Last updated 23 January
CIPD supports new flexible job design guidance
The CIPD supported award-winning recruitment company Women Like Us in the development of a helpdesk and toolkit aimed at offering free help for employers looking to create new flexible or part-time jobs.
The helpline will offer free and impartial advice on many of the questions that employers find themselves facing when thinking about offering flexible or part-time roles, such as whether there is a business need for such a role in their organisations, how to create an appropriate job description, and how to set holiday entitlement.
The Flexible Job Design Helpdesk number is 0800 781 1604 and is free to phone. Employers can find more information on the Women Like Us website.
New Benchmark report series
In December, the CIPD produced a new series of reports, focusing on various elements of workplace policy that have come to prominence over the year and evaluating their impact on the business community. The first in the series considers the increasing problem of youth unemployment in the context of the economic downturn, as well as the impact of straitened personal finances on people's ability to save for retirement.
CIPD brings Secretary of State together with our members to discuss welfare-to-work and youth employment
In December the CIPD, together with the CBI and welfare-to-work provider A4e, organised a roundtable event bringing together a large number of private sector employers and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith. The explored employers' views of hiring from the ranks of the long-term unemployed and discussed the business case for using welfare-to-work providers to find the right people, with the right skills, to meet their business needs.
CIPD at party conferences
This year, the CIPD ran successful fringe events at the Liberal Democrat and Conservative Party Conferences, focusing on the important issues of youth unemployment and welfare reform.
Our event at the Liberal Democrat Party Conference, Dumbed down or down-trodden: What is the reality behind the 'lost generation' focused on how the Government, employers and young people themselves can tackle the increasingly important issue of youth unemployment. Joining our Chief Economic Adviser, John Philpott, on the panel were Lord German, Chair of the Liberal Democrat Backbench Work and Pensions Committee, Nicola Smith, Head of Economic and Social Affairs at the TUC and Louisa Peacock, Jobs Editor at The Daily Telegraph.
Our event at the Conservative Party Conference, Workshy and feckless or an alternative to migrant labour: Re-branding the British dole queue discussed the issue of unemployment in the context of the Government's welfare reforms, including the role of the Work Programme and welfare-to-work providers in helping those hardest to reach back into the labour market. Joining John Philpott on the panel were Employment Minister Chris Grayling MP, The Baroness Stedman-Scott, and Andrew Dutton, Chief Executive of A4e.
Demand for migrant workers reaches record high as young people lack crucial workplace skills
During the week when GCSE results and quarterly immigration statistics were published, the CIPD's Labour market outlook: Focus on young people showed that employer demand for school leavers has fallen since last year, whilst demand for migrant workers has reached a record high.
1 in 4 (25%) of employers planned to hire EU migrant workers in the three months to September, compared to only 12% intending to recruit school leavers aged 16. Employers continue to express concern about the employability of school leavers, citing poor literacy, numeracy and general employability skills such as customer service as barriers to recruitment.
More than half of UK workers 'totally unaware' of upcoming pension reforms
In August, the CIPD released the latest instalment of its Employee outlook series, focusing on the Government's proposed pension reforms. Focus on pay and pensions showed that over half of the UK workforce (53%) is completely unaware of upcoming changes to pensions, such as automatic enrolment, and how these changes may affect them.
CIPD responds to Modern workplaces consultation
On Monday 8 August, the CIPD responded to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills' consultation into Modern workplaces. The consultation document sought the views of individuals and organisations on the proposed extension of the right to request flexible working to all employees, as well as a new proposed system of shared parental leave. In our response, we reiterated our call for the right to request flexible working to be extended to all employees by the end of this Parliament.
In addition, we worked with a select group of our senior members, including HR Directors from KPMG, BT, British Gas, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Marks and Spencer to express the business benefits of flexible working in a letter to The Times. This was printed in The Times on 8 August.
CIPD mentoring pilot goes live!
On Monday 25 July, CIPD launched a 12-month mentoring pilot pairing young jobseekers with HR professionals, which we are running in conjunction with our Coventry and Warwickshire branch. The mentoring scheme is entirely voluntary, with our members in the region volunteering an hour a week for seven weeks to mentor a young jobseeker in the local area, helping them to improve their employability skills and make them 'workplace-ready'. We are pleased to say that we have already received a significant number of mentoring applications from our members, and we hope that the scheme will make a big difference to young people in the West Midlands!
Employee outlook: Focus on pay
On Wednesday 3 August, the CIPD released Employee outlook: Focus on pay, showing that almost 3 in 5 (58%) of employees have received a pay freeze since January 2011, whilst only 1 in 4 (28%) have received a pay rise. With the cost of living continuing to rise, our Reward Adviser Charles Cotton that many employees will feel increasing pressure on their finances as their pay struggles to keep pace with inflation.
CIPD launches the Government's new Common Best Practice Code for High-Quality Internships
On Monday 18 July, the CIPD launched the Common Best Practice Code for High-Quality Internships. Developed by the BIS Gateways to the Professions Collaborative Forum, the Code is based heavily on the CIPD's own 2009 guide, Internships that work: A guide for employers. The Code was launched at the Chartered Accountants' Hall in Central London. CIPD CEO Jackie Orme introduced the event and the Code, which also featured a keynote speech by Universities and Science Minister David Willetts.
The event also launched Professions for Good, a group of professional bodies representing over one million professionals worldwide from the human resources, legal, accountancy, property and engineering professions. The event featured panel discussions on the importance of internships for social mobility and business, and the importance of fair access to the professions to ensure that they are able to recruit top talent.
Over 200 delegates from across the professions attended this event, sharing their opinions and concerns about the new Code and how they intend to drive forward the internships agenda.
ONS Pension Trends statistics show fewer people are contributing to pensions
On 23 June the ONS released its Pension Trends data, showing that the number of people contributing to pension schemes in the private sector had fallen from the previous year. 39% of men and 28% of women are contributing to pension schemes, down from 52% and 41% respectively in 2010. However, participation rates in the public sector remained stable.
The CIPD's Employee outlook: Focus on pensions showed that more people would be encouraged to save for their retirement if they knew the size of the pension pot they would need to retire comfortably. CIPD calls for there to be more information available about pensions and saving options, and for the Government to support employer efforts in communicating upcoming pension changes to employees.
CIPD delivers welfare-to-work roundtable event with Employment Minister
On 16 June the CIPD hosted a roundtable event with welfare-to-work provider A4e, aimed at encouraging employers to engage with welfare-to-work providers to recruit the unemployed into sustainable work. Employment Minister Chris Grayling attended the discussion, alongside a number of CIPD senior members, and welcomed the CIPD's support for what the Government is trying to achieve on employment and welfare reform.
A number of our members expressed their intention to work with welfare-to-work providers in the future.
ONS releases labour market statistics
On 15 June the Office for National Statistics released its Labour market statistics bulletin for the months February to April 2011. This showed that 88,000 people found work in the past three months, taking the total number of unemployed down to 2.43 million, the lowest rate for 10 years. However, the total number of people claiming Jobseekers' Allowance in May rose to almost 20,000.
The CIPD welcomed the rise in employment but expressed concern about ongoing public sector job losses, the scale of which have proved to be bigger than the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR)'s forecast at the time of the June Budget.
Work Horizons - The economic rights and wrongs of economic regulation
At a time of stringent debate about the impact of employment regulation on job creation and economic growth, this Work Horizons report argues against the simplistic mindset that views all employment regulations as 'bad' and dergulatory measures as therefore being 'good'. The report explores the various costs, benefits and economic impact of employment regulation, showing that the issue is often not as straightforward as it seems.
BIS launches Modern Workplaces consultation
On Monday 16 May, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills launched its new Modern Workplaces consultation. The consultation will explore various issues, including a new system of flexible parental leave which will allow mothers and fathers to share leave, extending the right to request flexible working to all employees, and tackling unequal pay by requiring all employers who lose and Employment Tribunal case on equal pay to carry out a pay audit.
CIPD Chief Executive Jackie Orme shared the platform at the launch with Business Secretary Vince Cable, Home Secretary Theresa May and Employment Relations Minister Ed Davey.
New employment regulations come into force
Wednesday 6 April was the implementation date for a number of new employment regulations. This date saw the beginning of the phasing-out period of the Default Retirement Age, which will be completely removed by October 2011. In addition, a cap was imposed on the number of economic migrants from outside the EU that employers can bring to work in the UK.
The CIPD welcomed the Government's decision to press ahead with the removal of the DRA, but called for more immediate action on extending the right to request flexible working to all employees. The right to request was due to be extended to parents of children up to 18 years on 6 April, but has now been delayed.
Government launches Employee Engagement Taskforce
On 29 March, Prime Minister David Cameron and Business Minister Edward Davey launched a new Employee Engagement Taskforce. The new taskforce will have a crucial role to play in boosting UK competitiveness and productivity, helping to build a strong and sustainable recovery.
CIPD Chief Executive Jackie Orme attended the launch of the taskforce at Number 10 Downing Street, and the CIPD will be actively supporting this new initiative, encouraging the Government to invest strongly in the management and leadership skills that drive employee engagement and productivity.
Chancellor of the Exchequer delivers Budget
On 23 March, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne delivered his second Budget statement of this Parliament. This Budget builds on action announced in the Spending Review 2010 and the June Budget 2010 last June. The Government’s economic policy objective is to achieve strong, sustainable and balanced growth that is more evenly shared across the country and between industries.
A number of measures were introduced, including:
- A universal, flat-rate pension of £140 a week
- A three-year moratorium on new business regulations for organisations with fewer than 10 employees
- Extra funding set aside for 50,000 new apprenticeships and 100,000 work experience placements for the young unemployed
- Fuel duty to be cut by 1p per litre
The CIPD response to the Budget focused on its effect on jobs, pension reform and the business regulation moratorium:
Iain Duncan-Smith responds to CIPD calls for greater clarity in youth unemployment statistics
In March, the CIPD released its latest Work Audit, focusing on youth unemployment. The report called for a more measured debate on this issue, as official statistics have often been subject to misinterpretation. The CIPD argued that talk of 'lost generations' of jobless young people is too simplistic, and fails to take account of increasing numbers of people in higher education.
Iain Duncan Smith, Work and Pensions Secretary, made use of the report in a letter to the Office for National Statistics, expressing concern about the way unemployment statistics were presented and arguing that they should not include students, who are typically not considered 'workless'.
Lord Hutton of Furness publishes review into public sector pensions
On 10 March, Lord Hutton published his final report recommending changes to public sector pensions to make them fairer and more sustainable in the long-term. Suggestions included changing final-salary schemes to a pay-out based on average pay over workers' careers.
The CIPD response highlighted the need for clear and effective employee communication in ensuring upcoming changes are to be understood and the benefits of employer contributions to pensions fully appreciated.
Lord Davies of Abersoch publishes review into women in the boardroom
On 24 February, Lord Davies of Abersoch published his review into women in the boardroom, which calls for firms to adopt voluntary targets in order to achieve a minimum of 25% female representation on boards by 2015.
The CIPD response welcomed Lord Davies' focus on organisations adopting a voluntary approach to making sure targets are met, and highlighted the need to challenge established norms in order to make a lasting difference to diversity at all levels.