Weekly News Round-up
A summary of industry news from around the country
Flexible working could save local government £1.1bn
Research carried out for NTL Telewest suggests that local authorities could save £1.1bn in reduced facilities costs and improved job satisfaction if they allowed more employees to work from home. Seven out of 10 people questioned said that theybelieved home working would allow them to get more done during the working day compared to their normal productivity level in the office. Cutting out, or down on commuting was also seen as a positive move for productivity, and some employees appear willing to spend some of the time saved on finishing work tasks.
Public sector absence nearly double that of private
Average absence levels across the public sector stood at 9 days last year, almost double the 5.8 day average of the private sector and costing the UK economy an estimated £13.2bn according to a CBI/AXA report. Susan Anderson, the CBI’s director of HR policy said that “low morale, poor management and a culture of absence were at least partly to blame” for high levels of long-term absence in the public sector. The report found that absence could be successfully managed and reduced through a combination of “carrot and stick” approaches, such as offering medical insurance, health support or flexible working alongside formal absence management policies including not paying sick leave for the first three days of absence.
Staff to get the right to time off for learning
UK employees will be given the right to request time off to train, the prime minister announced on Wednesday. In a draft Queen’s Speech delivered to the House of Commons, Gordon Brown stated that workers would be given the right to ask for unpaid time off to attend training and educational courses. This right, which will be included in an education bill which could come into force in April 2009, would operate in a similar way to the current right to request flexible working.
IT sector maintains optimistic outlook
Despite credit crunches and economic slowdown, staff turnover in the IT sector remains high according to a survey by the IT Job Board. Most respondents to the survey remain optimistic about a career in IT and their organisation’s security in the face of economic uncertainty. One thing the survey revealed was the continuing gender imbalance in the sector, with only 13% of respondents being women. Training Synergy Director David Field commented “This is another area where we are market leaders, because as a result of our flexible working practices, over 60% of our IT trainers are women”
Story Date
16 May 2008
More information
For more information about any of these news stories, please contact either Daniel Hanlon or David Field.
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