Tag Archives: work

Equal Pay Day: Female? You Will Work The Rest Of The Year For Free

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Today is Equal Pay Day- so called because the average pay gap between men and women is so large that women effectively work for free from November 4th until the end of the year. Depressing, isn’t it? Something must be done about it. Maybe women should strike. I am up for it. A holiday from now until 2015? Sounds fun.

It is not just because women tend to bear the brunt of childcare, although more paternity rights and men picking up their slack in this area would help, read this brilliant article on equal pay from the Huffington Post. This year equal pay day is three days earlier than last year because the pay gap has widened. Truly shocking. For every £1 earned by a man, a women gets 80p.

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On Equal Pay Day 2014, Iain McMath, CEO of Sodexo Benefits and Rewards Services had some great comments on how pay differences are affecting employees and what employers can do to help:

“It is alarming to see that the difference in take home pay for men and women is actually increasing, despite it being over 40 years since the arrival of the Equal Pay Act. With figures now showing that women earn 15.7% less than their male colleagues, this inequality shows no signs of abating.

It is unsurprising, therefore, that women are suffering financial consequences of this disparity. According to our recent survey of UK workers, 54% of women say they struggle to put aside any funds due to limited disposable income, compared to just 40% of men, which clearly shows the impact that unequal pay has on financial planning.

Equal Pay Day serves to highlight the fact that there is still significant work to be done before men and women are treated equally in the workplace. Until this happens, employers need to be aware of the financial stress that many of their employees are facing, and must take steps to ensure they are helping staff to manage their money and reach their financial goals.”

 

 

Mothers Face Employment Struggles After Having Children

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keeping children entertained on car journeysNew mothers are reluctant to return to work after having a child, with new statistics revealing that 28 per cent did not go back to their previous employer and only 6% felt the desire to start their own business (6%).

The research comes from a brand new study conducted on behalf of Diddi Dance, a pre-school dance company. It has highlighted that mothers are often faced with the tough decision of whether to return to employment – 12 per cent of mothers said that their career was restricted after having a child/children, and a third (34%) did not want to spend time away from their child/children.

Concerns of mothers about returning to work are flexibility, which is vital with the very spontaneous nature of parenting (17%), and location, as travelling up to two hours a day is not a feasible option for some parents

This being said the research showed there were also aspects that mothers were not concerned about, as of those who returned to work only 8 per cent felt they were treated differently, and even less (6%) felt they were not treated fairly by their employer.

Anne-Marie Martin is a Diddi Dance franchise owner and mother of 2 young children – she explained the troubles of mothers like herself who she speaks with on a daily basis:

“There are so many factors when thinking about returning to work practically, but also emotionally. Childcare is one of these issues, as it’s not only very expensive, but the waiting lists tend to be quite long. In addition, not all providers are flexible with long or antisocial working hours. Commuting long distances means the time away from your child/ren can build up. It also makes you think about whether you should be leaving them for long periods of time from such young ages. Needs must though and returning to work is sometimes not an option a lot of parents are able to turn down.”

Do you have children and want to return to work or do you want to work for yourself?

 

 

 

 

ContainerVille Offers Affordable Work Space On Regents Canal

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ContainerVille, launched by The Estate Office Shoreditch, offers work space on Regents Canal
– Storage containers up-cycled for London’s dynamic start-ups –

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ContainerVille, a new initiative for London’s start-ups has been launched today by The Estate Office Shoreditch. The concept aims to attract dynamic young creatives in search of affordable work space in which to grow their entrepreneurial businesses. The unique location of this offering will allow ‘New Eastenders’ the chance to thrive amongst their peers with close proximity to vibrant Shoreditch and Hackney.

 

Start-ups looking for a home for their growing business will find no better alternative than ContainerVille, which offers rental of a whole container for £1200 per month. Made up of 30 converted storage containers on the south bank of Regent’s Canal, ContainerVille offers affordable work spaces with low rent and minimal overheads so that small businesses will be free to grow more organically. The site will be managed but the containers will offer a great deal of flexibility for their tenants.

 

Over the past weeks the containers have undergone a total fit out and emerge transformed into fully functioning spaces for up to five people per container. Individual desk spaces can be rented for £320pp per month as the minds behind ContainerVille recognise that together small firms are stronger and businesses may choose to share containers or work in partnership. ContainerVille aims to create a dynamic hub of start-ups and small businesses, increasing opportunity for growth in a community of like-minded creatives working in proximity to one another.  The landscaping around the containers is also geared to promote collaborative working and integration, with shared outdoor areas overlooking the canal.

 

The Estate Office Shoreditch hope to inspire future tenants with their historically rich canal-side location, where the technology of the industrial revolution will stand alongside the technology, design and digital firms likely to occupy the space. Further to the peace and tranquillity inspired by close proximity to the canal, Victoria Park, Broadway Market and London Fields are also within throwing distance, ensuring that tenants are well-connected and within easy reach of The City and West End.

 

The Estate Office Shoreditch is a family business who have owned and managed much of the land in and around Shoreditch since the mid 60’s. Phil Bouette, Development Manager at The Estate Office commented: “We are really excited about this new venture; we take a long-term view of property ownership and believe in offering flexibility to our tenants, whether they are longstanding establishments or fresh fast growth firms. We look forward to welcoming our first tenants in the next few weeks.”

 

The Current State-of-Mind of Working Mums Today

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GUILT-RIDDEN, TORN BETWEEN TWO ROLES AND OVER-LOOKED -The current state-of-mind of working mums today

* Over three quarters (80%) of women feel guilty about going back to work and worry about leaving their child in the care of others compared with just 39% of men.
* Childcare responsibilities still fall on the mother’s shoulders, even when both parents are working.
* A fifth of dads (20%) say they wished they hadn’t gone back to work after having a family, saying they wished they could have looked after their child while over a third (37%) of men say they work full time with NO flexibility at all.

competitionNew research into the state of mind of working parents in the UK has found that we are a nation divided with women battling to find a healthy work-life balance, taking on the majority of childcare responsibilities while not at work. The research, undertaken for The Work & Family Show which is due to take place for the first time on 21st and 22nd February, found that over three quarters of women (80%) feel guilty about going back to work after having a family. Men, on the other hand, are relatively confident about returning to their jobs with just 39% feeling guilty about leaving their children in childcare.

The biggest concern for more than 35% of women was not having the help or understanding from their employer when dealing with the difficult transition from working woman to working mum. They also worried that their employers would be discriminatory towards them, entrusting them with responsibility and fewer big projects.

One mum who struggled to return to work after having a baby is 31 year old Leah McGrath. She returned to her role as an HR Service Manager at a large agra-pharmaceutical company after a year at home with her daughter. The plan was for Leah to do a job share but this fell through and she found herself fitting in a full time job into her contracted three days a week. She says: “I was finding it such a struggle, commuting three hours, three days a week, and trying my best to be a good mum. I was getting ill all the time; whenever there was a virus going around, I would catch it as I was so run down and my little girl’s behaviour was becoming very challenging. After a while I realised there must be more to life and resigned. It was extremely scary but I am so pleased I did.” Leah has since re-trained as a yoga teacher, running her own Yogabellies franchise, teaching pre-natal, post-natal and baby massage classes in her lo cal wellbeing and community centres. She has managed to get a healthy work-life balance and work flexibly but only by leaving her past career behind her.

Ben Black, Director of MyFamilyCare.co.uk who, together with Clarion Events, are organising The Work & Family Show says: “Due to the lack of support from their employers on returning to work, women often feel forced to give up the careers they have trained and worked so hard for in order to fit in their new role of motherhood. However, it shouldn’t be like this. Staff need to be supported as they return to work and deal with the challenges that being a working parent can bring. Employers who respond to their needs will be rewarded with engaged, productive and loyal employees.”

The research also asked fathers how they felt about the transition from working man to working dad. More than a third (37%) said they returned to work and received no flexibility at all. One in five, meanwhile, said they wished they had never gone back to work at all, wishing they could take on the full-time role of child carer.

Ben Black continues: “So many big companies like Barclays, Discovery Channel and Rolls Royce have made big improvements to their policies to help their parents who work, but these results show there’s a huge deficit. Women shouldn’t feel restricted in work when they become a mother and a man’s role in bringing up a child has evolved so much in the past 30 years and it’s time that businesses recognise this too.”

The Work & Family Show has been born out of the high demand from families in need of help when returning to work or starting up their own business. Jenny Willott, Minister for Employment Relations and Consumer Affairs, will introduce the show while inspirational experts and employers on the lookout for motivated staff will be on hand to give working parents and career break women access to practical advice. Organised by Clarion Events and My Family Care, it takes place on Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd February 2014 at the ExCeL London. Tickets are available from www.theworkandfamilyshow.co.uk from just £12, and people coming to the neighbouring Baby Show will have free entrance*.

Opening times:
Friday 21st February: 9.30am – 5pm (trade and press entry from 8.30am on Friday for a networking breakfast)
Saturday 22nd February: 10am – 5pm
**Ends**

*Free entry will be for everyone who has a paid-for ticket to The Baby Show

We have six tickets to the Work and Family Show to giveaway

Women and Industry in the First World War At IWM North

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New Photographic Display Outside IWM North
Launching the 2014 First World War Centenary programme at IWM North
From 18 January 2014 – Free Entry; Donations Welcome

Exploring how the First World War changed the society we live in today, a new external photographic display at IWM North, part of Imperial War Museums, in Manchester, reveals images of women working in industry during the conflict.

 

As IWM builds towards a major programme of events and displays commemorating the First World War Centenary, six images by official First World War photographer G P Lewis are being unveiled in huge, 5 metre high frames, outside IWM North, on the Quays in Manchester.

George Parham Lewis, an official photographer of the home front, specialised in documenting heavy industry and photographed women workers in the glass, vehicle and food industries.

The images in the free IWM North display document women’s vital contribution to the war effort in factories across the North West of England almost 100 years ago.

 

Taken from IWM’s renowned Photographic Archive, the images were jointly commissioned by IWM and the Ministry of Information, demonstrating the wide range of roles performed by women during the First World War.

Visitors are invited to contact IWM North on Twitter @I_W_M #IWMNorth or Facebook.com/iwm.north if they recognise family members in any of GP Lewis’ photographs on display.

Graham Boxer, Director of IWM North, said: ‘The First World War was a major turning point that shaped the world we live in today, including the roles of women in society. These six powerful images depict women at work during an extraordinary time. It is a fitting start towards a major programme of exhibitions, displays and events marking the First World War Centenary at IWM North.  Later this year we will open the largest exhibition ever created exploring the role of the North West of England during the First World War.’

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The Women and Industry display opens on 18 January, while IWM North’s major exhibition marking the centenary, From Street To Trench: A War that Shaped a Region, will open on 5 April. For more information, visit www.iwm.org.uk

GP Lewis’ photographs depict the following scenes of woman and industry in the North West during the First World War:

  • Women workers in an Oil and Cake factory having tea, Lancashire, 1918. Oil cakes were used to feed cattle
  • Female worker in Charles Macintosh and Sons’ Ltd rubber factory, Manchester, 1918
  • Female glass worker carrying a tube of rolled glass at Pilkington Glass Ltd., St Helen’s, 1918. The company still exists today
  • Women workers stacking oil cakes at an Oil and Cake factory, Lancashire, 1918
  • Women working in an asbestos factory, Lancashire, 1918. Asbestos, now recognised as a dangerous material, was used in many different ways such as in buildings and enginesWomen workers operating a grain elevator at the mills of Messrs. Rank & Sons in Birkenhead, 1918

Six Tickets To The Work and Family Show To Giveaway

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competition21st & 22nd February 2014 – ExCeL London

Next month the first ever Work & Family Show, sponsored by My Family Care and Sky Broadband Shield, will take place, giving working parents on the lookout for a new challenge in 2014 access to a wealth of ideas and opportunities. We have six tickets to giveaway. The speaker line-up is quickly taking shape, with Jenny Willott, Minister for Employment Relations and Consumer Affairs, confirmed as a key speaker on the main stage.

Born out of the demand from families in need of help when returning to work or starting up their own business, the show aims to give practical advice, inspiration and ideas to help create a happy and healthy work-life balance.

Driving confidence to get back into work, the event will be packed with inspirational experts and employment opportunities. Participants include Red Magazine, The Women’s Business Council and The Family & Childcare Trust, while the likes of The Post Office and franchise companies including Stella & Dot and Yogabellies will be on the search for motivated individuals to sign up.

There will be employment advice available at The Career Surgery (brought to you by Sky Recruitment) from the team at Inspired Mums, Thinking Potential, Workingmums.co.uk and the National Careers Service while there will be an array of experts on hand to give practical solutions help create an ideal work-life balance.

The show will be an interesting and engaging event full of lively debates, inspirational expert advice, and confidence-building ideas that will leave visitors eager to make their next move.

Organised by Clarion Events and working in conjunction with My Family Care, it is set beside the hugely successful Baby Show and is expected to attract over 10,000 visitors.

Oliver Black, Director of My Family Care says: “Over 2.2 million are not working in order to look after their family. More than 60% of these are looking to return to work but do not know how to and don’t appreciate the number of family friendly businesses that are out there. This is exactly who this show is for – helping talented parents find businesses and services who see the efficacy of installing family friendly working practices.”

Guardian Careers are the headline sponsor, while Sky will sponsor The Sky Broadband Shield Community Café – a lively and informative place for parents to meet with like-minded people on the lookout for inspiration. Here, parents will be able to learn more about Sky Broadband Shield which is a brand new tool that helps parents choose which websites are accessible in their home to ensure their children are kept safe online. Working Families, the charity that helps working parents and carers find a healthy work-life balance, are the official show charity.

Nicole Muller, Portfolio Director of Clarion Events says: “We’re very excited to be organising the first ever Work & Family Show and the response from businesses and parents keen to come to the show has been very positive. There is a real need for an event of this kind from those wanting to successfully balance work and family, especially with the recent ongoing changes to equality in the workplace, shared parenting, flexible working and childcare.”

The Work & Family Show will include the following dedicated areas:

• Recruitment & Employers – Work Opportunities (sponsored by workingmums.co.uk)

• Career Advice & Personal Development – Education & Advice

• Image, Style & Media Resources – Personal Branding & Development

• Family Services, Enablers & Networking – Support Systems

• Franchise, Self-Employment & Start Up Business – Going it Alone

Tickets are available from www.theworkandfamilyshow.co.uk from just £12, and people coming to the neighbouring Baby Show will have free entrance*.

Opening times:

February: 9am – 5pm (trade and press entry from 8.30am on Friday for a networking

Saturday 22nd

February: 10am – 5pm

For your chance to win, follow @Frostmag on Twitter and Tweet, “I want to win tickets with @Frostmag” or like us on Facebook. Alternatively, sign up to our newsletter or like us on YouTube.

 

 

Seven Steps To Job Seeking Success

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madetomeasuresuitThe New Year is traditionally a time when we take stock of our lives and strive for change. For many people, that means a new job. However, with competition for that dream role at its fiercest in January, Arran Stewart, director at MyJobMatcher.com, offers jobseekers a head start with his seven top tips for success:

Make sure your CV will make the ”yes” pile

Your CV is still one of the most important tools you’ll ever have to clinch that job.  It’s your responsibility, and no one else’s, to make sure that you maximise your chances of catching the eye of employers and recruiters.

It sounds obvious, but take the time to ensure that your CV accurately reflects the required skills of the job you are applying for.  Bring out your relevant experience and relate it to the job – also craft a quick, clear and concise covering note to accompany your application.  All it takes is a little bit of effort to tweak your CV and it could be the key to opening the door to your next job.

Put yourself in the shoes of the recruiter and ask yourself what they want to see and how your CV will get them excited about you?

Tread carefully online – without a traffic cone on your head.

Most employers and recruiters will have a look at your digital footprint – sometimes before ever contacting you about your application. If you have a million selfies sporting a traffic cone on your head as your Facebook front page what conclusion do you think someone will draw?

 

It is both positive and negative that our digital footprint impacts first impressions of who people really think we are – the best candidates use this to their advantage and tailor their online profiles to the sector they are targeting.

Get your personal “in the pub” profile locked down to your mates on Facebook, don’t be a twitter twit and keep your professional profile on LinkedIn in tip top shape as. The latest industry research suggests that 50% of Fortune 100 companies hire here.

Job seeking can be a numbers game but don’t get trigger happy

You won’t simply apply for your dream job one day and get it the next.  Unquestionably, job seeking is about setting a number of good horses running and making sure you get the right ones home!

 

By all means apply for the jobs you think are best and most relevant to you, but be mindful not to simply apply for everything and anything you find as you can ultimately end up reducing your chances of finding a job.

 

You don’t want to devalue yourself by landing on every desk at the same time or, even worse, the same desk more than once.

 

Nothing puts an employer off like the smell of desperation.  Stay proud in your search; remain sensibly selective in your job applications and never devalue yourself by getting trigger happy and firing your CV out everywhere.

 Be careful of recruiter jargon and buzzwords

Like it or not, online jobs have inevitably been written by recruiters who are working in sales-driven environments and who are rightfully desperate to fill roles for their clients.  As a result of this they quite often succumb to the desire to, shall we say, “over-egg” a role as highlighted in this recent quiz in the Guardian.

The danger here is that although you may consider yourself, say, a “Marketing Manager” and not a “Growth Hacker” – you need to invest the time to understand some of the en vogue terms being used by recruiters in order to ensure that you open yourself up to the best and most relevant roles.

 

It is also sensible to mention these terms in the content of your CV – even if only in the summary.  The reason?  Well a lot of recruiters search for people online and obviously key words drive a lot of databases – and after all, if it’s a great job with the right package do you really care if you are called a “Growth Hacker”?

Let technology shorten your odds

Always let technology shorten your odds and do the leg work for you – you wouldn’t go out to get 15 separate insurance quotes in order to find the best one – so where it exists, use technology to make your job seeking simpler.

 

Remember that when you search a traditional search engine such as Google or Bing you will only find what is rated and ranked by that search engine – this is often affected by clever SEO and the amount of budget someone can spend on PPC or adwords to “get found”, so the results are invariably biased.

 

Take the time to go through to pages three and four, rather than just the top ranked page, as you normally would. Even better, let technology do all the searching for you.  Sites like MyJobMatcher.com receive hundreds of thousands of jobs from all the best job boards and then match your CV to the most relevant, eliminating bias and sending you daily alerts with relevant new job matches.

Don’t forget, it’s all about people

At the end of the day, people hire people.  Your CV will only take you so far and where applications are flying in thick and fast a quick phone call to a hirer to confirm receipt of your CV and willing to answer any immediate questions will find you elevated to the top of the list. At the very least they will be aware that you are willing and able to become their next great hire!

Don’t ever give up!

Finally, job seeking can at times be a dark and depressing place.  But, like all things in life, don’t give up – not ever, and always keep true to your motives.  In the end, perseverance, savvy and helping hand from technology will get you there – happy job seeking!

For more information on jobseeking follow @MyJobMatcher for helpful tips via Twitter.

Top 10 things women want to do with a free day

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puppy, sleeping puppy, puppies, cute animalsIt appears that during the average working week women clock in at least 20 per cent more hours than men.
A major study claims that because of housework and childcare, career women are working much longer hours than men.
A study by researchers at Cambridge University in England has found that women who work outside the
home still do the bulk of the domestic chores, including picking the kids up from school, helping with
homework, cleaning and cooking. So even though men tend to spend more hours at the office, often
because they are in management positions and earn higher salaries, it is the women who are actually on-
the-go for longer.
It’s certainly not 50-50 in terms of work on the job and at home then.

 

A recent survey undertaken by luxury tanning brand Vita Liberata attracted thousands of entries. Their question? Purely and simply, what would a woman do if they had 24 hours entirely to themselves, with no responsibilities, no financial issues, no worries at all.
Top 10 responses:
1. 78% were so knackered all they wanted was a day to rest
2. Shopping! No surprises there ..
3. 8% wanted to go for cocktails
4. The top 3 destinations to spend a day ‘out’ are New York,
London or Paris
5. Go to Nashville and visit the home of Elvis Presley
6. Watch Barcelona football team – at their home ground
7. 98% chose not to include their husband in their day off
8. Do makeup on a Hollywood film set
9. 5% wanted an active day – bungee jumping, skiing, white
water rafting, being the most popular
10. Drive the 5 fastest cars in the world
* Taken from Vita Liberata’s Liberation Day Survey
Most surprising result is that all most women* want is a Spa Day… time to themselves, to rest, relax and be pampered. Lack of imagination or just sheer exhaustion??
What would you do with a free day?