WEDNESDAY 24th JANUARY at TYNCASTLE STADIUM
We are holding recruitment event on the 24 January 2024 in the Gorgie Suite, Tynecastle Stadium, McLeod St, Edinburgh EH11 2NL.
Come along and find out about roles in the Health & Care Sector with the City of Edinburgh Council and the NHS.
Tickets are available via Eventbrite and can be found here:
Festive workers who may be missing out on the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage are being urged to check their pay.
Seasonal staff and students on short-term contracts over the Christmas period, including those working in shops, hotels, Christmas markets, garden centres, restaurants and warehouses, are legally entitled to the same minimum rates as other workers.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is reminding all workers to check their hourly rate of pay – in particular, looking out for any unpaid working time, such as time spent opening and closing a shop, training, picking up extra shifts and working longer hours. Deductions, for things like uniforms or tools, can also reduce pay rates.
In the 2022 to 2023 tax year, HMRC identified wage arrears of £13.7 million due to more than 108,000 underpaid UK workers.
Marc Gill, HMRC’s Director Individuals and Small Business Compliance, said: “We want to make sure that all workers, including seasonal staff and students, are being paid what they are due this festive period, which is why we are reminding everyone to check their pay.
“People should check their hourly rate and look out for any deductions or unpaid working time. It could take them below the minimum wage.
“HMRC looks into every minimum wage complaint, so if you think you are being short-changed you should get in touch. Don’t lose out – report it.”
The National Minimum Wage hourly rates are currently:
Anyone not being paid what they are entitled to, or people concerned that someone they know may not be getting paid correctly, can report it online at GOV.UK. It is an easy process that takes around 10 minutes and reports can be made after the employment has ended.
To speak with someone, raise a concern or get further information, people can also phone the Acas Pay and Work Rights helpline on 0300 123 1100 for confidential, free advice (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm). In Northern Ireland contact the Labour Relations Agency.
Employers can access support at any time to ensure they are paying their workers correctly:
They can also contact the Acas helpline for advice.
For further information about the National Minimum Wage visit GOV.UK at:
And the Acas website.
Millions are set to benefit as the Westminster government sets out the next stages for a number of new Workers’ Rights Acts – giving more money and more say back to UK workers.
Benefits range from £200 million more back in the pockets of hard-working people, to greater flexibility over when, where and how you work.
Business and Trade Minister Kevin Hollinrake said: “As we approach Christmas, it’s more vital than ever that we do what we can to support workers and families across the country.
“I’d like to encourage businesses to be as flexible as possible and give their hard-working employees the tips they deserve.
“I want to thank the MPs who brought forward this legislation to support hard working families and shape the UK’s outstanding workers’ rights record.”
The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023, which became law in May this year, requires employers to pass all tips on to workers.
Most employers already pass on tips to the staff who earn them. However, there are still some unacceptable tipping practices by unscrupulous employers, which must be stopped.
Christmas is an incredibly busy season for hospitality workers, and usually a time of year when customers are more generous with their tips. All employees deserve to receive their fair share of tips, so the Government has launched a public consultation on the Tipping Act’s Code of Practice to gain feedback from employers, workers and other stakeholders on the fair and transparent distribution of tips.
Acas Chief Executive Susan Clews said: “The shift in recent years towards increased use of flexible working by organisations has allowed more people to better balance their working lives and enabled employers to attract and retain skilled staff.
“Acas has recently consulted on a new draft Code of Practice which outlines good practice around requests for flexible working and explains the forthcoming changes in the law to employers and employees.”
New rights to protect new parents from redundancy, give carers extra support and help all employees work flexibly are also a step closer as government has laid legislation with plans for the measures to come in next spring.
These measures will improve the lives of hard-working families across Britain, aiding workers who have caring responsibilities or parents at risk of redundancy and ensuring everyone is able work as flexibly as needed into the new year.
An extra 2.6 million workers across the UK will benefit from the removal of the 26 week qualifying period that is currently required before making a flexible working request.
Those with caring responsibilities will also be entitled to a brand new employment right to a week’s leave to care for a dependent.
Redundancy protections are also being extended to cover pregnancy, as well as to new parents.
The UK Government is are also backing British workers by introducing the biggest ever increase to the National Living Wage, worth over £1,800 a year for a full-time worker, fulfilling the pledge to end low pay.
When this increase comes into effect in April, the National Living Wage will be worth nearly £21,000 a year for a full time worker – almost double, in cash terms, the amount which a full time worker on the National Minimum Wage earned in 2010.
For the first time, 21 years olds will be legally entitled to the National Living Wage, which is set to reach two-thirds of average earnings.
Allowing asylum seekers the right to work could help them settle into communities better while boosting Scotland’s economy and workforce.
Research by the Scottish Government’s independent Expert Advisory Group on Migration and Population sets out how enabling asylum seekers to gain employment could improve health and wellbeing and reduce the risk of exploitation.
Changes could also benefit the Scottish economy, help fill gaps in the workforce and see increased council tax paid directly to local authorities which host asylum seekers.
The report will underpin the development of proposals for a Scottish Asylum Right to Work pilot, to be submitted for consideration to the Home Office in 2024.
Migration Minister Emma Roddick said: “Scotland provides a welcoming home to many people seeking asylum, with policies underpinned by dignity, respect and compassion.
“This independent report shows how enabling asylum seekers to find work could reduce anxiety and improve the wellbeing of vulnerable people, while supporting Scotland’s economy by helping fill skills shortages and addressing population challenges.
“As the UK Government continues to pursue repugnant policies on asylum and immigration, we are developing mitigations as far as possible within our devolved powers and budget, including through our New Scots refugee integration strategy.
“The Scottish Government will now use this report to design a proposal to work within the current devolution settlement, but only independence would give us power to implement a full Scottish asylum system rooted in respect for human rights.”
Chair of the Scottish Government’s independent Expert Advisory Group on Migration and Population Rebecca Kay said: “Our report shows strong international evidence that strict restrictions on the right to work have negative consequences for asylum seekers’ material and emotional well-being, and for long-term integration outcomes.
“We also find substantial evidence of the considerable barriers which people seeking asylum are likely to face on entering the labour force. These will require careful consideration by Scottish Government, and deliberate remedy, when designing a pilot proposal.
“Wider measures to provide adequate reception, settlement and integration services will be required in order to realise the full benefits of a right to work policy for asylum seekers.”
Extending the Right to Work to Asylum Seekers in Scotland: evaluation, analysis, and policy options
Join us for the NHS Facilities Information Event, where you can meet some of the hiring managers from various departments.
The event will be held on Wednesday 6 December 2023 and is your chance to discover a range of roles available within NHS Facilities.
We look forward to seeing you there. Please note you must have tickets for the event as we are limited to how many people we can accommodate at each session.
You can book your place here:
The number of 50PLUS Champions helping older workers into work has been doubled in Jobcentres up and down the country, the Minister for Employment has announced.
Ahead of https://www.nationalolderworkersweek.co.uk, 77 50PLUS Champions – up from 37 – are now in place across England, Wales and Scotland, working directly with Jobcentres and employers to remove barriers that are keeping older people out of work.
50PLUS Champions work with jobseekers to change preconceptions about hiring older workers and ensure Jobcentre staff are supporting jobseekers to find roles or opportunities tailored to their skills to deliver for employers.
There are 83,000 more over 50s in work compared to this time last year. The DWP is supporting older jobseekers, with Midlife MOTs both online and in Jobcentres, helping people assess their skills and, make long-term plans for their work, wealth and wellbeing.
The news comes following a recent visit made by the new Minister for Employment, Jo Churchill, to B&Q’s New Malden branch. The company prides itself on having a multi-generational workforce with 35 percent of staff being over 50.
Minister for Employment, Jo Churchill MP said: “I know that work brings benefits to all ages, whether that’s improved wellbeing, making important friendships, or earning more.
“As a Government, we are working hard to get more people into work and tackle inactivity.
“Doubling the number of our 50PLUS Champions means even more jobseekers can access tailored support.
“On this National Older Workers Week, I urge all businesses to step up and put age diversity at the heart of what they do.”
Andy Moat, B&Q’s HR Director added: “We were delighted to recently welcome the new Minister for Employment to B&Q New Malden for her to hear at first hand from some of our older workers the benefits of working.
“B&Q is a very multigenerational workforce, and we believe in creating an environment where people can grow, thrive, and truly be themselves.
“We do this in many ways, including through our Apprenticeship programme, and we have Apprentices aged from 17 to 70 years studying to gain new knowledge and skills to help develop their careers, whilst continuing to earn the same rate of pay as others doing their role.”
While in New Malden, the Minister saw first-hand how the business is supporting the over 50s into work, meeting with older Apprentices who highlighted the impact retraining can have on this age group.
The Government is investing £6 billion to tackle economic inactivity to get more people into work, including older people. This includes £2.5 billion announced this week as part of our Back to Work Plan, an ambitious package of employment support which will keep more people in work by helping them to manage their health conditions.
To mark National Older Workers Week, the DWP is organising numerous events across Great Britain, including jobs fairs in Oldham, Edinburgh, Bath and Newport all specifically targeted at jobseekers who are over 50.
The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Mel Stride will unveil their Back to Work Plan – a package of employment focused support that will help people stay healthy, get off benefits and move into work – as part of the Autumn Statement.
Building on the ambitious £7 billion employment package from Spring Budget the Chancellor is using his Autumn Statement to outline a new Back to Work Plan, which will expand the employment support and treatment available and reform the ways that people with disabilities or health conditions interact with the state.
Getting more people into work and ensuring work pays remains a key priority for the government. It is important for growing the UK economy, managing inflation, controlling spending, and improving living standards. Getting more people into good jobs is also good for those individuals and the best route out of poverty.
The government is boosting four key programmes – NHS Talking Therapies, Individual Placement and Support, Restart and Universal Support – to benefit up to 1.1 million people over the next five years and help those with mental or physical health conditions stay in or find work.
The new WorkWell service as announced at Spring Budget and delivered by the Departments for Work and Pensions and Health and Social Care is also being formally launched today and will support almost 60,000 long-term sick or disabled people to start, stay and succeed in work once rolled out in approximately 15 areas across England.
The prospectus that will be launched in the coming weeks will provide information for all Integrated Care Systems across England to develop their localised work and health strategy.
Ministers are also planning to trial reforms to the fit note process to make it easier and quicker for people to get specialised work and health support, with improved triaging and signposting. Since the pandemic the number of people inactive in the UK due to long-term sickness or disability has risen by almost half a million to a record high of 2.6 million, with mental health, musculoskeletal conditions and heart disease being some of the main causes.
Stricter benefit sanctions will also be enforced by the Department for Work and Pensions for people who are able to work but refuse to engage with their Jobcentre or take on work offered to them. Benefit claimants who continue to refuse to engage with the Jobcentre will face having their claim closed. The latest published data shows that there were 300,000 people who had been unemployed for over a year in the three months to July.
The announcement today forms part of wider plans to grow the economy expected in the Autumn Statement on Wednesday 22 November. The Chancellor is set to reveal a raft of changes to get the UK economy growing including getting people back into work.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, said: “We’re serious about growing our economy and that means we must address the rise in people who aren’t looking for work – especially because we know so many of them want to and with almost a million vacancies in the jobs market the opportunities are there.
“These changes mean there’s help and support for everyone – but for those who refuse it, there are consequences too. Anyone choosing to coast on the hard work of taxpayers will lose their benefits.”
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Mel Stride, said: “We are rolling out the next generation of welfare reforms to help more people start, stay and succeed in work. We know the positive impact work can have, not just on our finances, but our health and wellbeing too.
“So we are expanding the voluntary support for people with health conditions and disabilities, including our flagship Universal Support programme.
“But our message is clear: if you are fit, if you refuse to work, if you are taking taxpayers for a ride – we will take your benefits away.”
The plans announced today set out how the government will tackle long-term unemployment by supporting Universal Credit claimants to find work while strengthening work search requirements for job seekers through all stages of their Universal Credit claim.
As a result of these reforms, no claimant should reach 18 months of unemployment in receipt of their full benefits if they have not taken every reasonable step to comply with Jobcentre support.
The plans to tackle long-term unemployment include:
Plans set out also include expanding key health and employment programmes, to benefit over half a million people over the next five years and help those with mental health conditions stay in or find work:
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Victoria Atkins, said: “We know that tailored work and health support initiatives can help break down the kinds of barriers that can make finding and staying in a job more difficult for those with mental health conditions.
“Backing them with further investment means they’re more widely available, enables personalised help and will get thousands back to work by overcoming any issues that may be preventing them from fulfilling their career potential.”
Kate Shoesmith, Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) Deputy Chief Executive, said: “Today’s announcements will help the Restart scheme keep making a real difference to people’s work and life chances.
“It contributes to efforts to overcome our labour and skills shortages and to further growing our economy. Bringing public and private employment services together is vital to get people into work and not look back.
“Our own award-winning Restart scheme, which sees recruiters work with employability services provider Maximus, has helped place 1700 long-term unemployed people into work since 2021.”
The Springboard programme is for young adults aged 16-25 who are currently either at risk of homelessness or accessing homelessness services across Edinburgh.
Participants will be able to gain qualifications in Emergency First Aid at Work as well as Elementary Food Hygiene. We will support the group with employability skills such as CV writing, Job Interview Skills and Job Applications.
We also run workshops focused on mental health and wellbeing as well as weekly social outings to encourage participants to form lasting friendships.
The programme also includes a 3-day Residential trip with the Scottish Outdoor Education Centre to allow the participants to try their hand at some adventurous outdoor activities like rock climbing, abseiling, archery and much more!
Bus fare can be covered by Four Square and lunch will be provided on each day of the course.
Self-referrals can be made by emailing springboard@foursquare.org.uk
A software development manager from Edinburgh has reflected on his 17-year career at Amazon to mark the company’s 25th anniversary in the UK.
Since Amazon.co.uk launched in the UK in 1998, Amazon has invested in innovation, local talent and communities across the UK through its world-class development centres in London, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Manchester and Swansea.
The company’s highly skilled workforce has been at the forefront of world-class innovations that are benefitting the lives of customers and employees around the world – from how people watch their favourite shows, to how they shop and work.
Tich Kent, who works at Amazon’s Development Centre Scotland in Edinburgh, is one of the employees who has shaped Amazon’s development in the UK and beyond. He has worked at Amazon since 2005, and has risen through the ranks ever since.
Tich is now a software development manager at Amazon’s Development Centre Scotland in Edinburgh. A tech trailblazer, he continues to revolutionise customer shopping experiences, while setting an example for future generations of software engineers. As Amazon reaches 25 years in the UK, he shares his 17-year career story.
Tich joined Amazon in 2005 and hasn’t looked back since. He was part of the team who coined Amazon’s personalised recommendation tool that suggests items to customers based on their previous purchases and browsing behaviour.
“When I first joined Amazon, we were only selling books, music and DVDs. I was here when we introduced Prime delivery in the UK, and I was part of making the home page on Amazon as helpful to customers as it is today.
As you can imagine, we’ve embraced different ways on how to use AI to make the experience even better, so things keep changing and evolving. We’re still at the forefront of jumping on new technology and applying it to benefit our customers.”
Speaking about innovating in this space, Tich says: “By bringing a team of machine-learning scientists and engineers together, we were able to genuinely innovate. Formulating this team was thrilling, as we were working on novel technologies that applied deep learning to a scale that hadn’t been done before, and in such an exciting space.
What Tich and his team did next transformed the customer shopping experience for everyday items. “When we were looking at product recommendations, most approaches filtered out products the customer had previously purchased. This is good in general, but there are a range of products like shampoo and toiletries that need to be repeatedly purchased.
“I was responsible for creating a team to help customers by recommending such repeat products in a timely and engaging manner. It was the first time I had created a team from scratch, setting the vision, experimenting with ideas and measuring our impact. When we had our first successful launch, that validated the team and our approach. I’m still incredibly proud of what we achieved for our customers in such a short space of time.”
Alongside his work at the development centre, Tich is one of the leads for the Amazon Bar Raiser Programme in Europe. A bar raiser is an interviewer at Amazon who is brought into the hiring process to be an objective third party. The goal of the programme is to raise the standard with every new Amazon hire, ensuring that the company is always serving, surprising and innovating for customers.
Tich spoke about why the programme is so important, saying: “Amazon’s bar raiser programme is such a valuable tool, because it means we’ll always be getting the very best talent into the business, so we can keep on innovating, having an experimental mindset, and taking big leaps to solve problems.
“For me personally, the programme also means that I’ve seen incredibly talented people grow and develop over the years. This has been hugely satisfying.”
As a member of Amazon’s community initiatives committee, Tich has also had the opportunity over the years to engage with the community around Amazon Development Centre Scotland. As a Linlithgow local, this is something Tich cares deeply about.
“Another aspect of doing good business is making a positive impact the communities around you. We regularly donate to local charities, many of which I’ve developed a personal relationship with over the past decade. It’s simply being responsible.
“We’re also embracing Amazon’s apprenticeship scheme, and with two apprentices in my own team, I love seeing how the programme continues to grow. There’s so much yet to be done, and I’m excited to be part of it.”
Since Amazon.co.uk launched in the UK in 1998, its mission from day one has been: what can deliver the best experience for customers?
It’s this customer obsession that has been the driving force behind every new product, service and technology that also benefits the lives of communities, small businesses and employees – including the software that enables customers to watch their favourite shows on any device, the just-walk-out technology simplifying how shoppers get their groceries, and the latest robotics helping to pick out customer parcels.
Innovation at Amazon starts with people. The company employs around 75,000 employees who innovate on behalf of customers every day. Amazon is a significant contributor to productivity and regional growth in key cities around the UK, through development sites and collaboration with academic and research institutions.
You can read more at https://www.aboutamazon.co.uk/news/innovation/amazon-innovations-timeline
Discussions about the necessities and trade-offs around the transition to net zero are back on the news agenda this week (write Fraser of Allander Institute’s EMMA CONGREVER and CIARA CRUMMEY).
The changes required to meet net zero targets are complex and challenging yet the risks of not doing enough are immense. Inherent in this are trade-offs but also opportunities. An ordered transition where businesses and households have certainty over what they will need to do is the best way to minimise harm to incomes and to maximise the benefits that can be realised.
For many businesses and households, the costs associated transition to net zero will be manageable, and perhaps even cost effective in the long run. But for some, the upfront costs will be difficult to manage.
Whilst there is a general awareness of the direct costs that will fall on households from, for example the phasing out of gas boilers (a devolved policy, so not affected by the UK Prime Minister’s recent announcement) there is also the impact in livelihoods due to changes in the structure of the economy.
At the moment, all the attention is on the ‘just transition’ for workers in carbon-intensive industries, in the North East in particular. But the impact on jobs could be far wider than this.
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation asked us, along with colleagues in the Strathclyde Business School, to look into the potential for disruption to jobs in the wider Scottish economy, particularly in relation to low paid jobs. Our assessment of the available literature and various Scottish Government plans, reports and action plans didn’t provide much to go on, so we embarked on some experimental mapping and modelling of the potential intersection of net zero and low pay.
Today we published a report that we hope provides a rationale and a way forward for government, and others, to consider this issue fully. Whilst we can’t yet confidently put a figure on it, we have found that there is potential for significant disruption to jobs in sectors that employ large numbers of low pay workers, including retail and hospitality.
The mechanisms through which this impact could be felt are varied. Issues we looked at included the knock-on impact from depressed wages in areas where carbon intensive businesses cease trading. We also considered the impact on the viability of businesses with large commercial footprints who may need to invest large amounts to bring buildings up to new energy efficient standards.
There are many unknowns in this type of analysis, including the sufficiency of government policy and the behavioural response from consumers. For example, the Scottish Government is hoping to see car use reduced in Scotland.
Households may also independently decide they wish to reduce car use. It is easy to see how this could impact on the viability of out-of-town shopping centres that rely on customers arriving by car and if there aren’t serious efforts to provide adequate replacement public transport or alternative active travel routes, these large centres of employment may become unviable.
Some of the scenarios that we work through may not lead to jobs disappearing completely, but simply shifting to other places or other sectors. There are two further issues to consider here. Firstly, low paid workers tend to be less flexible on where they can work, due to a variety of factors including available transport and difficulties finding affordable childcare to cover long commuting times.
They also tend have less of a financial buffer to deal with even short periods of unemployment. Secondly, simply moving low paid jobs from one place to another misses a crucial opportunity to maximise the benefits that the transition to net zero could bring by providing career pathways into new, higher paid, growth sectors.
There is an opportunity here to better join up Scottish Government ambitions on tackling poverty and the transition to net zero that is currently missing from both the Just Transition plans and the Fair Work Action Plan. We hope this analysis will be useful in informing the future development of this work.
