UK workers are happy with their contracts – even in the gig economy

According to latest ONS figures, almost all employees (99%) have a “desired contract” - either a permanent contract or non-permanent contract for a reason other than “could not find a permanent job”.  This contradicts the perception that temporary contracts, the gig economy and zero hours contracts are exploitative.  Less than 3% of the UK’s workforce are in zero hours contracts, of whom 57.6% do not want more hours.  The research also found that 13% of UK workers do more than 48 hours per week, whilst 7% are underemployed, with the remaining 80% working “satisfactory hours”.

Latest figures show disability pay gap of 12.2%

Disabled employees are paid 12.2% less than their non-disabled colleagues, according to the Office for National Statistics.  This pay gap has narrowed slightly, down from 12.7% in 2017.  The data shows that the median pay for non-disabled workers in 2018 was £12.11 an hour, compared with £10.63 for those with disabilities.  This is most defined in London, where the pay gap is 15.3%, by comparison in Scotland it is 8.3%.  The pay gap between disabled workers and non-disabled staff also varied with age.  It was widest for those in their 30s and 40s, the ONS found, hitting 18.7% in the 30 to 34 age range.  Disabled people were more likely to be self-employed than non-disabled people, at 15.2% and 13.9% respectively.

KPMG & REC latest report on jobs

UK labour market conditions remained challenging in November according to the latest KPMG and REC “Report on Jobs” publication.  Recruitment consultancies signalled a further reduction in the number of people placed into permanent positions, while temp billings rose only slightly. Subdued hiring trends were widely linked to uncertainty surrounding the upcoming election and Brexit, which had reportedly led to many clients to delay or cancel hiring plans.  Key findings reported were:

• Permanent placements fell for the 9th consecutive month in November 2019;
• November saw the slowest increase in overall vacancies for over a decade;
• Permanent starting salaries increased at the slowest rate since December 2016, while temp wage inflation eased to a three-year low.

Recruiters widely commented that people were becoming increasingly reluctant to seek new roles due to uncertainty around the upcoming election and Brexit. Overall, candidate numbers fell at the quickest rate for five months, with permanent staff supply declining at a sharper pace than that seen for temp workers.