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Considerations for employers

2021 and 2022 Considerations

Overview

2021 Report

The 2021 Report offered a checklist of actions for employers to consider arising out of drivers of change. These included eight actions driven by technology, demographics, sustainability and globalisation and eight more driven by the role of the state, migration, Covid and social trends. It also set out eight potential changes to employment law. These actions and potential changes to employment law continue to be important considerations in the year ahead.

2022 and beyond

Due to the significantly altered environment over the past year, this Report identifies eight further considerations for employers at this critical juncture in the evolving world of work to help employers prepare and adapt for the new world of work.

These suggested actions build on those identified 12 months ago and reflect that tackling the skills shortage and managing through challenging economic times remain strategic business priorities. They also signal the growing impact on work of evolving social trends and encourage employers to connect organisational and employee purpose, facilitate employee autonomy and ensure that their employment documentation aligns with their brand values.

2022 and beyond: Considerations for employers

2022 and beyond: Considerations for employers

  • Consider predictive recruitment to identify recruits based on skills and potential rather than solely on experience and qualifications.
  • Revise employment documentation with mutuality in mind and ensure it is simpler, more accessible, and better reflects an organisation’s brand values.
  • Review how workplace disputes arise and are manged to minimise conflict and disruption.
  • Consider what support can be provided to employees in the context of the current cost of living crisis and reducing support from the state.
  • Identify how best to connect organisational and employee sense of purpose.
  • Consider how to encourage employee autonomy through work design and organisational culture.
  • Track carefully potential changes in employment regulation in light of considerable political uncertainty ahead in the UK.
  • Review working arrangements to meet the shifting needs of business in the context of challenging economic times

2021 Report: Considerations for employers – Technology, demographics, sustainability and globalisation

2021 Report: Considerations for employers – Technology, demographics, sustainability and globalisation

  • Harness the opportunities of Big Data while safeguarding individual data privacy rights
  • Embrace the potential for further automation while managing its impact on workforce jobs
  • Be aware of the potential risks of discrimination and bias in deploying AI in workplace management and decision-making
  • Use technology to enhance the experience of employment and foster employee voice
  • Take steps to respond to the ageing profile of the workforce
  • Respond to evolving social priorities in relation to ESG, sustainability and diversity, as a means to attract and retain the best people and meet expectations of customers and investors
  • Reassess the locations from where business is carried out, goods are produced and services provided in response to the climate crisis, technological developments, skills shortages and geo-political uncertainty
  • Understand the legal issues that arise from staff or potential hires wanting to work wholly or partly abroad

2021 Report: Considerations for employers – Role of the state, migration, covid-19 and social trends

2021 Report: Considerations for employers – Role of the state, migration, covid-19 and social trends

  • Build organisational and workforce resilience by widening the recruitment pool, having more flexible resourcing strategies and increasing diversity in the workforce
  • Embrace apprenticeships and enhance training and development to meet the challenge of skills shortages and gaps
  • Adapt to the “New Normal”, in which many work wholly or partly from home, while addressing new challenges over supervision, isolation, working hours, integration and fairness
  • Take steps to protect the health, safety and physical and mental wellbeing of the workforce, and also of the wider community and supply chains, in light of Covid-19, climate change and changing values
  • Adopt policies and procedures aligned with strong governance, organisational values and evolving workforce concerns. Review existing policies and procedures to meet the needs of the changing world of work
  • Evolve culture, workspaces and processes to foster collegiality, collaboration and a sense of belonging
  • Have a greater focus on training and developing people in the skills needed for the future, such as interpersonal and communications skills, resilience, flexibility and innovation
  • Prepare to deal with a rise in conflicting views in the workplace through effective and rigorous training and intervention processes

2021 Report: Potential changes to employment law ahead

2021 Report: Potential changes to employment law ahead

  • Overhauling the complex and uncertain rules on employment, worker, self-employment and other statuses, adopting a simpler approach that strikes the right balance between flexibility and individual rights
  • Increasing monitoring and reporting obligations on various measures of pay and diversity to drive transparency and organisational change
  • Articulating employment protections as fundamental rights
  • Widening discrimination protection to address other characteristics, such as socio-economic status
  • Rethinking the role of social partners in a world of less adversarial industrial relations
  • Revisiting unfair dismissal laws which concentrate too much on process with claims often being too costly to enforce or defend
  • Reconsidering the territorial scope of employment laws in the context of increased cross-border working
  • Introducing information and consultation obligations in relation to environmental business decisions affecting the workforce

Part 1 

DRIVERS OF CHANGE

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Part 2 

2021 EMERGING THEMES

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Part 2 

2022 EMERGING THEMES

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Part 3 

2021 PREDICTIONS

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Part 3 

2022 PREDICTIONS

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