In response to a Freedom of Information Act request submitted by Dave Chaplin [pictured], CEO of ContractorCalculator, the BBC has confirmed that it is currently in the process of a developing a new set of criteria as to when on-air talent should be engaged as freelancers or employed as staff.

Limited company freelancers working on-air for the BBC are facing an ‘employment test’ that the broadcaster has admitted is intended to “significantly reduce the number of personal service companies” on its books.  Rachel Currie from BBC People told ContractorCalculator: “Once this test is finalised and agreed with HMRC, this framework will be rolled out for all on-air engagements”.

The move follows press coverage of Tory MP Daniel Kawczynski's accusation that the organisation was “ordering freelancers to set up their companies” and subsequent criticism by parliament’s Public Accounts Committee about freelancers avoiding tax. Currie told Chaplin that only three people have requested to be moved onto employment contracts. A review of the limited company contractors in on-air roles during 2012 revealed that there were 3,272 personal service companies contracted by the BBC during the financial year 2011/2012 which the organisation says represents a small proportion of the on-air talent workforce that year of just over 53,000 individuals and that these engaged in over “200,000 transactions” with the BBC in the same period.

Dave Chaplin believes the exercise could increase BBC costs and mean it loses on-air talent. He said: “The new BBC test will drive legitimate freelancers into Pay As You Earn which will mean significant additional costs for the BBC in the form of National Insurance Contributions and higher salaries to compensate talent for lower net income.  The end result will see many presenters and performers turning their backs on ‘Auntie’ to take on more lucrative contracts with rival broadcasters.

“There is absolutely nothing wrong or inappropriate for the BBC, or any other employer, to take on freelancers, if done properly and legally, where those hired pay appropriate taxes.  The new tax rules that look set to go ahead will stir up much confusion and are clearly already proving a waste of BBC licence payers' money."

The findings of the Skills and Employment survey are based on face-to-face interviews with 3,000 workers aged 20 to 60. They show public sector workers no longer feel more secure than those in the private sector. In addition to fear of job loss they are increasingly worried about loss of status and unfair treatment at work.

The survey, conducted every six years, is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) and includes three reports published today.
 
One, “Fear at Work”, says: “The major change that occurred between 2006 and 2012 was that for the first time public sector employees were quite clearly more concerned about losing their employment than those in the private sector.”  People in workplaces that had downsized or reorganised are the most likely to feel these concerns, says the report.
 
The three reports show that:

- In 2012 more than half of employees (51%) were concerned about job status loss. The biggest concern was about pay reductions, followed by loss of say over their job.

- People are working harder. “Work intensification”, which was previously rife in the early 1990s, has resumed since 2006. Both the speed of work and pressures of working to tight deadlines have risen to record highs. Technological change is a key factor, but contrary to common belief, work intensification is not associated with downsizing.

- Job stress has gone up and job-related well-being has gone down since 2006. 

Francis Green, Professor of Work and Education Economics at the IOE, says: "Since the start of the recession, the growth of fear not only of employment loss but of unfair treatment and loss of status was particularly strong in the public sector. Attention should be paid to the deteriorating climate of employee relations in this area." 

The researchers also note that employees were more content and less anxious about job or status loss "where employers adopted policies that gave employees a degree of involvement in decision-making at work".

"The slowness with which employers in Britain are enhancing employee participation is becoming an issue of considerable concern," says Professor Alan Felstead of the Cardiff School of Social Sciences. "In general, better job control entails increased employee involvement and participation. The intention should be to improve the balance between the benefits of hard work and the costs."

Peter Cheese, chief executive at the Chartered Institute of Professional Development, said: "The decline in job satisfaction and employee engagement revealed by the Government's Skills and Employment Survey makes for worrying reading for businesses, the economy and wider society. But CIPD research shows that the voluntary sector appears to be bucking this trend, with valuable lessons to be learned for the private and public sectors. Nevertheless, we need to take the findings of the Government's latest survey very seriously indeed. Too many recent and spectacular failures - from the banking crisis to public sector scandals like that affecting the Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust - are almost entirely born of problems of culture.  Although profoundly different in many ways, they have common roots in issues of trust, empowerment and engagement. What's good for people is good for business - and if we can embrace that truth to build cultures in which people want to work and are unified by a common purpose, we can not only prevent catastrophes, we can truly build more sustainable economic growth."
 

Prime Minister David Cameron is reportedly reconsidering plans to relax ratios in childcare settings and for childminders, first revealed in the Government’s More Great Childcare document in January. Under the proposed ratio changes “appropriately-qualified” staff at childcare settings would be allowed to look after six two-year-old children, up from the current limit of four, and four children under the age of one, up from three, from this September.

Neil Leitch, Chief Executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said: “Parents using childcare want it to be of a high standard. They have made it clear that they do not want their children to be in settings where ratios are relaxed, even if that will save them money on their childcare costs. Having highly-qualified childcare staff care for more children will not raise the quality of provision; rather it will achieve the opposite.

“Indeed, one of the country’s largest day nursery groups now believes parents will have to pay more for their childcare if settings relax ratios. This shows how confused and ill-thought-out the Government’s plan to relax childcare ratios really is.

“We are calling for the Government to scrap its plans to relax ratios and to consult properly with the childcare sector about how to raise the quality and status of the sector while making childcare more affordable to parents."

Around 29,000 parents have now signed the Alliance’s Rewind on Ratios petition against the proposed childcare changes.

The Bounty survey of over 1,100 mums also revealed some 95 per cent of parents described their childcare as either Good or Excellent, and only 5 per cent described it as Average. No-one said their childcare was Poor.

Of those using childcare, 60 per cent described their childcare provision as Excellent, while 35 per cent said it was Good and 5 per cent said it was Average. Not a single respondent judged their childcare to be Poor.

The TUC analysis of unpublished data from the Labour Force Survey shows that just over four million employees usually worked at home in 2012, a rise of 470,000 since 2007. The South East, Scotland and Wales have seen the sharpest rise in homeworking over the last five years.

While nearly two-thirds (65 per cent) of people who work from home are male, an increasing number of women are also making this career move, according to the TUC. According to the research, the majority of homeworking jobs created in the last five years have gone to women. The rise in female homeworking is partly due to the fact that almost nine in ten (86.8 per cent) of these new jobs are part-time, says the TUC.

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In addition to the four million people who usually work from home, many millions more occasionally work from home, it adds.

The TUC says technological progress and the rise of the services sector, where many jobs do not require specialised machinery or face-to-face contact with colleagues or customers, have helped fuel the growth of homeworking.

TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady said: "The recession may have fuelled rising unemployment and put pressure on flexible working practices, but homeworking has continued to thrive and grow.

"Over four million people usually work from home, while many millions more occasionally do so. The sheer scale of homeworking proves how easily it can be done, but there are still too many employers who are reluctant to allow staff to work away from the office or the shop floor.

"Of course there are challenges with homeworking. It requires employers to trust staff and people can feel isolated if the relationship is not managed properly. But these issues are easily dealt with through smart employment relations, which unions can help with.

"With government figures showing a further 4.5 million people would like to work from home more often there is still much more that employers can do to meet this unmet demand for more flexible working."

Phil Flaxton, chief executive of WorkWise which organised National Work from Home Day, said: "The best way to manage employees working from home or remotely is by encouraging independence of thought and action, and developing continuous communication, supported by regular face-to-face meetings. This can be by video/conference calls or other online tools so that experiences, ideas, and success and performance issues can still be shared.

"The whole management ethos has to become much more open, less hierarchical and more trusting.

"The key issues for success still surround management styles and the acceptance of change. Building a culture of information sharing and creating trust takes time and careful planning. By carefully choosing and training the virtual workforce and by structuring the organisation to make best use of its virtual employees, most organisations should be able to see an improvement in productivity of between 8 and 15 per cent."

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As the Government's consultation on the administration of Shared Parental Leave draws to a close, the CIPD has reiterated its support for the proposals but highlighted some technicalities that it says will require close attention to ensure the new system is beneficial to employers and employees alike.

Under the new legislation, mothers and fathers will be able to share the 52 weeks of maternity leave. 

Mike Emmott, employee relations adviser at the CIPD, says: "By giving men and women similar entitlements to leave following the birth of a child, mums and dads will have more choice over how they manage and balance their caring responsibilities between them, which will support female participation and progression in the labour market.  What's more, employers will benefit by increasing their ability to maintain a more diverse workforce and retain the skills and knowledge women bring to the workplace."

However, the CIPD recognises that the administration of Shared Parental Leave does not come without its challenges: "The devil is in the detail," he adds. "For example, different notice periods for paternity pay and leave inevitably cause confusion to both employer and employee, and add to the time required to deal with requests. We therefore agree with the proposal to align the notice period for paternity leave and pay at the end of the 15^th week before the expected week of child birth."

"The decision to allow parents to notify their employer of their leave intentions as they require them is also likely to cause many employers significant problems in planning recruitment, and reallocating staff, to deal with parents' unanticipated absences from work.  However, the additional flexibility this will give parents is welcome and the requirement that they should give at least eight weeks' notice for each period of leave is not unreasonable." 

Figures out today show 17.4% of directors at FTSE 100 companies are women. The majority - 22% are non-executive directors with just 5.6% being executive directors. The latter number has only risen by 0.1% since 2010. Women account for 12%of board appointments since March 1st, with 14% of new non-executive directors being women and no new executive directors being female. Women need to get 84 more board seats to reach Lord Davies' 25% target by 2015.

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For FTSE 250 companies, the figures show women account for 13.8% of directors - 17% of non-executive directors and 5.7% of executive directors. Around a quarter of the companies have all-male boards. Just over half had all male-boards in 2010. Some 40% of new appointments since March have been women, including half of new executive directors.

Jane Scott, UK Director of the Professional Boards Forum, says: "It is hard to account for this slowdown, given the focus on this agenda from investors, government, media and business leaders.  The theory that head-hunters have run out of good women candidates is just not credible. The latest BoardWatch update shows that a mere 84 more board positions need to be held by women to reach the Davies 25% target and there is a huge wealth of talent in the UK and internationally – highly experienced and able women - available to FTSE boards.  There should be no problem in reaching, or exceeding, the Davies target of 25% by 2015, but the rate of appointments needs to pick up sharply. "

Lyndsey Oliver, co-founder of Female Quotient, added: “Given the amount of focus and attention on the issue the figures are disappointing. We can’t allow progress to stall. While the benefits are proven, it seems we have some way to go to change mind-sets. Boards have to look beyond the safety of the old corporate stereotypes and consider more creative appointments. It is too easy to stick with established patterns of behaviour and simply look for candidates to fit the current mold. It’s tough to take a perceived risk, but risk has its rewards. The charity sector is one example where bold appointments have been made, recruiting outside of traditional backgrounds – and to great effect.

“Despite the disappointing figures quotas are still not the answer. Instead, developing the talent pipeline will be key to not only hitting targets but more importantly sustaining these achievements. Hitting any target means nothing unless there is systemic and pervasive change at all levels. Diversity and inclusiveness must be embedded in every part of talent management and cultural change always starts from the top. If organisations start with inclusiveness, diversity will naturally follow.”

Just 18% of tv presenters over 50 are women, according to figures released by Labour's shadow culture secretary Harriet Harman.

Her figures show that out of 481 presenters [5%] at the BBC, Sky, ITN and Channel 5, just 26 women over 50 broadcast regularly.

It says the number of people in work fell by 43,000 when comparing January - March 2013 with the previous three months so that 29.71 million people were in work. The employment rate stood at 71.4% of all people aged 16 to 64.

There were 2.52 million people who were looking and available to work but unable to find a job. The percentage of the labour force aged 16 and over who were unemployed was 7.8%.

However, the number of vacancies was at the highest level since 2008. Between February and April 2013, there were 503,000 jobs advertised.

Nearly one in five of unemployed people had been looking for work for over two years, but almost half had been looking for work for six months or less. The remainder had been looking for work for some time between six months and two years.

Between October – December 2012 and January – March 2013 there were 47,000 more people who were not in the labour force. However this rise was driven by a 58,000 increase in inactive men. The number of inactive women fell by 10,000, with a continuing fall in the number of women looking after the family or home. 

Even though there has been an estimated 15,000 rise in the number of unemployed people between October - December 2012 and January – March 2013, there has been a small fall of 7,300 in the number of people claiming Job Seeker’s Allowance between March and April 2013. 

Average weekly earnings excluding bonus payments rose by just 0.8% compared with the same period a year earlier. This is the smallest growth reported since records began in 2001. In cash terms, average weekly earnings excluding bonus payments were £444 in March 2013, before taxes and other deductions from gross pay; this is up from £441 a year earlier.

Including bonus payments the average weekly wage rose by 0.4% comparing January - March 2013 with the same period a year earlier. This rate has not been lower since March to May 2009. Some businesses have reported that bonuses that would normally be paid in March are expected to be paid later. This partially explains the low growth rate for average weekly earnings including bonuses, says the ONS. At £463 in March 2013, average weekly wages including bonus payments were lower when compared with March 2012 (£466).