The year 2021 will be remembered for labour shortages.
Recently Logistics UK reported that one year ago shortages were not being reported by businesses however, 12 months on 13% of businesses were reporting “severe” warehouse staff shortages while almost a quarter were reporting that they were struggling to recruit drivers. Elsewhere, the UK Warehousing Association has recently reported that some warehousing businesses were reporting vacancy rates of over 20%. For 2022, the association’s members have said the issue of labour shortages was the most important factor for their business with the association’s CEO, Claire Bottle, saying the warehouse industry is ‘tens of thousands’ short in terms of employees.
Commonly, the response of businesses so far to the industry’s labour shortages has been swift, even overnight, pay rises to retain employees and to offer pay above their standard rates to entice people to join. However, there are issues with those approaches. We highlight what some of the main issues are and what businesses can do to avoid them.
1. Swift or overnight pay rises
We are aware that trade unions are threatening businesses with litigation on behalf of their members who have received overnight pay rises outside of any collective agreement that the business has with the recognised union, following the Supreme Court’s judgment in late October 2021 in the Kostal v Dunkley case. The judgment in Kostal reinforced the legislative provision that a business which offers...
Actress Nana faces a crucial legal moment today as the appeal sentencing trial is held for a man in his 30s, identified as A, who broke into her home and later counter-sued her. The Seoul High Cou...