News & Press

The Institute is evaluating a number of the recent health- and work-related initiatives for the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), including: the evaluation of the pilot of the Occupational Helpline for small employers in areas of England and Wales, and the whole of Scotland; evaluating the Fit for Work Service pilots; and the evaluation of the new Fit Note

Recent monthly releases of official UK employment figures have shown modest growth in employment, and small falls in unemployment (at least as measured by the Labour Force Survey (LFS); the claimant count measure of people claiming Jobseekers’ Allowance has, in contrast, started to increase again). The figures have generated a rather confused debate in media and policy circles about the extent and nature of the labour market recovery as we emerge from recession.

The economic recession of the past two years has hit businesses hard across the European Union. However, it is arguably small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are more exposed to the effects of recession, due to the fact that they have fewer resources to enable them to bridge difficult times and may find it harder to gain access to credit to help them weather temporary difficulties. IES has recently carried out a comparative study looking at the sorts of coping strategies that SMEs across Europe have put into place to help them to cope with the recession.

Get Connected is a funding programme that has been offered to organisations in the social care sector to improve access to ICT (information and communications technology) for service users, family carers and staff, to enhance the quality of life offered within the service and improve opportunities for learning. Currently, most social care providers make very limited use of ICT and this imposes constraints for service users and family carers in accessing services such as email or social networking; similarly it limits the ability of providers to enable staff to access technology for the purposes of training or development.

Finding out what influences employees’ behaviour during workplace conflicts and disputes is key to understanding why employees decide for or against making a claim to an employment tribunal. If we can better understand motives and behaviour, more can be done to try to resolve conflicts and avoid escalation, resulting in fewer claims being taken to employment tribunals. This, in turn, will help to reduce costs, time and stress for all those involved.

During 2010-11 there were 171 worker deaths in the UK. Eurostat figures indicate that between 1999 and 2007, while accidents involving older workers declined, the occurrence of accidents amongst young workers (those aged between 15 and 24) increased. Young workers are more vulnerable in the workplace because of their inexperience and physical and psychological immaturity. They are susceptible to peer pressure, often keen to please and therefore less likely to question work procedures. In addition, they often have an unrealistic perception of risk.

The position of young people in our society is a significant concern since they have been disproportionately affected by the economic downturn. One in five young people aged 16 to 24 were unemployed at the start of this year1 and many are still unable to find work. Unemployment is affecting those traditionally identified as at risk, such as the low skilled, but is also impacting on young graduates.