Since 6 April, National Insurance has increased by 1.25%. This means that instead of the 12% tax that was put onto salaries, the amount now sits at 13.25%.

However, despite this increase, salaries are not due to be following suit. This will mean that the working world will be punished for something that they have absolutely no control over.

This does not seem fair.

So why is National Insurance increasing?

This price hike all goes towards a new Health and Social Care Levy.

This may not sound like too big an increase but it can cost hundreds of pounds a year.

For example, if you were to earn £27,000 a year, you will be taxed an extra £200 a year.

This increase amounts to an £11bn tax increase for the government across the whole economy.

This increase comes at a time when the cost of living crisis in the UK is getting increasingly worse. Inflation currently sits at its highest level in 30 years (8.5% higher than a year ago), pairing awfully with the energy price cap rising at the start of April by 54%!

Unsurprisingly, people were not happy with this new increase in National Insurance and consequently pressure was put on Rishi Sunak to help the people of the UK.

As a result the National Insurance threshold has now been lifted (these numbers represent the amount of wage that goes untaxed and then anything earned on top of that will start to be taxed).

When the increase was put in place in April the threshold sat at £9,880 - this increased from March by £300.

From July the threshold will sit at £12,570 instead.

Increasing the threshold by this much will mean a tax cut of around £330 a year for workers based on these statistics alone (but not for everyone when you look at the National Insurance increase too.

Until July, however, everyone will be in a much worse boat, having to pay out more money than they previously had been.

This increase in threshold will actually mean that roughly two million people who are on a lower wage will not be taxed anything at all which is amazing news for these people especially if they

come from a lower earning family. All of their wage will actually be going to them, hopefully allowing them to live a little easier from month to month.

Overall, only those in the poorest 10% of households will actually pay less in tax as a result of these new changes. This means that 90% of the population will be paying more tax than they were before.

Those earning under £32,000 a year will reap the benefits of the new tax changes but those earning more will see less money every month.

This paired with general inflation and energy prices, it will be a hard time for many to keep up with their bills as well as tax.

Allegedly, however, the government is claiming that National Insurance will return to its old rate from April 2023.

This is hard to believe, however, when the government previously claimed in their 2019 election manifesto that the national insurance would not be raised under their ruling.

So… Bearing all of this in mind, should employers increase their worker’s salaries?

I think the clear answer here is yes.

Employers should take all of the increased taxes, bills and general rise in cost of living in mind when assessing their employees’ salaries.

This opinion is also mirrored with the opinions of TGP’s LinkedIn followers.

• 94% believe that employees should receive a pay rise.
• 6% believe that it is not the fault of companies and so they should not have to pay out more.

Some workplaces have increased wages for workers, factoring in the new conditions of the world but the majority are still yet to follow suit.

This should change and companies should put their employees first!

Last year reports of record numbers of students complained about their university courses in England and Wales - more than a third were as a direct result of the pandemic.

The total number of complaints received by the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) reached 2,763.

The 2021 total number of complaints succeeded the previous year by 6%!

Though, a sizable portion of these complaints were backlogged from 2020. 

Other reasons for this astonishing number included staffing issues as well as industrial action. Some students claimed that Covid-19 meant that they were not getting the education that they would have expected from the university experience.

The issue with the staffing complaints laid more in poorly prepared substitute teachers - something that should remain completely in secondary education and is unacceptable at a higher level - and key lecturers/experts leaving the university during this time.

The most common complaint rested in how courses were being delivered. Students would not typically wish to pay out thousands for online classes unless they specifically sought out a class like this.

Some issues with online classes include the inability to access important facilities such as science students needing to use labs and the technical difficulties that came with the dependency of online learning… People had no option if their WiFi cut out or certain programmes were not working for them.

A report stated that "Some students struggled with digital literacy, especially in online timed exams [...] For others their limited typing skills affected their performance."

Another reason for complaints was the impossibility of a year studying abroad since traveling was extremely restricted.

As a result of all of the complaints, the total sum given out in compensation amounted to over £1.3m, with the highest claim being £68,000.

One possible reason that the compensation was also higher this year was because the complaints were not as easily rectified with the pandemic going on so the OIA just had to settle the complaint rather than improve the person’s situation.

Those who felt the most swindled by the effects of the pandemic were PhD and postgraduate students, amounting for just under half of the complaints despite making up only around a quarter of students.

Conversely, OIA wants to stress that these complaints still make up only a small percentage of students’ views and that the majority still are believed to have gotten amazing education.

Students with disabilities felt as though the move to remote education meant that they were better equipped to get the most out of their learning experience - they had more control over how and when they could receive their education.

Have you recently been contemplating upskilling in order to get ahead in the workplace?

Experts are saying that this is one of the most important feats the workforce needs to conquer.

Maybe you don’t even really know what upskilling is, and that’s okay!

Upskilling : the process of improving and increasing a worker’s skills, making the worker more effective.

This may sound daunting and unapproachable at first but experts reassure us that anyone can upskill and there are a lot of ways to figure out how we can best upskill. The first step is deciding that you want to learn something new and take the initiative to find out more.

The World Economic Forum states that in order to save post-Covid economy, upskilling is essential. They believe that it could boost the global GDP by over $6 trillion (£4.7 trillion) and create 5.3 million new jobs by 2030.

This is essential since studies have found that 40% of workers believe their job will be obsolete within 5 years, so upskilling is integral to keeping them from having to leave their jobs. This is particularly true because the workforce is changing so quickly so people need to adapt to keep up with the evolving world.

Upskilling can take on a range of different forms, some examples are :

Hard Skills

• Knowing how to use specific software
• Know basic graphic design
• Be skilled in making perfect presentations

Soft Skills

• Becoming an active listener
• Giving constructive feedback
• Developing your communication skills (written/oral)

Mostly just any skill which will aid them to do their job better than they were before and better than their peers.

Consequently, upskilling is different from person to person as it depends on your own role and prior knowledge. This means that there is no universal list of things a person can do to progress their career this way.

Some examples of this could be :

Marketing

Spending more time on social media, creating lists of what is popular (concepts, sounds, themes), learning about the ever changing algorithms and seeing how other people have succeeded in this field.

IT

Learning about the up and coming computer programmes that are likely to be introduced to the workplace and getting an upper hand before they come in. Do any extra courses that may come alongside these programmes.

Teaching

Keeping on top of new research about children’s mental health, hone in your active listening skills to help your students feel listened to, learn conflict resolution skills and learn the ins and outs of new technology introduced in the classroom.

Mostly you should just research what is happening in your field and try to develop your skills around that, stay ahead of the trends whenever possible.

Workplaces can offer these opportunities to an employee but if they are not, employees can find their own means of gaining this knowledge.

Some ways a person can do this is :

• Watch relevant YouTube videos
• Sign up to LinkedIn learning programmes
• Find an online certification

It can be harder for those in lower paying jobs to do this so finding any free resources like YouTube etc could be integral to a person who genuinely needs this help in order to climb the career ladder or to keep their job.

If you are unsure where exactly to start, in most situations two skills will be worthwhile no matter the job role : communication and technological know-how… This is therefore likely going to be a good start and you can then mold your journey to fit your role

Any start is good and shows how dedicated you are to your job/future. This can be the difference in how your boss views you, meaning you could be considered for more opportunities in the future as your boss now knows that you are serious about working for their company.

It is no secret that stress can have such a devastating effect on a workplace, be that a physical or mental effect…

Everyone knows this, it has been said time and time again.

But what can bosses do to help reduce this general stress, considering that the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health found that:

- 80% of workers feel stressed whilst working

- 40% would describe their job as being very or extremely stressful

- 25% of workers class their jobs as being the biggest stressor in their lives

In order to bring these numbers down, those leading the workplace may want to consider bringing about some sort of change to how the company is being run. This should not only be changing the general work culture in the office but also the boss’ own behaviour (this is often overlooked when said bosses are the ones assessing the working conditions).

A big one here is down to emailing outside of work hours

This one can be extremely intimidating, your boss messages you outside of work hours and it can be very easy to feel obliged to respond as they are your boss and control your work stability. This can even be the case when a disclaimer is put out telling workers that they do not need to reply until their work hours start up again… Knowing there is an email you need to reply to whilst you are supposed to be relaxing can feel more taxing than quickly just responding, and thus the cycle begins.

Even if the employee does wait to respond, now they have seen the email it will be hard to take it off of their minds. This now makes it impossible for the person to truly soak up their time off between working hours and this can very easily lead to the team feeling burned out quickly. This is the worst result for a team, it will only result in slower and less efficient working.

This is easily remedied, however… The feature to schedule emails exists for a reason, use it! It is very simple to just schedule your email for 9am the following morning so that your staff know they are not expected to reply in their free time and that they do not have to worry about it overnight.

Vague Requests to Meet

This is one of the most stressful messages a person can get. There is absolutely no explanation given and you are just told to see/talk with your boss for no real reason.

‘Call me tomorrow morning at 9.’

What for?

Am I in trouble?

Did I do something wrong?

It must be bad if there is no more context…

These are just a few thoughts that can flood your mind when you receive a message like this. The endless negative possibilities take centre stage in your mind, it is rare you will think something positive in a situation like this. If it was positive you would presume your boss would include some kind of reassurance in the original request.

The psychological turmoil is strong when your brain is left to fill in the blanks

It is easy to rationalise it after the meeting, telling yourself you had done nothing wrong etc, but in the moment it is hard to think logically when panic sets in.

This is consequently such a huge stressor.

Next time you send a message like this, simply add some context to your request. Not only will this prevent stress but it will also give your employee time to think of valid points to bring to the discussion in advance, resulting in a more productive conversation.

False Sense Of Urgency

Action, results and achievement are obviously integral to a lot of companies, but the constant pushing for these above all else (including your employees’ mental wellbeing) can be extremely damaging.

Though it is important to have deadlines, they have to be realistic and attainable.

Unnecessary urgency can result in your staff having added stress for no reason at all. This can also lead to them getting more stressed over more simple tasks that they would otherwise be fine to do because there is now added pressure to everything that they are doing.

It is hard for people to clearly see the big picture here when all they can see are deadlines impending. It is important to allow your employees to take a step back and just breathe. Allow your staff to do this rather than constantly be on their toes with no time to relax and look at all of their hard work.

As the boss it is down to you to ensure the wellbeing of employees. Make sure you are actively listening to your team, if they claim this is an issue then make sure it is solved as efficiently as you can.

Have you ever wondered what companies offer the best long-term success for staff?

Wonder no more, new research has made a decisive 10 company long list, ranked from best to … still great, just not the top of the list.

This list revolves entirely around the UK market and looks at open jobs, skill enhancement, investing in talent, offering new opportunities and many more components.

Starting off the list and top of the top is…

1. Barclays

Barclays is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London.

• UK Headcount: 83,500
• Top locations: London, Northampton, Glasgow
• Most notable skills: Banking, Stakeholder Management, Financial Services
• Most common job titles: Banker, Accountant, Business Analyst
• Largest job functions: Finance, Business Development, Information Technology

2. Lloyds Banking Group

Lloyds Banking Group is the parent company of Halifax, Bank of Scotland, Scottish Widows and others.

• UK Headcount: 50,185
• Top locations: London, Edinburgh, Bristol
• Most notable skills: Banking, Stakeholder Management, Fraud Investigations
• Most common job titles: Business Analyst, Senior Account Manager, Product Owner
• Largest job functions: Finance, Sales, Information Technology

3. HSBC

HSBC Bank plc is a British multinational banking and financial services organisation.

• UK Headcount: 38,233
• Top locations: London, Birmingham, Sheffield
• Most notable skills: Banking, Financial services, Risk Management
• Most common job titles: Universal Banker, Project Manager, Relationship Director
• Largest job functions: Finance, Business Development, Information Technology

4. PwC

PricewaterhouseCoopers is a multinational professional services network of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand.

• UK Headcount: 27,211
• Top locations: London, Belfast, Birmingham
• Most notable skills: External Audit, International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), UK Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)
• Most common job titles: Audit Associate, Assurance Associate, Tax Associate | Largest job functions: Accounting, Finance, Information Technology

5. Deloitte

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, commonly referred to as Deloitte, is a multinational professional services network with offices in over 150 countries and territories around the world.

• UK Headcount: 25,718
• Top UK locations: London, Belfast, Cardiff
• Most notable skills: Management Consulting, External Audit, Accounting
• Most common job titles: Tax Analyst, Tax Consultant, Assistant Audit Manager
• Largest job functions: Accounting, Finance, Information Technology

6. BT

BT is the parent company of Openreach, EE and others.

• UK Headcount: 80,400
• Top locations: London, Ipswich, Newcastle upon Tyne
• Most notable skills: Telecommunications, Fiber Optics, FTTP
• Most common job titles: Project Manager, Software Engineer, Account Manager
• Largest job functions: Information Technology, Sales, Engineering

7. Amazon

Amazon is the parent company of Whole Foods, Audible and others.

• UK Headcount: 70,000
• Top locations: London, Manchester, Luton
• Most notable skills: Warehouse Operations, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Logistics Management
• Most common job titles: Fulfilment Associate, Warehouse Associate, Software Engineer
• Largest job functions: Operations, Engineering, Human Resources

8. EY

Ernst & Young Global Limited, doing business as EY, is a multinational professional services network with headquarters in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world.

• UK Headcount: 17,000
• Top locations: London, Birmingham, Manchester
• Most notable skills: External Audit, Accounting, Financial Reporting
• Most common job titles: Assurance Associate, Senior Auditor, Tax Consultant
• Largest job functions: Accounting, Finance, Information Technology

9. American Express

The American Express Company is an American multinational corporation specialised in payment card services headquartered in New York City.

• UK Headcount: 5,604
• Top locations: Brighton, London, Redhill
• Most notable skills: Sabre, Luxury Travel, Merchant Services
• Most common job titles: Customer Care Professional, Software Engineer, Business Development Manager
• Largest job functions: Sales, Finance, Business Development

10. KPMG

KPMG International Limited is a British-Dutch multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organisations.

• UK Headcount: 15,310
• Top locations: London, Birmingham, Manchester
• Most notable skills: External Audit, Accounting, Auditing
• Most common job titles: Audit Associate, Assistant Audit Manager, Audit Assistant
• Largest job functions: Accounting, Finance, Information Technology

As a result of a steep fall in the production of computer goods and cars has resulted in the UK’s economic growth taking a hit and slowing down in February.

The increase in the economy stood at a weak 0.1% in February compared to the 0.8% rise the month before, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

However, the ONS also stated that the UK economy is currently 1.5% higher than it was before the Covid-19 pandemic swept across the nation in February 2020.

Despite this fall in manufacturing in these areas, there was still growth seen in other areas like tourism and travel - meaning the hit on the economy was not as awful as it could have been.

Even though these sectors did ultimately leave the country with a positive economic difference, it did not do enough to match the previous predictions that economists had made about the month.

The predicted GDP was supposed to increase by 0.3% in February as a result of the Covid restrictions being removed across England in January.

Though, as Ruth Gregory (senior UK economist at Capital Economics) reiterated, after the post-Omicron bounce had faded paired with the squeeze added onto household incomes tightened, the pace of the UK economic recovery was already slowing.

Though the rate at which it slowed was unpredictably fast, defying everything that economists had predicted.

Though they weren’t much, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has claimed that he has ‘welcomed’ the figures from February as a result of the impact that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has created upon the UK economy.

This is still a victory for the UK, a small one but a victory nonetheless. The UK is able to not completely crumble over these tough financial circumstances.

The manufacturing of cars and computer goods being hard hit is not only seen in the UK’s economy, other European economies have been coming up short here too as a direct result of a semiconductor shortage.

Not only are these areas hit hard by production issues, but it will also be hit with the high energy prices that the rest of the country are facing and so could hinder the possibility of future data releases.

Those in the service sector were the shining light for the UK economy, there has been a growth in accommodation, travel agencies and tour operators.

The sudden increase in these profits is likely a result of how little utilised they were whilst people were unable to do everything that they had wanted during the pandemic. Now that the Covid restrictions have been lifted, people are able to go out and spend their money on whatever they want now, from eating out to going to the theatre etc.

As this complete easing of the rules is still quite fresh in the UK, it is predicted that these sectors will likely grow even more.

Hybrid working has been the inevitable solution to the pandemic forcing its way into the workplace’s narrative.

From the typical 5 days in the office, to completely working from home, to a Frankensteinian creation of the two methods merging together.

This can sound like the best of both worlds, but it is not necessarily true for all.

If the numerous lockdowns have taught us anything it should be that nothing works for everyone and so everyone should be treated on a case by case basis when coming back to work.

It has been seen across an array of individuals that a mixture of hybrid working could be very exhausting for some people, having to constantly shift habits from one day to the next to accommodate for what the following day could bring.

This kind of setup can feel like a never ending stop-start routine for some individuals and though it would have once felt like a huge perk to get the luxury of days working from home, it would now mean going into the office felt more like dread than anything else.

Employers should consider how big a psychological shift this actually is for an individual.

Research has found that more than 80% of leaders in the workplace stated that hybrid setups were exhausting for their employees.

Workers tended to agree with this too, stating that hybrid working was much more emotionally taxing than fully working from home and some even said it was worse than full-time office based work. This is very surprising but shows just how it affects certain employees.

Though this was once seen to be the most desired routine (83% of people having said they wanted a hybrid work routine in May 2021) it may no longer be the case a year on.

This disturbance in psychological wellbeing was more likely when a person’s work from home days were separated, meaning there was a constant daily shift with the individual never being able to settle in their work routine for longer than 24 hours.

This incessant disruption of routine is often linked to heightened feelings of stress and an inability to cope with day to day life stressors.

Though this is the case for a lot of people, every human is complex and thrives in different situations so it is hard to treat the whole working world as though they all share the same mind.

Employers should try to connect with their employees and see what each individual in their staff truly wants. This level of communication will result in those that want to still work hybrid, to do so in a way that is best for their mental and physical health.

Aside from this, this level of communication will promote a better workplace culture as employees will not feel hesitant to discuss any other issues with their bosses.

Whether the result of these one on ones means a mixture of a member of staff working full time in the office, working full time at home, or choosing to still remain hybrid - the employees are integral to a company and so should be treated as such by their bosses.

Ultimately individuals cannot be checked into neat boxes by their bosses on a subject like this. Employees should be treated as humans with their own lives in order to get the best outcome for the whole office.

After all, happy employees will produce a productive, positive workplace.

Practicing self-care can be tricky at the best of times, but especially whilst in the workplace.

This can be particularly hard because it often isn’t easy to prioritise yourself - but this is what you have to do.

Some tips as to how to do this are:

•  Ensure you are using your breaks effectively - try to leave your desk and get a break from your work screen, you could go for a walk, read, or socialise on this time.
• Make your desk feel more relaxing - clutter around your workspace can make you feel distracted and stressed, be sure to keep it as clean as possible.
• Stretch - it is easy to be sat in one position without moving and will make you feel a lot more tense, so stretching is key to keeping you feeling fresh and ready to work.
• Drink plenty of water - this will help you to stay hydrated and energised.
• Listen to music - if it is possible, listening to music whilst working can seriously heighten your sense of wellbeing, it will boost your mood and energy listening to music that brings you joy.
• Have clear boundaries - whether it is with your coworkers, your boss, or yourself, know your limits and don’t feel obliged to enter discussions you are not comfortable with etc.
• Know when to say no - do not take on excess work, this will only lead to a lot more stress and burnout.
• Ask for help - leading on from the last point, don’t let your work overwhelm you completely, ask your coworkers or boss for any support.
• Try to make an office friend - doing this will mean that you have somebody who you can talk with who is in a similar position to you and so can relate with, a support system is integral for your day to day work life.
• Try not to let mistakes ruin your day - everybody makes mistakes, you are not alone in this, usually mistakes can be resolved so there is no need to put extra stress on yourself for making one!
• Make your boss aware of your mental health - your boss is there to support you in any way that they can, so allowing them to know how you are feeling is the best way to keep your workplace a positive space to be in for your wellbeing.

By prioritising your own self-care at the workplace it can be not only beneficial to you but also your workplace as you will likely be healthier, consequently taking fewer sick days since there will be less stress and strain on your body and mind. This is why self-care is integral for everybody as even though it is a personal process the outcome affects everyone around you too.

It is not a selfish thing to prioritise yourself over work. It should be expected and a regular practice among the working world.

There is a lot of anxiety leading up to an interview, this is completely normal - the majority of the world gets this way.

However, there are some things you can do to prepare yourself and settle those nerves before the big moment.

1 - Familiarise yourself with the job description

This will help you prepare anecdotes to share of times where you have had relevant experience with skills that the company is asking for!

2 - Research the Company

See if you are able to find what the company’s values and mission is. Remembering these for the interview could be key to landing the job as if you apply them to yourself the company will see you as the perfect fit for their position!

3 - Feign Confidence

Sometimes the best way to gain confidence is simply through pretending that you are. This not only looks good to the interviewer but it can also supply you with a little confidence since you are acting that way and being perceived in the same manner.

4 - Check the News

This could put you that step ahead of your competitors. Knowing news surrounding your sector can show that you have an active interest in what you are interviewing for but also know the possible risks that are currently circulating (you can research how best to handle these and apply them to possible challenges the company may face).

5 - Utilise LinkedIn

Reaching out to employees of the company in advance can be a great way to find insider knowledge about the company. You can even ask those you connect with whether they have any tips or insights for you to prep for the interview

Okay…

The interview is now over and you are likely letting your nerves deflate and are trying to manage all of your excess adrenaline.

Now is a good time to prepare yourself for the result.

Here are a few tips as to what to do after you have left your interview:

1 - Follow Up

Time to show your gratitude and appreciation to the interviewer and the company for spending their time with you. Traditionally you would do this through an email thanking them for their time but you could also send them a message on LinkedIn if you are connected.

2 - Be Patient and Stay Calm

This is much easier said than done, but the company will eventually contact you with news of the outcome. In the meantime try to distract yourself so you are not constantly just waiting for that phone call or email. It should only be a maximum of 14 days before you hear back!

3 - Try Not to Worry

Yes, I know that this is much easier said than done, but try to remember that it is no longer in your hands and there is nothing you can do about it now. Worrying will just make your wait for an answer feel much more prolonged. Similarly with the last step, the best way to do this may be to distract yourself from thinking about it.

4 - Chase It

If it feels like too much time has passed since your interview and you have not received any response, maybe between 7 and 14 working days, then it might be time to chase the interviewer. Send a polite email asking if there was any update on the interview, make sure to be respectful so you do not hinder your chances if they have not made a decision yet.

5 - Request Feedback

Feedback is important whether you got the job or not. It is always the right time to reflect on your actions, so you know to repeat certain behaviours and to stop others that you may not be aware of. This will be key to other successful interviews in the future.