over 200 jobs will be direct with Nissan in their existing factories and almost 1,000 will be formed in supplier companies where they supply components to the Japanese motor giant.

Along with a new new compact car that was unveiled a month ago, the impact of both new models will create in the region of 3,000 new jobs over the next few years.

Once recruitment for both models is complete, the Sunderland plant’s workforce will stand at a record 6,225, supporting annual production of more than 500,000 vehicles.

More people compete for temporary work than ever

Fraser — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 22:02:00 +0000

Unemployment will not peak until at least September according to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). It predicts that an extra 100,000 people will lose their jobs in the coming months - that equates to almost 5,000 people a week needing new jobs. The temporary job market has never had such a strain on it.

Around 2.7 million workers at increased risk of losing their jobs when unfair dismissal law changes, warns TUC

Paul — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 18:33:28 +0000

Around 2.7 million workers across the UK could face an increased risk of losing their jobs when the government increases the qualifying period for protection from unfair dismissal from one year to two years on Good Friday (6 April).

The TUC is concerned that this change in the law will also increase job insecurity, discriminate against younger workers, part-time women workers and employees from black and ethnic (BME) communities, and encourage more of a ‘hire and fire’ culture in the UK.
The government argues that watering down unfair dismissal rights will help to boost recruitment and help companies grow. However, while the qualifying period for unfair dismissal rights in the UK has fluctuated over time, the TUC believes there is no evidence that a shorter qualifying period has led to job losses or has constrained recruitment. Since 1999 when the qualifying period was last reduced from two years to 12 months, more than 1,750,000 extra jobs have been created in the UK.

This change in the law is also not a top priority for business. The Small Business Barometer commissioned by the Department for Business (BIS) and published in October 2011 asked 500 small and medium-sized businesses about their main obstacles to success. The biggest problem (cited by 45 per cent) was the state of the economy, while obtaining finance from the banks was the next biggest issue (12 per cent). After this came taxation, cash flow and competition. Just six per cent of small businesses listed regulation, or ‘red tape’, as their main barrier to growth.

The TUC believes the changes will have a disproportionate impact on the 2.7 million people working across the UK in temporary and part-time jobs, who risk losing out on unfair dismissal protections entirely.

Women working part-time and employees from BME communities are particularly at risk, as 1.4 million part-time female employees have been with their current employer for less than two years, and only around a third (32 per cent) of all BME employees have had the same employer for less than two years - compared with a quarter (25 per cent) of white employees.

In addition, the increased qualifying period could have a detrimental impact on younger workers - already facing serious difficulties because of record levels of youth unemployment. Nearly two in three (61 per cent) of employees aged 24 and under have less than two years service with their current employer - compared to around a quarter (24 per cent) of employees aged 30 to 40 years and less than a fifth (17 per cent) of those aged 40 to 50 years.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: ‘The government’s proposals to weaken unfair dismissal rights risk generating a ‘hire and fire’ culture in the UK and will lead to the creation of insecure employment which is here today and gone tomorrow.

‘Cutting back on protection against unfair dismissal will do nothing to boost the economy. If people are constantly in fear of losing their jobs it will lead to even less consumer spending, and losing your job is one of the worst things that can happen to anyone, especially when unemployment is so high.

‘Businesses have told the government that above all they need the economy to be growing and the banks to get lending again. The government appears to be reacting to pressure from backbench Conservative MPs rather than actual business concerns.’

Job conflict in the tech industry

Fraser — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 22:16:00 +0000

There has been conflicting jobs news in the high tech and ecommerce world this week as Yahoo has announced cuts across its global workforce in an effort to reduce cost to keep up with competitors whilst Skype, the Microsoft business, has annonced that it will be hiring staff for new jobs across 5 major global cities.

Pret hires a staff across the UK

Fraser — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 22:10:27 +0000

The high street had welcome news today when Pret a Manger the coffee and sandwich chain announced that it would be hiring in excess of 400 poeple today. Pret is renowned as a good employer and provides much needed shift and part time work for the student populations in such desperate need for work and jobs.