Month: December 2023

Nikhi Rathi, the chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has warned that banks will face severe consequences if they are found guilty of lying about cases of ‘debanking’, amid a series of high-profile cases in recent months.
Extreme action has been taken against a former chief executive of a large bank due to breaches of the integrity rules, following the fallout between Nigel Farage and Natwest earlier this year. If misinformation is intentionally given to customers, there will be serious consequences for the senior management involved, according to the FCA.
The primary reasons for account closures were due to inactivity or concerns related to financial crime. In that case, while four accounts at UK banks were closed for political reasons, a closer examination uncovered that three of these closures were attributed to inappropriate customer behaviour, specifically involving racist language, rather than being solely based on political opinions.
Nikhil Rathi cautioned the Treasury about “policy overload”, expressing concern over the government’s swift implementation of reforms in the financial services sector.
Wayne Johnson, CEO and co-founder, Encompass Corporation, commented: “As the attention and scrutiny around debanking continues, it remains critical that banks can ensure the fair and consistent treatment of customers – and are able to prove this – to avoid potentially significant consequences, as outlined by the regulator.
”This recent spotlight on debanking has highlighted the importance of implementing technology-driven processes, which allow banks to act based on verifiable facts, presented by live, authoritative publicly available data – and, crucially, evidence actions taken.
“Technology exists to establish a customer’s identity, providing real-time profiles, generated on demand, to validate and verify a company with full transparency. By leveraging this, banks can not only evidence compliance and protect their reputation with a robust, effective Know Your Customer (KYC) process, but also save time and maximise business efficiency across the board.”
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FCA chief warns severe consequences for lying about ‘debanking’

Nearly 200 countries at the Cop28 climate summit have agreed to a deal that, for the first time, calls on all nations to transition away from fossil fuels to avert the worst effects of climate change.
After two weeks of at-times fractious negotiations in the United Arab Emirates, the agreement was quickly gavelled through by the Cop28 president, Sultan Al Jaber, on Wednesday morning. He received an ovation from delegates and a hug from UN climate chief, Simon Stiell.
Despite the urging of more than 130 countries and scientists and civil society groups, the agreement did not include an explicit commitment to phase out or even phase down fossil fuels.
Instead, it reached a compromise that called on countries to contribute to global efforts to transition “away from fossil fuels in energy systems in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science”.
Al Jaber argued the deal, reached in the hottest year on record, was a comprehensive response to a global stocktake that found countries were failing to live up to the goals of the landmark Paris climate agreement, particularly a commitment to try to limit global heating to 1.5C (2.7F) above preindustrial levels.
“We have delivered a robust action plan to keep 1.5C in reach,” he said. “It is an enhanced, balanced, but make no mistake, a historic package to accelerate climate action. It is the UAE consensus. We have language on fossil fuel in our final agreement for the first time ever.”
But countries from the global south and climate justice advocates said the text fell short of what was needed on emissions reductions and finance to help the most vulnerable cope with worsening extreme weather and heat, and included language that appeared to placate fossil fuel interests.
There was confusion in the plenary hall shortly after the agreement was passed as many parties had assumed there would be a debate over the text. The Alliance of Small Island States, representing 39 countries, said it had not been in the room when the deal was adopted as it was still coordinating its response.
Its lead negotiator, Anne Rasmussen from Samoa, did not formally object to the agreement and believed the deal had good elements, but said the “the process has failed us” and the text included a “litany of loopholes”. “We have made an incremental advancement over business as usual when what we really needed is an exponential step change in our actions and support,” she said. Her speech was met with a standing ovation.
Most praise for the deal focused on the call for a transition away from coal, oil and gas. Prof Johan Rockström, from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, said: “No, the Cop28 agreement will not enable the world to hold the 1.5C limit, but yes, the result is a pivotal landmark. This agreement delivers on making it clear to all financial institutions, businesses and societies that we are now finally – eight years behind the Paris schedule – at the true ‘beginning of the end’ of the fossil-fuel driven world economy.”
The UN secretary general, António Guterres, tweeted: “Whether you like it or not, fossil fuel phase-out is inevitable. Let’s hope it doesn’t come too late.”
John Kerry, the US special presidential envoy for climate, said: “While nobody here will see their views completely reflected, the fact is that this document sends a very strong signal to the world.”
Key points to come out of the deal included:

It reinforced the 1.5C goal and recognised it would require a 43% emissions cut by 2030 and 60% by 2035 relative to 2019 levels. It implies a major increase in targets and policies when countries submit new commitments in 2025.
Countries backed a call for global renewable energy to be tripled and the rate of energy efficiency improvements doubled by 2030.
A statement that global emissions should peak by 2025 was dropped. China, among others, objected to this despite evidence it may be on track to peak its own emissions by then.
Language backed by fossil fuel interests found its way into the text, including “transition fuels” – a code for natural gas – and “carbon capture and utilisation and storage”.
Little progress was made on climate adaptation and finance, which the deal acknowledges will need trillions of dollars in support.
A loss and damage fund to help the most vulnerable repair the damage from climate breakdown was operationalised – a major step forward – but significant work remains to build its capacity.
The strained nature of the agreement reflects the UN climate conference’s consensus process. Once a deal is reached, individual countries are responsible for delivering on the agreements through national policies and investments.

Many developed countries had joined the most vulnerable in publicly pushing for a phase-out of coal, oil and gas. The European Union said there was a “supermajority” in support for the idea, but many wealthy countries wanted it only to apply to “unabated” fossil fuels – those where the emissions from burning them are not captured.
Saudi Arabia and a few allied countries objected to the inclusion of any reference to reducing the production and consumption of fossil fuels in the text of a potential deal.
Stiell said Cop28 had needed to signal a “hard stop to humanity’s core climate problem – fossil fuels and their planet-burning pollution” – and the final agreement left a lot of room for interpretation. It was up to countries to commit to its most ambitious interpretation, he said.
“If all countries don’t take this approach, loopholes leave us vulnerable to fossil fuel vested interests, which could crash our ability to protect people everywhere against rising climate impacts,” he said.
Mohamed Adow, from the thinktank Power Shift Africa, said the deal sent a strong signal, but agreed there were too many loopholes “on unproven and expensive technologies like carbon capture and storage, which fossil fuel interests will try and use to keep dirty energy on life support”.
“Some people may have had their expectations for this meeting raised too high, but this result would have been unheard of two years ago, especially at a Cop meeting in a petrostate. It shows that even oil and gas producers can see we’re heading for a fossil-free world,” he said.
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Cop28 landmark deal agreed to ‘transition away’ from fossil fuels

Judges will be allowed use ChatGPT to help write legal rulings despite warnings that artificial intelligence (AI) can invent cases that never happened.
This is according to a report in The Daily Telegraph.
The Judicial Office has issued official guidance to thousands of judges in England and Wales saying AI can be useful for summarising large amounts of text or in administrative tasks.
However, it said that chatbots are a “poor way of conducting research” and are prone to making up fictitious cases or legal texts.
The guidance also warned that the rise of bots such as ChatGPT could end up being widely used by members of the public when bringing legal cases and that deepfake technology could be used to create fake evidence.
Sir Geoffrey Vos, the Master of the Rolls, said that AI “offers significant opportunities in developing a better, quicker and more cost-effective digital justice system”.
He said: “Technology will only move forwards and the judiciary has to understand what is going on. Judges, like everybody else, need to be acutely aware that AI can give inaccurate responses as well as accurate ones.”
Earlier this year, a senior judge, Lord Justice Birss, described ChatGPT as “jolly useful”, saying he had used the chatbot to summarise an area of law he was familiar with, and copy and pasted it into a court ruling.
He said on Monday that he had used ChatGPT as a test and that it had been used within the guidance because he had not entered any secret or confidential information into it.
Sir Geoffrey said that lawyers were potentially subject to perjury and criminal sanctions if submissions penned by a chatbot produced false evidence. “Nothing changes just because they may have got what they said falsely from an AI chatbot instead of out of their own head,” he said.
Suid Adeyanju, CEO of cyber company RiverSafe said: “The rise of AI use in legal rulings brings with it great opportunities, but also opens the door to major cyber risks. Hackers have already proven adept at infiltrating and exploiting security loopholes to steal data, and in this scenario could also lead to widespread evidence tampering. It’s vital that organisations using this technology tread carefully, and ensure they have the necessary security systems in place to  keep cyber criminals locked out.”
Josh Boer, director at tech consultancy VeUP said: “This is the latest example of AI reshaping critical functions, saving time and money by managing administrative tasks. The technology has huge potential to turbocharge the next generation of UK SMEs, providing crucial support in the back office. Yet far too many companies lack the skills and support to embrace it. That’s why its crucial that organisations get to grips with the latest generative AI capabilities, by embracing AWS and other key platforms, to boost growth through the cloud for the long term.”
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Judges approve use ChatGPT in legal rulings

Could you change your articles of association to ensure the ESG impact of every decision is considered?
Set on becoming the world’s most sustainable marketing agency, Webmart have. So this means that when they take an integrated approach to each client’s marketing campaigns, they’re also building in their solid values of people, planet and profit. Yes, this agency is BCorp, and they’re bossing it. Aside from designing strategic creatives, they have actively developed their own print carbon calculators to PAS2060 standards and are working with the Scottish government to rewild 164 acres of woodland.
They live and breathe their values, which in turn gives their clients the much needed transparency over their impact to be able to reach their marketing and their ESG goals and an opportunity to offset the emissions through an approved scheme. As consumers are demanding more conscious options of product lines, it’s only a matter of time until they start demanding that those products are marketed to them in a conscious way.
Simon takes the time to share his news and views with Business Matters …
What is the main problem you solve for your customers?
We look at the strategy as a whole and work out which existing areas can be improved, optimising their existing budget rather than increasing it. For example, we recently worked with Pavers, the footwear retailer, and saved over £170,000 by re-engineering their mailing format to qualify for more efficient postage rates. Through this process, we also reduced their CO2e output by 30 tonnes. We aim to make small, logical improvements, rather than overhaul an entire strategy simply because one or two areas aren’t performing as well as expected.
What made you start your business – did you want to rock the status quo, or fill a gap in the marketplace?
Rock the status quo! I built Webmart on Marxist-capitalist principles, which sound contradictory but work together symbiotically. I aimed to build a profitable business where the team could work hard and be rewarded for those efforts, which is where the capitalist principles are important. Where the Marxist-capitalism difference comes into play is what we do with the profits we generate.
Webmart has been built to benefit the stakeholders and not the shareholders. We use our profits to reward our staff, invest in sustainability initiatives, support our local communities and charitable causes. The result is a profitable, sustainable business of 27 years which has created industry-leading sustainable marketing solutions and has donated hundreds of thousands to good causes.
What are your brand values?
We focus our efforts on balancing People, Planet and Profit.
We support our people (our Webmarteers) by including long-standers in our annual profit-share scheme and new starters in the Bonus for Outstanding Achievement (BFOA) scheme to ensure no one is left out. We offer additional family days off per year and free mental health support through The Printing Charity.
Our green efforts are listed below in response to the eco-strategy question.
As well as supporting our Webmarteers with any annual profits, we also ensure that we are consistent with our charitable giving. Charities can apply throughout the year for a one-off £150 grant and just before Christmas we did a £10,000 giveaway to charities close to our Bicester and Barnsley offices. To date, we have given away over £700,000 in charitable donations.
What is Webmart’s eco strategy?
In 2021 we became a certified B Corp, an award that we are incredibly proud of, and the result of several months of hard work. Before we joined the prestigious few UK B Corps that existed, we had already implemented several eco-initiatives to support the environment including:

Our Oxygen Farm, which is based in Coldingham, Scotland and home to 164 acres of woodland and a solar-powered log cabin. In partnership with the Scottish government, we are working to rewild the entire area over the next 20 years and create a wealth of ponds and nature trails for future generations to enjoy
We aim to be as green as possible in both our north and south offices. We have added a fleet of electric vehicles at both sites and also installed solar panels at our Bicester office
We are a carbon-neutral certified company
We are FSC and PEFC accredited
In July 2021 we launched our postage solution, Enviromail. We calculate the carbon emissions from our client’s postage to PAS2060 standards and offset twice that amount through accredited carbon offsetting schemes, making their postage climate positive.

Do your values define your decision making process?
Our values influence us throughout the business, and whenever making any key decisions we consider the implication for any stakeholders. That could be our team, our suppliers or our customers. And we assess the impact of that decision on our ability to carry on the good we can do as a result of our operations.
Value-driven decision making has always been important to the business, and as part of our B Corp certification in 2021, we further changed our articles of association to legally bind us to consider the impact of every decision that we make.
Is team culture integral to Webmart?

A core part of team culture is collaboration, and this is something that happens day in, day out at Webmart. In all of our client projects, there are several Webmarteers across the different teams who come together to work on that project and deliver results for our customers. Collaboration and sharing knowledge are at the core of the business.
What do you do to go the extra mile to show your team you appreciate them?
We offer a range of things to support our employees, including £500 for them or someone close to them to receive counselling and free mental health support through The Printing Charity. A popular one includes free visits to stay at our Oxygen Farm up in Scotland. In terms of the way the business runs, we keep the team small so that everybody knows each other. Senior management have developed a support system, through which they are aware of family commitments and childcare/elderly care so that we can try and accommodate the needs of every Webmarteer and provide a more flexible work/life balance.
In terms of your messaging do you think you talk directly to your consumers in a clear fashion?
The term ‘integrated marketing’ can often cause confusion. There’s a lot of similar names that essentially mean the same thing; multi-channel marketing, full service, omni-channel etc. We aim to take the mystery out of this when talking to consumers by being clear about the benefits in a simple yet helpful way. Everything we do, from social posts, to collateral, to webinars, aims to explain clearly and concisely how to improve your marketing campaigns, whether that’s by working with us or not, though of course, we hope people do!
What’s your take on inflation and interest rates – are you going to pass that on to your customers or let your margins take a hit and reward customer loyalty in these tougher times?
Every business will approach this differently. At Webmart, we’ve worked closely with our supplier partners to mitigate these rising costs so that we minimise the impact that these have for our customers. However, it’s impossible to avoid increased costs overall, so our unique approach to marketing is how we can best support our customers’ budget during times like these. When we assess the full marketing mix, we uncover opportunities to improve and refine their approach and find cost savings via this route.
How often do you assess the data you pull in and address your KPIs and why?
I think this depends on the KPI, however one of the things we do is run client surveys twice annually to see how we are performing for our clients, with our last survey results giving us 96% for both customer service and quality satisfaction.
Is tech playing a much larger part in your day-to-day running of Webmart?

Tech has played a huge role at Webmart for many years. We created TradePrintManagement.com or TPM, which as the first of its kind, allows suppliers to log on and generate instant prices for print across millions of specifications. Since then, we’ve brought on numerous platforms and technologies to better measure our customers’ marketing strategy and support across the full marketing mix.
What is your attitude to your competitors?
I don’t believe we have any true ‘competitors’, we can all work together one way or another. It’s a collaborative approach that we work with; we want to understand them, we want to help if we can, and then in return they will help us when we need it. We feel there are always ways we can collaborate.
A lot of our suppliers are our customers as well, because if you treat people with respect and decency, and listen to them, then opportunities come from all places.
Do you have any advice for anyone starting out in business?
A business’ success is down to its people, so invest in your people and get the best people you can afford. And that includes considering if they will not just be an experienced fit, but also align with your ethics and morals. If you get a great bunch of people, and you train them, nurture them, care about them and align them with honesty and a sense of purpose, you’ll be amazed at what you can achieve. A business is successful because of the quality of people that you have, and the respect that you give them drives the quality of the business you have.
It can be a lonely and pressured place to be as the lead decision maker of the business. What do you do to relax, recharge and hone your focus?
One of the things I’ve done over the years is taking part in extreme events. I’ve done this for a few reasons; one is that the training creates a good level of discipline. Often you get wound up in work and never get a chance to prioritise exercise, but if you have a big event, you have to make the time. It’s also so important to exercise more than just your brain – you have a body to look after too.
However, the main reason for putting myself through extreme activities is that it puts everything into perspective. Every other issue you face in everyday life is nowhere near the physical demands of these gruelling challenges, so you can deal with them better – it makes everything else seem relatively easier.
Lastly, make sure you keep your outside interests. Don’t be that person who only has friends within their industry, it’s important to have friends and spend time with others from other walks of life.
Do you believe in the 12 week work method or do you make much longer planning strategies? 
We believe in much longer planning strategies, we have a three year plan. But we also work in 90-day ‘bursts’ to evaluate and assess the businesses’ performance. So it’s both long and short term.
What three things do you hope to have in place within the next 12 months?
A new government, Barnsley being promoted to the championship and our sustainable, integrated approach to marketing being recognised as the future of sustainable business growth.
Read more:
Secrets of Success: Simon Biltcliffe – Executive Chairman, Webmart Agency

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the Saudi-backed asset management firm Ardian have signed a £2.4bn deal for the Spanish infrastructure giant Ferrovial’s 25 per cent stake in the airport.
One other shareholder is now close to selling, with more likely to follow suit, according to a report in in The Sunday Times, which could see the oil-rich nation eventually gain majority control of the UK’s busiest airport.
David Simmonds, co-chair of the airport communities all party parliamentary group and Conservative MP for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner, said he was “relieved that Heathrow, despite the impact of the pandemic, continues to attract interest from international investors.”
“Sovereign wealth funds have been key to the airport’s success and I am not surprised that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund forms part of this consortium. Heathrow stands at a pivotal moment in its development as it looks to recoup money lost over the last few years,” he added.
The PIF, which owns over £551bn in assets, has been one of the most active sovereign wealth funds in the world and recently acquired 10 per cent of the shareholding in the airport.
The Saudi state has also been investing heavily in tourism as it looks to promote a new image to the West. In March, it launched Riyadh Air, a new state-owned gulf carrier headed up by the former boss of Etihad Airways, Tony Douglas.
Heathrow declined to comment on speculation, while the PIF and Ardian did not respond to a request for comment.
Other major state-backed investment vehicles which hold stakes in Heathrow include the Qatar Investment Authority and the sovereign wealth funds of China and Singapore. Pension funds such as the Australian Retirement Trust and Canada’s Caisse de Dépôt also hold investments in the group.
The airport is at the tail end of a financial recovery after years of Covid-era lossmaking, with record passenger numbers in November.  But a mounting £16bn debt pile threatens to derail the revival, while the status of the long-delayed third runway proposal remains as yet unclear.
Simmonds added: “Any new investor must make clear their plans for expansion and development, with or without a third runway.”
Read more:
Saudi Arabia could be about to take majority control of Heathrow Airport

The phasing out of fossil fuels has been dropped from the UN’s COP28 climate summit draft agreement.
The text, which has to be agreed between 197 countries, states a global effort is needed to “enhance efforts towards substitution of unabated fossil fuels.”
This in addition to “reducing both consumption and production of fossil fuels,” although it contains no concrete statement on fossil fuel elimination.
The text will come under consideration from government representatives this evening.
The terminology has been the cause of much controversy around the summit during the past two weeks, with delegates and businesses voicing concerns over the need to include explicit de-carbonisation language in written pledges.
Posting on X, formally Twitter, Sir Alok Sharma, who served as president for Glasgow’s COP26, said that it was “difficult to see how the text will help achieve the deep and rapid cut in emissions we need by 2030 to keep 1.5 degrees alive.”
“With so many countries backing clear language on fossil fuel phase out, who does this text actually serve?”.
The elephant in the room has been oil and its role within the summit’s internal politics.
COP28’s president Sultan Al Jaber, who also serves as the leader of the UAE’s national oil company, was known to be looking to avoid the “phaseout” term.
He also faced criticism last week for his claim that there is “no science” behind calls for a phase out of fossil fuels and that if pushed through, it could “take the world back into caves.”
Ahead of the gathering, the IEA issued a warning that the fossil fuel industry was facing a “moment of truth” where producers had to choose between shifting to clean energy and deepening the climate crisis.
On Friday, the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned that pledges made at COP28 would not be enough to limit global warning to 1.5 degrees.
Read more:
COP28 draft agreement removes phasing out of fossil fuels

Jeremy Hunt could have another £11billion for tax cuts before the election, according to a new analysis.
Estimates from Capital Economics suggested that falling debt servicing costs and optimism on interest rates have gifted the Chancellor a windfall.
Ruth Gregory, the deputy chief economist, said that over the past fortnight gilt yields have dropped by around half a percent.
That would give Mr Hunt around £24.5billion to play with by the next fiscal event, rather than the £13billion of headroom previously projected.
The analysis indicated that the picture could be better still if wage growth comes in higher and interest rates dip faster than the Treasury’s OBR watchdog anticipated. That could mean Mr Hunt having a buffer of £35billion to meet his main fiscal rules.
The figures are a boost for the Chancellor and Rishi Sunak with perhaps a year until the country goes to the polls.
Cuts to national insurance were announced in the Autumn Statement, but ministers made clear that was just an initial move to reduce the tax burden – which has reached a new post-war high.
However, think-tanks such as the IFS have pointed out that Mr Hunt did not adjust public spending to account for surging inflation.
The government’s plans also assume that fuel duty will rise in the coming years, which has not happened in the past.
Ms Gregory said: ‘In the Spring Budget, there could be some headline grabbing measures that voters feel the benefits of quickly to help prime the polls.
‘At the very least, the Chancellor will presumably cancel the rise of 5p and the RPI increase in fuel duty in April 2024, which will cost about £6bn a year.
‘Perhaps some form of cut to inheritance tax could be considered again in the Spring Budget.
‘Reducing the 40 per cent rate of inheritance tax on estates above the £325,000 threshold to 20 per cent would cost about £3.6billion per year.
‘Abolishing inheritance tax completely could cost about £8.4billion.’
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Jeremy Hunt ‘could have an extra £11bn for tax cuts before election’ thanks to falling debt interest costs

The UK Government has published its most recent review into business payments and cash flow.
The review, published in November 2023, calls for greater and more transparent reporting for businesses in an attempt to reduce the threatening late payment culture.
The report details the context surrounding late payments on UK businesses and the impact it has on cash flow – particularly on small-medium sized enterprises (SME’s). In 2022, UK SME’s were owed an average of £22,000 in late payments. Thankfully, the report reveals that the average time taken to pay SMEs has reduced from 81 days in 2010 to 36 days in 2021. The improvement in late payment time is a positive but more still needs to be done on the back of the report’s findings.
Lynne Darcey Quigley, CEO and founder of Know-it comments: “It is good to see the government taking notice of one of the biggest dangers to our business community. Late payment culture and the subsequent effect it has on business cash flow health.
“Ensuring businesses are reporting on payments will add clarity and accountability to the invoicing process. At the same time, it is important to ensure a balance is struck to ensure businesses are not burdened with too much reporting in this process.
“This is where technology can step in and take on a lot of the workload on behalf of credit controllers. Having the ability to credit check prospect suppliers and customers before you enter into partnership is the first step businesses can take to protect their cash flow. The latest solutions can now advise SMEs on a business’ credit history and show whether or not the prospect is a high late payment risk.
“Eliminating the risk of falling victim to late payments before entering into partnership is the proactive protection technology can now offer SMEs at a time when they need all the support they can get their hands on.”
As part of the report, the challenge of raising the publicity around late payments is discussed – which will be driven by greater messaging from the Minister for Small Business.
Lynne continues: “SMEs will be buoyed to hear that late payments have now caught the attention of government. For too long it has been the silent threat which has damaged and often sunk businesses over the years.
“If the government wants to be taken serious on this threat, then it needs to be vocal in its messaging and warn frequent late payers on the damage they inflict upon other members of the business community. Taking meaningful action and speaking openly about late payments will further close the gap in average time taken for payments to be made and deter frequent offenders.”
Lynne concludes: “The latest review into payments and cash flow by the UK Government is a step in the right direction for our business community. At a time when SMEs are feeling the pressure on multiple fronts, it is now the time for the late payment scourge to be extinguished for good.
“Government action, coupled with the help of technology can prove to be the shot in the arm so many businesses need to ensure their cash flow is healthy and secure. The latest solutions are readily available to monitor and identify late payers and with the support of government, should be able to effectively clamp down on frequent offenders. It is positive to see increased attention highlighting late payment culture and see the average payment time diminishing slowly over the years, but more does need to be done to protect the SME community.”
Read more:
UK Government’s review on payments and cash flow a ‘step forward’

UK recruiters have warned the Bank of England of a dip in permanent hiring across UK businesses as organisations grapple with ongoing economic turbulence, according to a new report.
KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) collected data on the state of the UK jobs market for their latest UK Report on Jobs, observing a decline in the hiring landscape during November.
The REC attributed the dip to economic uncertainty and hesitancy to commit.
The report highlighted a growing disparity between the availability of new job candidates, increasing at the fastest rate since December 2020, and the number of permanent staff hires, which has fallen at the second fastest rate post-pandemic.
It was also found that London saw the sharpest decline in permanent hires across the UK.
Derek Mackenzie, CEO of Investigo, part of The IN Group, commented: “As we approach the new year, bimodal planning has become a popular trend for businesses to navigate economic uncertainty, balancing short-term plans with longer-term business strategies. Pressing business challenges such as generative AI won’t wait for the economy, so it’s important that organisations invest in staff to oversee its development in order to secure their long-term business health.”
Sectors such as technology are already facing a shortage of skills, and when it comes to staff, organisations need digital recruits that can help boost efficiencies, stay on top of emerging trends in areas such as gen AI and data, and ultimately generate revenue for the business.
There are a number of different ways for businesses to hire digitally skilled staff without breaking the bank such as flexible contracts or hiring at an entry-level, but it’s important that organisations invest in people regardless of the economic situation. Unlocking the potential of people through their unique skillsets is key to success” he added.
Despite competition for skilled workers, budgetary pressures due to the economy meant that starting salaries and temporary pay saw slower rises compared to previous months.
The news comes ahead of the Bank of England’s decision on interest rates on December 14. The Bank is expected to keep interest rates unchanged at 5.25 per cent.
Read more:
UK Recruiters warn Bank of England of permanent hiring dip due to economic uncertainty