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NATIONAL EMPLOYER & PARTNERSHIP TEAM Employer News January 2018 Welcome to the January 2018 edition of Employer News. The DWP National Employer and Partnership Team (NEPT) will be using this e-shot to communicate items of interest to Employers, Trade Associations and Partners. Your feedback is valuable! We hope you find "Employer News" useful and would welcome your feedback. Tell us about the article in today’s newsletter you found most helpful/relevant to your business? Please share your views through your DWP Account Manager or drop us a line at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |
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Today’s Labour Market Statistics Headline News Number in employment reaches record high Official figures released today (24 January 2018) show that the employment rate is at a joint record high of 75.3%, with a record 32.2 million people in work. Published 24 January 2018 From: Department for Work and Pensions and The Rt Hon Esther McVey This is a rise of 415,000 compared to last year’s figures. The figures, released by the Office for National Statistics, also show that unemployment is at its lowest level since 1975. |
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Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Esther McVey, said: “We had a record-breaking 2017 for employment, and I’m delighted to see this trend continue as we enter the new year. The number of people in work is at an all-time high and the unemployment rate has not been this low for over 40 years. At this time of year, straight after Christmas, people might be feeling a squeeze on their finances. We’re determined to help people keep more of what they earn. That’s why we’ve increased the National Living Wage, introduced Universal Credit to offer greater flexibility and taken millions of people out of income tax altogether by raising the tax-free personal allowance. In 2017, at least 10 employment records were broken. The employment rate and the number of people in work, the number of women in work and black and minority ethnic employment all reached record highs during the year.” Today’s employment figures also show:
Separate figures also released today show there are 700,000 people claiming Universal Credit as the rollout of the new benefit continues, with 42% in employment. Read the Labour Market Statistics – January 2018 from the Office for National Statistics. |
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Customer Service Excellence: Have your say! The National Employer & Partnership Team (NEPT) are keen to continue to make improvements to the services we provide for our customers and the customer experience. Key to this is gathering and responding to your feedback. Thus we would be grateful if employer representatives could click on Survey Link Employers and trade bodies or partners click on Survey Link Partners or Trade Bodies to take part in a short survey. Comments received, will be analysed and the outcomes published. The information from the survey is used to make improvements to the services we provide. Survey closes on the 31 January 2018. |
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Autumn 2017 Budget Changes Details of the package of support for Universal Credit announced on 22 November 2017 and the Secretary of State’s statement can be found on GOV.UK. |
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SAFERjobs The UK has experienced a significant rise in the number of job scams over the past two years, according to SAFERjobs (Safe Advice for Employment and Recruitment). SAFERjobs now works with all of the UK’s top 10 job boards, and in partnership with DWP, BEIS, ‘Metropolitan Police, Trading Standards, City of London Police, the Home Office, and Action Fraud. There are plenty of genuine opportunities in the labour market right now , however it is important that people learn to recognise the tell-tale signs of a fake job advert. Safer Jobs are working hard to raise awareness and educating the public on the potential risks facing job seekers, and combatting the fraudsters directly. It is important that DWP raises awareness with all its stakeholders, particularly genuine employers that we partner with, to ensure that they are not scammed also. SAFERjobs investigates any situation reported by a job seeker about a potential scam, and will provide impartial advice on how to proceed to both employers and jobseekers. Please show your support for the Safer Jobs Free Campaign, for more information: https://www.safer-jobs.com/safer_employers.cfm |
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MENTAL HEALTH TOOLKIT There has been a lot written about how to tackle mental ill health and promote wellbeing in the workplace. This toolkit will simplify your approach. Business in the Community has partnered with Public Health England to produce a free, online toolkit to help every organisation support the mental health and wellbeing of its employees. It will help employers take positive actions to build a culture that champions good mental health and provides a greater understanding of how to help those who need more support. This toolkit will help employers pick out the most valuable resources, and help to develop an approach that works. For larger organisations, the toolkit is also a useful resource to share with businesses in their supply chain and across their network. Every organisation has an opportunity to support and develop a mentally healthy workforce and it doesn’t need to be complicated – this toolkit will help you understand and act, step by step. https://wellbeing.bitc.org.uk/sites/default/files/mental_health_toolkit_for_employers_-_small.pdf |
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The National Employer and Partnership Team would like to say thank you to all Employers, Trade Associations and Partners for the significant contribution you have made to the fall in unemployment, demonstrated in the figures. Edition 24/01/18 |
