In the News w/e 15 March 2009

WORKING CONDITIONS

The Government has expresed an in intention to crack down on “urban gangmasters” by increasing intelligence-gathering from exploited staff in industries such as construction, healthcare and catering, following claims that they are asked to work in dangerous or unhygienic conditions. Pat McFadden, minister for employment relations, said he had been in talks with a number of government agencies about increasing the number of whistleblowers who can help expose the growth of gangmasters. “We are absolutely determined that the recession will not be an excuse to deny people their employment rights, particularly the most vulnerable workers who might be at risk more than others,” he said. The Observer PAGE: 8,9

MANAGEMENT

The Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change (Cresc) in London has claimed that little process has been made on rethinking the management of banking and financial services.The Observer Business and Media PAGE: 9

The Mail on Sunday reports that from next month, new rules designed to cut the number of disputes that go to tribunal will encourage bosses to communicate with unhappy staff and remove the formal process for disciplining employees. At present, companies with fewer than 50 employees spend an average of £3,000 a year handling tribunal claims and lose 17 days of work to such problems, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. The Mail on Sunday PAGE: 60,61

EMPLOYMENT TRENDS

Startling new figures have revealed that on average there are 10 jobseekers for every vacancy advertised in the UK. A TUC survey shows that in some parts of the country, the task facing jobseekers is critical. The Isle of Wight has more unemployed workers per new job than any other area. In total, there are 3,152 people chasing 52 advertised vacancies, as its main industries of tourism and manufacturing suffer from the credit crunch. “These shocking figures blow out of the water the government’s claim that there are plenty of jobs available for people who are prepared to look,” said Brendan Barber, the TUC general secretary. The Observer PAGE: 1

PAY AND BENEFITS

One in 10 people retiring in 2009 will have less than £10,000 a year to live on, research released today reveals. About 11 per cent of those leaving work this year expect to receive an annual pension of less than £10,000, a survey commissioned by the insurer Prudential shows. The alarming results suggest a generation may be left to struggle. The Independent on Sunday PAGE: 2, Sunday Express Financial PAGE: 9

A ban on restaurants using staff tips to make up wages to the legal minimum could be delayed after the hospitality industry claimed the move could put jobs at risk. The British Hospitality Association (BHA) has told the Department for Business that if the change is introduced in October, as planned, it would come at the worst possible time for restaurants already struggling with falling takings. Whitehall sources said there were serious questions over whether it could be introduced in the current climate. The Observer PAGE: 18

Gordon Brown is under pressure from supporters of Harriet Harman, deputy leader of the Labour party, to bring forward a planned “supertax” on high earners. Last year the government announced a top rate of income tax of 45 per cent for those earning more than £150,000 a year but said it would not be introduced until 2011, after the next general election.The Sunday Times PAGE: 4

RECRUITMENT

Interaction Recruitment, a firm based in Cambridgeshire, has bought 31 UK offices of Kelly Services, the American employment group. The Sunday Times Business PAGE: 2

The former chief executive of Woolworths, Trevor Bish-Jones, is trying to cash in on the growing tide of unemployed company executives by launching a recruitment website. Bish-Jones, who was ousted from Woolworths last June after six years, will run Mypeoplebiz – a jobs website that aims to cut the cost of hiring by harnessing the power of social networking. It is thought that Bish-Jones has backed the initiative with his own money. The Sunday Times Business PAGE: 2

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

A London School of Curry would train home-grown chefs as restaurants find it harder to recruit from overseas because of the tough, points-based immigration system, according to Sheikh Aklaq Ahmed, programme director at the Bangladesh Caterers’ Association, who believes that 30,000 extra staff are required in order to save the Indian restaurant sector. Enam Ali, proprietor of Michelin-listed Le Raj restaurant in Epsom, Surrey, who runs the British Curry Awards, said: “If you want to be a mechanic, the training is there. Or a hairdresser. Or any other skill. But if you want to be a curry chef, there is no help. Indian restaurants will disappear just as pubs are doing unless the government works with us.” The Observer PAGE: 20

EMPLOYMENT/UNEMPLOYMENT

Labour has pressed ahead with a plan to close jobcentres across the country despite soaring levels of unemployment. The Government has shut 54 offices in the past year alone, prompting the Tories to pour scorn on ministers’ claims that they are doing everything to help victims of the recession. Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Theresa May said: “This just goes to show how complacent James Purnell has been about Britain’s growing unemployment crisis. Now unemployment is rising by over 100 per cent in some areas and there aren’t the resources to cope.” Sunday Express PAGE: 21

Unemployment has broken through the 2 million barrier for the first time since 1997, official figures out this week are expected to confirm. On Wednesday, the jobless total on the International labour organisation measure is expected to have risen by around 176,000 in the three months to January, taking it up to 2.040 million. Sunday Express Financial PAGE: 1, The Observer Business and Media PAGE: 2, The Sunday Times Business PAGE: 1

Jobseekers will get up to £300 to buy an “interview suit” under a new Government plan to help people beat the recession and find work. Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell has approved a £10mn boost over the next two years to the fund, which is awarded at the discretion of Jobcentre staff. Sunday Mirror PAGE: 16

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