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HR and people leaders in Australia might sometimes feel like they’re operating in a local bubble, but looking to countries like the UK to see latest economic developments, attitudes, and opinions can bring fresh perspectives to the local market.
Contentious tax cuts
On 23 September, the UK Government announced its Growth Plan. In a statement, Kwasi Kwarteng, UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, said: “Economic growth isn’t some academic term with no connection to the real world. It means more jobs, higher pay and more money to fund public services, like schools and the NHS.
“This will not happen overnight but the tax cuts and reforms I’ve announced today – the biggest package in generations – send a clear signal that growth is our priority.”
The plan laid out its key points as follows:
- Chancellor unveils new growth plan, tackling energy costs to bring down inflation, backing business and helping households.
- Corporation tax rise cancelled, keeping it at 19% as government sets sights on 2.5% trend rate of growth.
- Basic rate of income tax cut to 19% in April 2023 – one year earlier than planned – with 31 million people getting on average £170 more per year.
- Stamp Duty cuts will help people on all levels of the property market and lift 200,000 homebuyers every year out of paying the tax altogether.
The Growth Plan has attracted comment to say the least. Even the IMF has shared an opinion. The Australian Financial Review has quoted the IMF as stating: “Given elevated inflation pressures in many countries, including the UK, we do not recommend large and untargeted fiscal packages at this juncture, as it is important that fiscal policy does not work at cross purposes to monetary policy.
“We are closely monitoring recent economic developments in the UK and are engaged with the authorities.”
With the world still feeling the economic impact of COVID-19, Australian HR professionals and people leaders should keep an eye on conversations like this one in the UK. Learning from overseas markets, the decisions being made, and the resulting impact on workers, allows Australia to better support local employees.
CIPD’s talent report
The CIPD (UK’s HR membership body) released its Resourcing and Talent Planning Report 2022 on 27 September. The survey of UK HR professionals highlights the challenges facing the talent market at the moment.
According to the report, 77 per cent of respondents found it difficult to attract talent, up from 49 per cent in 2021. Companies have also reported it harder to keep talent, with 60 per cent saying retention was more difficult this year compared to last.
Increased pay has become more common to try to ease the stress, with 36 per cent bumping pay up, compared to 29 per cent in 2021. Pay was just one of many methods employers are using to retain staff. Others include more attention to career development, improving organisational values and providing flexible working arrangements.
An almost universal reaction to the pandemic was companies increasing use of technology in the recruitment process. 80 per cent of those surveyed said that they’ve ramped up their tech use, with many reporting that the change has improved candidate experience and sped up the recruitment process. Still, only one fifth provides online induction processes.
Read the full report here.
Annoying office behaviour
A study by The Access Group and Perspectus Global has identified that 91 per cent of workers feel that the pandemic has changed how we communicate with our fellow employees.
The UK research also delved into the most annoying phrases used in the workplace, with ‘touch base’ being voted most irritating, followed by ‘keep me in the loop’ and ‘ping an email over’.
This report is familiar, with Perspectus Global publishing a similar study back in May which identified the most annoying workplace behaviours. Of the top 20 voted, first was taking credit for someone else’s work, followed by stealing food from the fridge, and chucking a sickie and posting pictures about it.
You can find other weekly round ups by HR Leader here:
https://www.hrleader.com.au/business/23340-fewer-hours-and-higher-pay-the-focus-of-hr-news-this-week
https://www.hrleader.com.au/tech/23304-technology-is-hr-s-topic-of-the-week
Jack Campbell
Jack is the editor at HR Leader.
