Posted By
Prateek Sureka
23 March 2012
“Environmentally sustainable must always be fiscally sustainable”, was the message from the Chancellor at Budget 2012. Providing a boost to North Sea oil, gas extraction and a £3billion new field allowance west of Shetland will certainly create jobs in the energy sector, but what about businesses and jobs which specifically reduce carbon emissions?
Read More
Posted By
Ksenia Zheltoukhova
22 March 2012
Since 2007 the Work Foundation’s Fit for Work initiative has examined the impact of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) on individuals, organisations and societies.
Read More
Posted By
Hiba Sameen
22 March 2012
Yesterday’s budget was meant to put Britain back on the path to growth and recovery. The Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) has set out in its forecasts what that path might look like. As the government’s watchdog on public finances, its primary function is to ensure that the government is meeting its fiscal mandate during this period of austerity. But as the governments’ fiscal target is to eliminate the structural deficit by 2016/17, one of the key judgements they are required to make is the size of the output gap.
Read More
Posted By
Spencer Thompson
21 March 2012
Today the Chancellor extended tax relief to three sections of the UK’s creative industries, animation, videogames and high-cost drama. Broadly this makes a lot of sense. As The Work Foundation have argued in the past, the creative industries have a particularly wide role in the economy, generating significant positive spillovers. We have some world-leading production capacity in these areas, but recent industrial activism in other countries such as Canada and Ireland has moved some key business abroad from the UK.
Read More
Posted By
Lizzie Crowley
21 March 2012
Today’s Budget rightly emphasises the importance of cities in delivering UK growth.
Read More
Posted By
Andrew Sissons
21 March 2012
The Chancellor told us that today’s Budget was aimed at “working families”. His Budget speech focused on tax changes to help those on middle and lower incomes, but in doing so he paid less attention to the real issues: growth and jobs.
Read More
Posted By
Neil Lee
21 March 2012
The Budget had little to say on youth unemployment. Part of this was because of theYouth Contract – going live at the start of April. Yet, as our Missing Million research programme argues, youth unemployment is a serious crisis for the UK. Given the scale of the problem it is surprising that new money wasn’t found.
Read More
Posted By
Hiba Sameen
20 March 2012
In the run-up to the Budget, the Chancellor has announced the launch of the National Loan Guarantee Scheme as part of his credit easing plans to help the economy grow. The scheme guarantees, in the first instance, £5bn of funds (which is to increase to up to £20bn depending on the success of the scheme) for companies with a turnover of up to £50m at interest rates discounted by 100 basis points. The Federation of Small Businesses has recently reported that 60% of small businesses felt that credit was unaffordable – thus, this scheme should go some way to help reduce that burden.
Read More
Posted By
Andrew Sissons
20 March 2012
Will George Osborne deliver another Budget for Growth tomorrow? If the usual trail of pre-Budget trails and leaks is anything to go by, those looking to government to take a lead on growth are likely to be disappointed. Of course, Osborne may have kept a suite of blockbuster growth policies up his sleeve for tomorrow to blow away such doubts, but the early signs don’t look good.
Read More
Posted By
Ian Brinkley
16 March 2012
A major focus for comments on the latest labour market figures was the much bigger rise in unemployment for women compared with men. Of the 28,000 increase in unemployed by the ILO measure, 22,000 were accounted for by women, with the female unemployment rate rising to 7.7 per cent.
Read More
Posted By
Annie Peate
13 March 2012
A year ago today, Lord Davies published ‘Women on Boards’ calling for all FTSE company boards to increase their female representation to a minimum of 25% by 2015.
Read More
Posted By
Annie Peate
12 March 2012
A new report published today (12 March) by the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) claims women aren’t after examples of female role models who have ‘given it all’ to reach senior management positions. Instead, women would prefer to see mentors who have achieved a successful work/life balance – without the sacrifice repeatedly advertised as integral to success.
Read More
Posted By
Nicola Mendelsohn, IPA President and Executive Chairman and Partner, Karmarama
09 March 2012
Together the creative industries represent 5.6% of UK GVA, is the UK’s third largest export sector and generates £59bn. But, as I set out in my inaugural speech as IPA President, if we are to maintain our strong position and pioneering spirit in this rapidly evolving and converging marketplace, we must build better skills and connections - as well as re-energise the industry with fresh talent.
Read More
Posted By
Professor Stephen Bevan
09 March 2012
The Work Foundation, ever since its earliest incarnation as the Boy’s Welfare Society in 1918, has always had a strong conviction that work can and should be an enriching and animating experience for everyone. In the last decade, we’ve been carrying out research on the economic and social consequences of the steady decline in job quality in the UK labour market. We have argued in favour of more Good Work because it helps drive labour productivity, employee engagement, physical and psychological health and well-being.
Read More
Posted By
Annie Peate
08 March 2012
Today (8 March) marks the 101th anniversary of International Women’s Day. Undoubtedly this special day, celebrated by women and men all around the world, gives us all the opportunity to collectively reflect on the progress, achievements and successes of women past and present. And there have been many.
Read More