Tech London Advocates’ Russ Shaw: Why transparency on pay will help, not hinder, London’s tech sector July 15, 2015 The Prime Minister's plans to force firms to publish average salaries of male and female employees has been met with reluctance from many within the private sector but it has kept the spotlight firmly on diversity and talent within British business. Within the technology sector, this continued focus from government and business leaders is [...]
Gender pay rule gets lukewarm City reception: Focus should be on getting “more women into senior executive positions” July 14, 2015 The government's plan for companies to reveal pay differences between men and women received cautious backing from the business world yesterday, yet critics insist it will not improve equality in the workplace. Feelings from major City firms were mixed after David Cameron announced that large companies will be required to hand over data on [...]
Strong UK job market boosts profit for recruiter Michael Page July 14, 2015 A booming British jobs market has raised the earnings of recruiter Michael Page. Over the first half of the year its UK gross profit was 12 per cent higher compared with the same period last year, the company said yesterday. “The market has been consistently strong all year, with good levels of demand and candidate [...]
Will Cameron help women in the workplace by forcing large firms to disclose gender pay data? July 14, 2015 Vicky Pryce, chief economic adviser at CEBR and author with Stefan Stern of Why Women Need Quotas (Biteback, 2015), says Yes Voluntary arrangements have not worked and forcing organisations to publish pay differentials is now essential. Interestingly young women do better than young men in their 20s. But thereafter the trend changes and the pay [...]
Gender pay gap: Why Cameron’s announcement is good news for the economy July 14, 2015 Like David Cameron, I want to look back at the gender pay gap in the same way we look back at women not voting and working – as something archaic, delusional and fundamentally wrong. Cameron’s announcement that large firms will have to disclose the average salary for both male and female employees will highlight the [...]
Top UK firms to reveal wages for male and female employees as David Cameron vows to “end gender pay gap” July 13, 2015 Large companies will soon be required to publish what they pay male and female employees, under new rules to be announced by Prime Minister David Cameron today as part of a commitment to “end the gender pay gap in a generation”. The rules will apply to companies with more than 250 workers. A consultation with [...]
Are languages useful in business? With few bilingual people in the UK, there are rewards for those willing to learn July 13, 2015 Foreign languages have long been labelled an “asset” for anyone wanting to succeed in business. But for many native English speakers, the status of their mother tongue as a lingua franca can make learning a second language seem pointless. Aside from the ability to socialise with non-English speakers and the cultural value of being able [...]
CBI: Apprentice levy won’t fix skills crisis July 12, 2015 Britain’s top business group will lash out at the government’s new apprenticeships plan today, arguing that the move is “unlikely” to help fix the UK’s skills shortage. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) publishes a survey this morning showing that over half of firms are afraid that they will not be able to find staff [...]
Better apprenticeships will transform UK productivity July 12, 2015 Of recent proposals to boost growth and productivity in London, by far the most controversial is the Airports Commission plan to build a third runway at Heathrow. The government is split on the issue. Both Boris and his likely successor as Tory candidate for mayor, Zac Goldsmith, are bitterly opposed. Both represent west London constituencies [...]
Rationale of bank surcharge under fire as IFS think tank blasts George Osborne’s 2015 July Budget July 9, 2015 A leading think tank has criticised the volatility of the UK’s bank levy and the thinking behind a new bank surcharge as part of a wider assault on what it described as a “deeply disappointing” Budget. There would have been 13 different bank levy rates in 10 years by 2020 under Wednesday’s Budget plans, [...]