60% of adults rank PMI as top workplace benefit – Howden Life and Health
Howden’s research found that 27% of adults have paid for private treatment themselves in the past five years.
Latest
80% to 76% decline in skills, survey suggests UK’s skills gap may have passed its peak
ManpowerGroup’s Talent Shortage Survey was published today and showed a decline in the volume of organisations reporting skills shortages.
Parents to receive day one right to neonatal care leave and pay
Neonatal Care Leave will apply to parents of babies who are admitted into neonatal care up to 28 days old.
Regional pay divide shows Government must follow through on plans for growth – Centre for Cities
Salaries in London are nearly £20,000 higher than in Burnley, Huddersfield and Middlesbrough.
Council-owned company employees paid less than town hall staff, says UNISON
Thousands of workers employed by council-owned trading companies are paid less and receive inferior pensions than town hall staff.
APSCo calls for urgent collaboration to tackle healthcare workforce crisis
APSCo called for partnerships between NHS employers and other stakeholders to deliver the long-term workforce plan.
Nine in 10 employers learn of neurodivergence after hiring staff, survey finds
HR Dept LTD said that candidates often avoid disclosing their neurodivergence at interview due to the fear of their success being impeded by discrimination.
Compensation & Benefits
EZOO calls on EV community to champion electrification for World EV Day
Salary sacrifice provider EZOO is urging staff, customers and EV drivers to share positive experiences and challenge misconceptions as part of World EV Day.
Median pay awards fall to 3% for first time since 2021 – IDR
The biggest group of pay awards, at 53%, were in the 3% to 3.99% range, up from 35% last month.
Recruitment & HR
Stoke-on-Trent City Council consults on plan to add 84 hectares of employment land
The plan covers everything from new homes and jobs to transport, green spaces and regeneration of derelict sites.
Contract recruitment rises year-on-year as firms favour flexible hiring
APSCo’s latest Hiring Trends report shows contract roles up 11% in August compared to 2024, despite a seasonal slowdown in permanent hiring.
UK records sharp decline in hiring plans – ManpowerGroup
The UK recorded the sharpest drop in planned hiring globally, down 17 percentage points year-on-year and 8 points on the quarter.
Candidate numbers rise as hiring slows, research reveals
KPMG and REC data showed that permanent and temporary staff availability increased sharply, mostly due to redundancies and fewer job opportunities.
Inclusivity, Equality & Diversity
Towergate warns employers on cultural sensitivities for World Suicide Prevention Day
Towergate Employee Benefits has urged businesses with overseas staff to consider cultural differences when communicating around suicide prevention ahead of World Suicide Prevention Day.
Care England and Menopause Support launch menopause awareness series
The series covers five webinars on topics like symptoms, workplace support, genitourinary syndrome of menopause, UTIs and brain health.
La Fosse to launch female mentorship programme to support future leaders in tech
The scheme, unveiled following the company’s UNBOUND initiative launched in July, will pair experienced leaders with rising female talent to provide skills, confidence, and guidance for career progression.
Robert Half and Pegasus named among Best Workplaces in Consulting & Professional Services for 2025
Other large and super large firms listed were AlphaSights, Baringa, Gleeds LLP, Gowling WLG, Leyton, PKF Francis Clark, ResultsCX, Saffery LLP and Slalom.
Technology
Deloitte Legal partners with Legora to deliver AI solutions for legal sector
The two businesses plan to make legal services more efficient and deliver better results for clients.
QA launches BLX to address workplace training issues
Ben Sweetman said: “Organisations need more ways to learn; that’s a critical aspect of the value we offer. BLX is built to solve that."
Somerset Council rolls out AI to cut admin for social workers
The pilot found that report writing and assessments were submitted 65% faster and weekly admin time dropped by 46%.
Health & Wellbeing
Workplace absence rates rises to 9.4 days per worker a year – CIPD
Mental ill health such as depression or anxiety was the top reason for long-term absence, reported by 41% of employers.
iRG Repair Group commits to reforestation partnership with JUST ONE Tree
Vehicle repair specialist iRG has joined forces with JUST ONE Tree, pledging donations linked to staff milestones and customer reviews to support global restoration projects.
HCML appoints Marc Holl as chief quality officer
In his new role, he will focus on building HCML’s professional networks across its health, wellbeing and rehabilitation services.
West Northamptonshire Council invests £415,000 to boost local skills and wellbeing
The funding is set to help people build skills, improve wellbeing and access new opportunities.
Employee Relations
Most workers prioritise job security as labour market slows – Employment Hero
The survey found 55% of workers put job security first, especially among 18 to 34-year-olds, where that figure rose to 65%.
Skanska and peers launch ‘Workforce Assured’ to lift labour standards
The scheme was set up by over 175 members to improve how companies recruit, manage and pay staff, especially agency and self-employed workers.
Searches for ‘reasons to call out of work’ surge by 1450% – Reboot Online
Searches for four-day work week companies, 32-hour work week, WFH side hustle and WFH jobs with no experience all rose by over 4,000%.
Half of businesses report rising staffing costs in August – ONS
Around 17% of businesses said hourly wages increased in July compared to June, which was a sharp drop from April but in line with July 2024.
Global HR
Teesside University Online expands global reach through FutureLearn partnership
The deal will see TU Online’s undergraduate, postgraduate and certificate programmes promoted and available through FutureLearn.
Workday targeted in cyber attack but says customer data not affected
The company said the incident formed part of a wider social engineering campaign affecting “many large organisations,” in which attackers posed as HR or IT staff.
Deel launches AI Workforce to support HR and payroll teams
The move comes as industry surveys highlight growing strain on HR teams, with SHRM’s latest Workforce Report finding that more than half of HR professionals believe their teams are understaffed.
Talent shortages driving company location decisions, survey finds
Savills and CoreNet Global found that 73% of respondents in the technology sector reported a drop in skilled staff.