(PR in) HR Pulse | HR News Round-up: 7th – 11th November 2022

Photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash

Inflation on the Rise Along with Second Jobs

A survey from Qualtrics reveals that 35% of full-time workers have been looking for jobs with higher pay, while 15% plan to take on a second job as the cost of living crisis continues. Seventy-seven percent of 1,000 full-time workers have also taken on overtime or extra shifts to increase their monthly payments. Working parents were seen to be especially affected by the recent rise in inflation as almost 9 in 10 (82%) claimed their pay could not keep up with costs, in comparison to the previous year and 88% have considered taking on a new or second job.

Workplace Discrimination

The think-tank Resolution Foundation has reported that 1 in 5 (20%) workers and those applying for roles have felt discriminated against in the past year. The report reveals a range of discrimination from 13% being rejected for future positions to 8% of promotion denials and 7% denied training. The think-tank states that for 1 in 5 ethnic minority workers ethnicity alone was the basis for discrimination, while 1 in 7 experienced discrimination based on their disabilities. This is especially worrying according to 20% of low-paid workers in comparison to 11% of higher-paid jobs.

Accentism: Still Prevalent

The Sutton Trust’s research found that a quarter (25%) of employees have been mocked for their accents at work in front of their faces. A third (33%) of senior managers are anxious when it comes to succeeding at work due to their accents, with almost a third (29%) of senior managers from working-class families stating they have had jokes made about their accents in comparison to 22% of workers from a better background, revealing the different layers of discrimination around this issue.

Reforming Employee Share Ownership Schemes

Labour MP Sir George Howarth introduced a new legislation on the 8th November in an aim to change employee share ownership scheme rules, giving preferential access to low-income workers as well as gig workers the opportunity to join. This reform would include updating the SIP (Share Incentive Plan) and the SAYE (Save-As-You-Earn/Sharesave), as well as introducing a low-paid workers scheme in a bid to rectify the recent fall of the current share ownership scheme membership, as in 2021 only 260 businesses offered a SAYE scheme compared to 340 in 2007.

Widening Pay Gap for Disabled Workers

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) urges the government to introduce a mandatory disability pay gap report for businesses, as it is revealed that disabled workers earn a sixth (17%) less than non-disabled workers, amounting to 54 days of unpaid work. This disability pay gap has increased from last year by 16.5%, now equating to a £3,731 loss per year for a 35-hour work week. The analysis discloses that disabled women are the most heavily affected at an average of 35% (£7,144 per year) in comparison to non-disabled men.

Reporting Discrimination to an Employment Tribunal

Research by Resolution Foundation has found that less than 1% of discrimination reports are reviewed by an employment tribunal with figures showing that only 1 in 243 (0.41%) disability discrimination claims were settled at tribunals in 2019 and 2020. These numbers drop significantly for other claims, including 0.26% for pregnancy/maternity leave, 0.22% for sexual discrimination, and 0.2% for ethnicity or racial discrimination. 

Majority of Businesses Invest in Ineffective Training Programmes

City & Guilds surveyed 600 L&D and HR professionals and found that almost all failed to deliver an effective training plan in the past five years, and expect an increase in staff training budgets next year. The need to attract talent has risen by 43% driving learning and development programmes to be prioritised by businesses, while 37% claimed this is due to skill shortages and 65% want to use tailor-made training programmes to curb the ‘Great Resignation’ through reskilling/upskilling and career development.

Executives Pay as Inflation Rises

Echoing the governor of the Bank of England’s pay restraint plea, the Investment Association (IA) urged all FTSE listed companies to consider the cost of living crisis and to rein in executive pay packets in 2023 in aims to curb inflation. PwC reports that in 2021-22 the average pay for a FTSE 100 CEO rose to £3.9 million and in 2018-19 CEOs received 86% of the maximum bonuses available to them, suggesting that this could be counter-productive in dealing with inflation rates. 

Pay Cuts for Job Security

Three hundred employees at Britishvolt have agreed to a pay cut this November as the Northumberland company tries to secure funds for the company's future in the upcoming recession. Although the extent of the pay cuts haven’t been confirmed, it is suggested to be up to 50%, with the executives agreeing to forgo any pay at all to allow the company to operate while they find a long-term investor. Support from the government has been called on by MP Ian Lavery, however, international trade secretary Kemi Badenoch is opposed to the idea due to the current financial climate.