Smartphone car service Uber, a successful company example of the sharing economy, has spread to many EU Member States in recent years. However, many employers and unions are concerned about its challenge to fair competition for other businesses in the sector and about the erosion of working
The Third Work–Life Balance Employer Survey for 2007 provides an up-to-date picture of work–life balance practices and attitudes in British workplaces with five or more employees. As the third survey in the series, it offers the opportunity of assessing change over time in relation to work–life
Changing patterns of work organisation for civil servants in the UK are examined in a new report based on surveys of union members. Its recommendations could have wider applicability in the public sector because, since the research was undertaken, the right to request flexible working arrangements
A bill banning exclusivity clauses in zero hours contracts was introduced to parliament in July 2014 (although the government has resisted calls for an outright ban on such contracts). Exclusivity clauses stop workers from seeking work with other employers, even when no amount of work is set out in
The right to request flexible working was extended to all UK employees with at least 26 weeks’ service with the same employer on 30 June 2014. This right had only been available to carers and parents. Unions have said this does not go far enough, while employer groups have questioned whether
Findings from the UK Employer Skills Survey 2013 highlights a sharp rise in skills shortages. The report argues this could hold back the UK’s economic recovery. Although the number of vacancies had returned to pre-recession levels, employers were increasingly finding some were difficult to fill.
A report commissioned by Acas examines the incidence, composition and operation of joint consultative committees in UK workplaces. Findings show an aggregate stability in workplace level joint consultative committees between 2004 and 2011, a decline in higher-level consultative committees, and an