-
Time for workers to squeeze the most from shortages
Skills, skills, skills – with the economy rebounding out of lockdown and the exodus of EU workers post-Brexit, employers just can’t get the know-how they need right now. From traditionally lower-wage positions in hospitality and retail through to HGV drivers, construction workers and IT specialists, employers across the spectrum are reporting staff shortages that have left them […]
-
How to ask for a pay rise
Talking about money is something many of us feel uncomfortable about which can make working out how to ask for a pay rise tricky. Yet whilst you might be willing to let off a mate who borrowed a tenner because you feel awkward asking for it back, you shouldn’t be willing to settle for being […]
-
Poverty wages don’t add up to good business strategy
In-work poverty is not new, but in years past, the link between unemployment and extreme financial hardship was far stronger than it is today. Continuing job losses as the furlough programme starts winding down will undoubtedly tip more people over the edge of “just about making it”, but the problem was getting worse even before […]
-
Teeter-totter of life balance weighted by unpaid work
Despite the push in recent years to create better balance between our work and personal lives, the grind culture that has dominated for decades remains in ascendency. Its reign has no doubt been supported – perhaps even prolonged – by the aftermath of the banking crisis that left many either out of work or clinging […]
-
Catch-22 on wages has echoes of the financial crisis
It was around this time last year – mere weeks before Covid swept through the UK – that official figures showed average weekly wages had finally recovered ground lost after the financial crisis to surpass levels from March 2008. After nearly 12 years of economic turmoil and lethargic recovery, living standards for the average worker […]