A new survey from Acas has found that half of employers in Great Britain expect an increase in demand for flexible forms of working from employees after the country comes out of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. 

Acas commissioned YouGov to ask British businesses about changes to working practices that they are expecting once the COVID-19 pandemic is over compared to before the pandemic. The poll found that:

·         Over half of employers (55%) expect an increase in staff working from home or remotely part of the week; and

·         Nearly half of employers (49%) expect an increase in staff working from home or remotely all week.

Acas has published new advice on hybrid working that can help employers introduce it and manage requests from staff who wish to split their time between working remotely and in their employer’s workplace.

Acas Chief Executive, Susan Clews, said: “The pandemic has greatly impacted working life and it’s unsurprising that many employers and their staff have seen the benefits of flexible working during this difficult period.

“Hybrid working existed before Covid and our survey reveals that more than half of employers in Britain expect this type of flexible working to increase once we come out of the pandemic. Our new advice can help employers look at the potential benefits of hybrid working, consider whether it is suitable for their workplace, and fairly manage any staff requests.” 

Acas advice is that hybrid working can help businesses attract and retain staff as well as increase staff productivity as the flexibility allows them to balance work and personal responsibilities. Employees can benefit by saving costs and the time spent travelling to work as well as enjoying a better work life balance.

Acas’s advice for employers includes:

·         Consult widely with staff or their representatives about introducing hybrid working and discuss practical considerations such as regular communication, technology, performance management and health and safety;

·         A company hybrid working policy could look at which roles are eligible, how someone can request it and any principles such as allowing remote working for a maximum number of days a week;

·         Ensure staff who are working remotely are not excluded and have access to the same opportunities as those in the workplace such as team building activities, training and development;  

·         Decisions around whether to approve a request for hybrid working should be fair, transparent and other forms of flexible working that could work as possible alternatives can be discussed with employees;

·         Think about training line managers and staff to help them prepare for and manage hybrid working; and

·         Consider a trial period to see if it works and if any further adjustments to arrangements are needed.

The University of Birmingham, together with the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP), are launching a pilot fund to drive innovation across Business, Professional and Financial Services (BPFS). Building on consultation with regional BPFS leaders, the fund will capitalise on Birmingham’s rapidly growing business/academia/policy ecosystem, to support exciting new discoveries in the City Centre’s emerging innovation district.

Businesses, working with an academic lead, can apply for grants up to £4,000 to deliver innovation across products, services or processes. Pilot projects might include technology development and transfer, initiatives to support workflows, or programmes to support innovative approaches to employee diversity and wellbeing. The University of Birmingham (UoB) Business Engagement team will help interested businesses to form academic links in preparation of an application, where needed.

Applications are now open for twelve months. All projects will need to be completed within the year, with aggregate outputs informing how best to drive outcomes for successful innovation in the sector and region. Findings from the successful pilot programmes will be compiled into a white paper highlighting successes and providing case studies to be used as evidence in development of future regional innovation deals.

Tim Pile, Chair of GBSLEP comments “We are delighted to be working with the University of Birmingham to launch this pilot. GBSLEP’s collaboration with one of the region’s leading knowledge base reflects our unique structure of bringing together the academic sector, local government and businesses to create targeted projects that will drive forwards inclusive economic growth. This fund will help stimulate closer working to support innovation within our region’s largest sector - Business Professional and Financial Services. Crucially, by investing in innovation we are contributing to the attractiveness of the West Midlands as a global centre for next generation services, now and in the future."

Partner at Shoosmiths and LawTech lead for WM SuperTech, Tony Randle, adds: “Shoosmiths and the University of Birmingham have recently embarked on an ambitious project with AI technology specialist, ThoughtRiver. The initial outcomes from the proof of concept, focusing on AI in legal processes, demonstrated significant time savings and risk mitigation benefits. This case study is a prime example of how business and academia can work together to solve problems more effectively. Now, with Shoosmiths as a founding supporter of SuperTech – the first professional services technology (ProfTech) supercluster in the UK – we hope this fund drives similar technology-led productivity gains within BPFS organisations, as well as across service and process development.”

Simon Collinson, Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Regional Engagement at the University of Birmingham, comments: “This fund demonstrates how we are strengthening the University’s civic role in the region, focusing on innovative approaches to accelerate the region’s economic growth in an inclusive way. As the largest contributor to jobs and GVA in the region, the BPFS sector is particularly important. Our city centre presence, The Exchange, enables us to participate even more effectively at the heart of the city-region innovation ecosystem.”

To learn more about stimulating innovation in professional services in the region, insights into working with academia to drive productivity gains, and how to access the fund, join us at a webinar on July 21^st 8.30-9.30am with Anne Green, Professor of Regional Economic Development at City-REDI, and James Sharp, Business Engagement Partner, both from the University of Birmingham; Hilary Smyth-Allen, BPFS Sector & Modern Services Lead at the GBSLEP; Tony Randle of Shoosmiths; and Tim Pullan, CEO of ThoughtRiver. Full details of the fund, application process and eligibility criteria are available.

Rail passengers are being warned of changes to trains in and out of London Euston so urgent repairs can take place after severe flash flooding.

The deluge in the capital on Monday July 12 caused an electricity substation to catch fire disabling London Overground services to Watford. Urgent repairs need to take place to pump away any remaining standing water and fix cables damaged in the electrical fire.

The work means all lines in and out of London Euston must be closed between 11pm today and 6am tomorrow (Thursday July 15). Passengers are being asked to travel early tonight.

The urgent repairs will impact Avanti West Coast, London Northwestern Railway, Caledonian Sleeper and London Overground passengers at the end of today and first thing tomorrow morning. Bus replacement services will be in place to keep passengers on the move and people are being urged to check www.nationalrail.co.uk for the latest information.

James Dean, Network Rail’s West Coast South route director, said: “I’m sorry that your journeys have been disrupted this week. Our engineers will be making critical repairs tonight. 

"The floods made the railway look like a swimming pool, but with 750 volts of electricity running through it. We’ve had to make the site safe before going in and pumping away the remaining flood water and repairing the fire damage.”

Retail trade union Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) has written to the Business Secretary calling on the Government to reverse their plans to end compulsory face coverings and social distancing in shops on 19 July.

Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “The Government should not be weakening safety measures in shops at the same time as opening up other venues. There is no reason why requirements to wear face coverings and maintain social distancing in busy public areas like shops cannot continue.

“Retailers may be able to attempt to enforce their own face covering policies, but in the absence of a legal requirement, as has already been highlighted by the British Retail Consortium, this is likely to result in further significant increases in abuse, threats and violence towards retail workers.

“Wearing a face covering in crowded public areas like shops is not merely a personal choice, it is an important measure to help protect workers who have no option but to interact with large numbers of people as a part of their job. We would welcome the opportunity to work with the Government and employers, as we did during the first lockdown, to develop comprehensive guidance for retail.

“Many retail workers are at a greater risk of catching the virus and bringing it home to their families. Supermarket workers and delivery drivers have worked throughout the pandemic to keep the country supplied with essentials. These key workers must be valued, respected and protected.”

Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street, visited Aceleron to find out how the Birmingham business is revolutionising batteries for transport, industrial and residential use. The visit followed the recent announcement that the low carbon sector is the fastest growing sector in the West Midlands economy and took place in advance of the West Midlands hosting the landmark UK100 international summit – part of the build up to the UK’s Presidency of COP26 in November. 

Aceleron was established by self-declared ‘proud Brummie’, Dr Amrit Chandan, and fellow entrepreneur, Carlton Cummins. Their innovation proposition was simple: traditional battery production was “rubbish”: too much material was sent to waste, putting unnecessary pressure on the planet’s finite and precious resources. 

Aceleron’s response was to develop the ‘Essential’ – the world’s first, fully maintainable battery. Its patented design meant that components could be disaggregated, rebooted and reused.

Their batteries can now be found in everything from quad-bikes to camper vans, from residential energy storage to providing emergency energy supply to data centres. 

Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street said: “Aceleron are an exceptional business – their vision and innovation is making a massive contribution to how we can start to decarbonise so many parts of the world economy without generating more waste from the technologies we develop. Just as we were the birthplace of the first industrial revolution, the West Midlands is the home of the green industrial revolution – our manufacturing businesses, our energy innovations and our depth of research and development are all driving the new industrial revolution that will protect and restore the resources of the planet.

“Aceleron’s products are revolutionising battery technology – a sector that we are really carving out a world-leading expertise in. I’ll be hosting an international conference on net zero next week, with representatives from across the UK and the world – it will be vital that we recognise the opportunities we face to create the green marketplace for companies like Aceleron, and many others across the West Midlands. 

“It’s also great that Amrit is contributing his expertise and insights to our Circular Economy Taskforce – and I’d like to thank everyone who is taking part in that. Redesigning products so that they can be maintained and continue to be used rather than just scrapped, is a key part of that work.” 

Aceleron’s co-founder and chief executive Amrit Chandan said: “It was really great to welcome Mayor Street to the offices today and to talk him through the innovation behind our products. 

“Birmingham and the West Midlands is brilliantly placed to help the UK, and the whole planet, start to address the climate emergency, and Aceleron will do whatever we can to help that. We can’t underestimate the challenge: if we don’t address battery manufacture, then we could see 22 cubic metres of batteries sent to waste over the next 20 years just from electric cars!” As well as their cutting-edge innovation and their contribution to the region’s plans to develop a Circular Economy which aims to reuse and recycle materials and products, rather than wasting them, Aceleron are also playing their part in global social issues.

The WMCA is next week hosting the UK100 summit, an international net-zero local leadership conference aimed at strengthening the powers of regions to deliver net zero. The West Midlands has set out its own #WM2041 carbon reduction plan. Welcoming the visit, Councillor Ian Courts, portfolio lead for environment and energy at the West Midlands Combined Authority and leader of Solihull Council added: “It is absolutely right that we celebrate and showcase the great companies in the West Midlands that are producing these green solutions. 

“As the region that spearheaded the first transport revolution we are well placed to lead the second. We’ve seen that Low Carbon is the fastest growing sector in the region, and it’s companies like Aceleron with their innovations in battery technology and reduction in waste that will maintain, and help increase, our growth. 

“Their success demonstrates that going green is how we will create new jobs and new economic opportunities as well as saving the planet.” 

The City of Wolverhampton Council has been shortlisted for multiple awards at the prestigious MJ Awards 2021, which celebrate the best in local public services. The council is a finalist in three categories; ‘Chief Executive of the Year’, ‘Rising Star’ and ‘Best Social Housing Initiative’.

Tim Johnson, Chief Executive has been shortlisted for ‘Chief Executive of the Year’ for leading the council’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and putting staff in the driving seat of equalities. In the ‘Rising Star’ category, Anthony Walker, Homelessness Strategy & External Relationships Manager, has been shortlisted for working hard to protect every person experiencing homeless in the city during the pandemic.

And in the ‘Best Social Housing Initiative’ category, the council’s commercial regulation services, working with legal services, have been shortlisted for their work in ensuring the council can act quickly and effectively against landlords acting illegally. After being cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic, this year’s awards have seen a record number of entries across 17 categories.

Councillor Ian Brookfield, Leader of the Council, said: “Being announced as finalists in three categories, when the MJ Awards have received a record number of entries from councils across the country, is no mean feat. This is an excellent achievement for the council’s employees, councillors and partner organisations after a year like no other.

“So many individuals and teams have gone above and beyond on a daily basis in the most challenging of times – and it fills me with joy that those collective efforts have been recognised. Now we can look forward to September’s awards ceremony in London to see if we have won any of awards – but regardless of the outcome, we can all take immense pride at the fact that our work as a council has been recognised.”

The announcement comes after the council was commended for winning in four categories at the same awards in 2017 – Local Authority of the Year, Senior Leadership Team, Most Improved Council and Excellence in Governance and Scrutiny. The MJ Awards, which have taken place since 2004, are considered a major event within the public-sector calendar. This year’s awards ceremony will take place on Friday 17 September at London’s Hilton Hotel.