Our welfare system today is politically toxic and the public debate about it has become untethered from evidence or a semblance of rational discussion. Beneath the hyperbole, the government’s welfare reform agenda offers no solution to this deep crisis of legitimacy. For three decades, successive governments have pursued broadly similar strategies that have had mixed … Continue reading
A scheme to help the unemployed find work appears to be failing the most disadvantaged jobseekers, according to MPs on the Work and Pensions Committee. Their report said support for the mainstream jobless in the government’s Work Programme, launched in June 2011, was getting better after a poor start. But it said there was growing … Continue reading
We need to put young people back to work. The coalition’s wage incentive scheme aimed to do this, but the early evidence suggests that it is actually doing very little to create new jobs, with only 9 per cent of employers creating vacancies as a direct result of the scheme. Instead, we should adopt a … Continue reading
Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, the recipient of the world’s biggest banking bailout, will cut 1,400 jobs at its U.K. consumer banking unit in the next two years. The lender will spend 700 million pounds ($1.07 billion) updating its branches and improving its complaints handling and mortgage processing, it said in a statement today. … Continue reading
A new study from some of Britian’s leading horticultural organisations has revealed a serious lack of skilled workers in the horticultural industry, with more than 70 per cent of companies struggling to find skilled workers. More than 80 per cent of businesses surveyed said they believed that the poor reputation of horticultural jobs with young … Continue reading
Unemployment jumped and average wage rises dropped to their lowest rate on record in the three months to March, underlining concerns at the slow pace of the UK’s recovery. There was an increase in unemployment of 15,000 in the first quarter of the year while during the same period regular pay rose by just 0.8%. … Continue reading
People aged 18-24 are far less likely to be in work today than before the recession and 395,000 more jobs are needed before youth unemployment rates return to their 2008 level, according to research by the Trade Union Congress (TUC). The research has been published ahead of the latest employment figures tomorrow, which are expected … Continue reading
Pro-European business leaders responded on Tuesday to the surge in support for Ukip by proposing to restrict EU immigrants’ access to benefits, including a three-month qualification period for jobseeker’s allowance and removal of child benefit for offspring not living in the UK. The Business for New Europe group admitted there was “a massive credibility gap” … Continue reading
In a book to be released this month, professors David Stuckler and Sanjay Basu say suicide rates in both the U.S. and the U.K. increased after the end of 2007, which marked the beginning of the recession in the U.S. They calculate there were 4,750 “excess” suicides during the slump in the U.S., compared with … Continue reading
Official unemployment figures are disguising the fact that a significant number of people who are in both full time and part time work are not able to work longer hours even though they want to, a report published on Thursday suggests. According to an analysis carried out for the National Institute of Economic and Social … Continue reading
Office for National Statistics says that the trend in economic output was ‘best described as flat’ Real GDP in UK recessions. Source: ONS The Office for National Statistics has paved the way for erasing Britain’s double-dip recession from the history books, arguing in an article on Wednesday that the state of the economy since autumn … Continue reading
Employees have a number of rights when employers try to wield the axe, but many are not entirely clear about what they are entitled to when threatened with redundancy. As a result, myths abound. Here are some common misconceptions and the truth behind them. Myth I will get a reference when I leave. Reality There … Continue reading
More than 10,000 NHS staff have been made redundant in the past three financial years as a result of the government’s commissioning reforms, according to official figures. New information was published by the Department of Health on Tuesday in its final “people tracker” document, which collects workforce information on the reform transition. It also reveals … Continue reading
Jobseekers are being made to complete bogus psychometric tests by the Department for Work and Pensions – and told that in some cases they risk losing their benefits if they do not complete the meaningless online questionnaire. The test called My Strengths, devised by Downing Street’s behavioural insights or “nudge” unit, has been exposed by … Continue reading
Tata Steel, Europe’s second-largest steel producer after ArcelorMittal, plans to close down two research and development facilities in the UK and shift them to the Netherlands and India, resulting in 300-400 job losses. Citing unnamed sources, The Sunday Times yesterday said that Tata Steel Europe (earlier known as Corus) plans to close two technology centres … Continue reading