HR News Roundup - October 2024

Welcome to our October HR News Roundup where we keep an eye on what’s hot in HR and bring you the latest news stories relevant to our industry. With the government’s recent announcement about the Employment Rights Bill plus new legislation coming into force this month, we focus on what these changes mean for employers. There’s also some interesting research around work-life balance, burnout, cybersecurity and age discrimination. Do the words you use to describe groups of employees in the workplace matter? Take a seat, grab a brew and explore what’s happening in the world of work.

Government launches Employment Rights Bill

On 10^th October the Government announced the overhaul of UK worker’s rights promised in their election manifesto. The Bill is designed to protect employees (especially those on the lowest salaries), boost pay and improve job security. It will have to go through parliamentary approval before becoming law, therefore employers should have up to two years to prepare for the forthcoming changes. 

What are the main changes employers can expect?

• Statutory sick pay, protection from unfair dismissal, paternity leave, parental leave and bereavement leave will become a day one right.

• A ban on exploitative zero-hours contracts and fire and rehire practices.

• A repeal of anti-union legislation.

• Additional reporting and compliance requirements for employers.

The government also outlined plans to consult on the right to switch off, ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting, and creating a new employment status definition. The CIPD has welcomed the Bill, calling it “a landmark moment for British workers’ rights”. Legal experts suggest businesses will have to increase HR budgets in order to cover the cost of the changes.

Take a look at these quick links to useful resources on this subject:

1. Watch the CIPD’s response to the new legislation

2. HR News - 7 things every employer should know about the Employment Rights Bill

3. People Management - What businesses need to know

4. Employer News - Could the new approach to flexible working re-ignite the battle for top talent?

Sexual harassment in the workplace

From 26th October 2024, employers will be under a new duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. Employers could face penalties if they fail to take reasonable steps to protect workers. To make sure you and your team are fully prepared for the Worker Protection Act 2023, join our free webinar on 24^th October where we’ll explore the changes in more detail - register here.

Wellbeing that works: Tackling burnout through leader-led change

Ipsos Karian and Box has released its latest report into wellbeing at work. Insight shows that 37% of UK employees are close to or have already reached burnout. The research has looked into the factors which drive burnout, how managers and leaders affect employee wellbeing, and what employees want their employer to prioritise.   

Download the report

Is HR burnout about to impact your team?

Continuing on the theme of burnout, wellbeing analysis has found that 98% of HR professionals have felt burnout due to the intensity of their role and responsibilities. Increased workload in the aftermath of the pandemic, the impact of Brexit on recruitment and retention, and having to respond to continual legislation changes are thought to be behind this statistic. This article explores the signs and self-care strategies to prevent burnout in yourself and your team. 

UK workers have poor work-life balance

The Work-Life Balance report 2024 concludes that the UK ranks amongst the worst countries in the world for work-life balance. Spain, France and Kazakhstan came out in the top three places while the UK ranked 34 out of the 40 countries analysed. The research looked at holiday entitlement, number of bank holidays, flexible working and other employment benefits. Findings suggest that the UK’s poor maternity and paternity leave offerings and a lack of flexible working opportunities are the main factors in our fall down the rankings. 

Education, Engineering and Accountancy have the most job vacancies

Resume.io has analysed job adverts across online marketplace Reed2 to identify the sectors with the highest number of job vacancies in the UK. Apprenticeships, Training and Graduate Training & Internships have the fewest vacancies, suggesting there is lower demand. Are you struggling to fill job vacancies in your company? Talk to one of our HR Consultants on 0161 941 2426 for helpful advice. 

7.3m people actively seeking new employment

While employers struggle to fill vacancies, HR software provider Ciphr has revealed that more than one in four UK employees have been seeking new job opportunities this year, largely driven by the increasing cost of living. The study of 1,200 workers found that younger employers are more motivated to make a change and people in London are most likely to be looking for a new role. Those seeking new employment are most likely to be in sales, business management consulting, and hospitality and events.  

The HR cybersecurity gap

October is cybersecurity awareness month. This article from The HR Director highlights a gap in online data protection in the HR sector. With an abundance of personal data being stored by them, HR and recruitment businesses are the most likely to have experienced a phishing attack within their work environment. Research suggests people working in HR are more likely to be targeted by spurious emails requesting they share sensitive information or click on bogus links and attachments. Helpfully, the article also shares some of the most common scenarios and ways to protect your people and business from a cyber attack.

How can HR support seasonal workers?

With many employers seeking to onboard additional employees to cover seasonal demand, HR Magazine asks what HR teams can do to support colleagues on temporary contracts. The article stresses the importance of having effective processes in place for administration, contract management, shift-scheduling, and communication as well as the benefits of using digital learning platforms for efficient onboarding.   

Do we need to become more age-agnostic?

This thought-provoking article by Phoenix Insights suggests HR should phase out the labels ‘older workers’, ‘recent graduate’ and ‘midlife workers’ to avoid age discrimination in the workplace. The author suggests the terms be replaced with factual descriptions such as ‘employees aged 50-plus’ or ‘qualified up to degree level’ instead. What do you think? Which of these terms do you think are acceptable to use in your organisation?