Parents planning to quit their jobs as firms move away from remote working

Published

8 months ago

September 28, 2023

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Moving away from remote working is costing parents more than £600 extra per month in childcare, Sky News has learned.

Figures shared by Pebble, a flexible childcare service, show that half of the 2,000 parents polled said they were planning on quitting their jobs as a result.

A third said they have already moved to a company with more flexible working.

The research indicates that employers are requesting an additional two days per week in the office.

Two in five parents said they are subsequently struggling to pay the extra childcare costs.

Figures given to Sky News from the professional networking site, LinkedIn, also show that remote job postings have gone down by 28% since August 2021 – the height of the pandemic.

The number of hybrid job postings, however, has gone up by 34% compared with the same period last year.

Statistics from Adzuna, the jobs website, also show the proportion of hybrid vacancies is at nearly 20%, compared to less than 1% in January 2020.

Remote working job adverts are down to just over 5% from a peak of more than 14% in February 2021.

Kevin Ellis, chair and senior partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, a professional services company which has 26,000 UK staff, told Sky News the company is sticking with its two to three days in the office rule.

That has not changed since 2020 because the company values what it describes as “consistency”.

Mr Ellis added, however, that going into the office more would help further careers.

“I wouldn’t change it from two to three days a week,” he said, “because I think it’s really hard to message 26,000 people a kind of moving target.

“So I’ll stay with two to three days a week as our policy.

“If asked a personal question, ‘what would you do to make your career more successful?’… I’d say come in more, learn through observation, learn through building networks, and actually meet your mates in the office.”

Sarah, not her real name, has told Sky News she was forced to quit her job at a tech company after they rolled back on remote working.

She was recruited during COVID and worked mostly from home.

She said the company decided this year they wanted her to work from the office three days a week but because of her commute and childcare times it was “impossible”.

“I literally couldn’t do that job anymore. It just wasn’t possible,” she said.

“There are not enough hours in the day for me to be able to be a good worker, be a good mum, let alone have time for myself.

“I was sat there trying to figure out all the hours and the amount of spreadsheets… and calendars I was looking at down to the minute.

“‘(I was thinking to myself) ‘If I dropped (my daughter) off at that time, and I get to the train station at that time’.

“There are only a certain number of hours in the day, right?”

‘Disaster for working parents and a disaster for the economy’

Sarah faced a four-hour long commute per day and said she “had no choice but to leave” the company she worked for.

The charity Pregnant Then Screwed is highlighting how the childcare landscape has changed dramatically since COVID.

The cost has rocketed alongside fewer available places and reduction in hours for services.

It has meant remote working has become necessary for many parents.

Joeli Brearley, founder of the charity, said a lot of people being told to return to the office would have been recruited at a time when positions were “much more flexible”.

She has described it as a “disaster for working parents and a disaster for the economy”.

Ms Brearley said: “To suddenly pull the rug out means that the costs for those parents will drastically increase… because you’re looking at a childcare bill of £14,000 a year for a full time place.”

She added: “When we know there are real issues with availability ultimately it means you have to lose your job/reduce hours because you cannot cope with the cost or get the childcare you need.”

Ngaire Moyes, LinkedIn UK country manager, said the rise in hybrid working posts on the site demonstrates “just how much hybrid has become a part of mainstream working life”.

She described how businesses and employees are seeking “to get the best of both worlds”.

“There are many advantages to remote work, but it’s not without its challenges,” she continued.

“There is some work that simply lends itself better to being done in-person – be that collaborative or creative work, as well as some training and development.”

She said that some feel “strongly about maintaining the flexibility they gained during the pandemic”.

“It gives people a much better work life balance,” she added, “and many believe they can be just as productive working from home for some of the time.”

Business

Employees at fintech giant Revolut to cash in with $500m share sale

Published

2 hours ago

May 18, 2024

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Employees at fintech giant Revolut to cash in with 0m share sale

Bosses at Revolut, Britain’s biggest fintech, are drawing up plans to allow employees to cash in with a sale of stock valued at hundreds of millions of pounds.

Sky News has learnt that the banking and payments services provider is lining up investment bankers to coordinate a secondary share sale worth in the region of $500m (£394m).

Morgan Stanley, the Wall Street bank, is expected to be engaged to work on the proposed stock offering, which will take place later this year.

Money blog: How to sell your home without an estate agent

City sources said this weekend that Nik Storonsky, Revolut’s co-founder and chief executive, was determined to seek a valuation of at least the $33bn (£26bn) it secured in a primary funding round in 2021.

“This will not be a down-round,” said one person familiar with Revolut’s thinking.

Although the fintech, which has more than 40 million customers, is not planning to raise new capital as part of the transaction, any sizeable share sale will still be closely watched across the global fintech sector.

It is expected to be restricted to company employees.

Revolut ranks among the world’s largest financial technology businesses, with revenue virtually doubling last year to around £1.7bn, according to figures expected to be published in the coming months.

Founded in 2015, it has experienced a string of regulatory and compliance challenges, with reports last year highlighting its release of funds from accounts flagged by the National Crime Agency as suspicious.

The company’s growth has taken place at breakneck speed, with customer numbers soaring from 16.4m at the point of the Series E fundraising nearly three years ago.

Insiders argued that despite the protracted downturn in tech valuations over the last two years, Revolut’s relentless expansion would easily justify it maintaining its status as Britain’s most valuable fintech.

Monzo, the UK-based digital bank, recently confirmed a Sky News story that it had closed a funding round worth nearly £500m, including backing from an arm of Google’s owner, Alphabet, and a Singaporean sovereign wealth fund.

Elsewhere, however, the funding landscape has been bleaker, with a growing number of tech companies which had attracted unicorn valuations of more than $1bn now struggling to stay afloat.

Revolut has allotted stock options to many of its 10,000 employees as part of their compensation packages, although it was unclear how many would be eligible to dispose of equity in the transaction later this year.

A source close to the company said it had had numerous expressions of interest from prospective investors.

Revolut’s current shareholders include SoftBank’s Vision Fund and Tiger Global.

News of the proposed share sale comes as Revolut’s investors continue to await positive news about its application for a UK banking licence.

The company applied to regulators to become a bank in Britain more than three years ago, but has so far failed to secure approval.

Mr Storonsky has been publicly critical of the delay, and last year questioned the approach of British regulators and politicians, as he suggested that he would not contemplate a listing on the London Stock Exchange.

An initial public offering of Revolut appears to still be some way off, although it would not surprise investors or industry peers if it initiated a listing process in the next couple of years.

One person close to Revolut said board members were among those expected to participate in the secondary share sale, although further details were unclear this weekend.

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The company is chaired by Martin Gilbert, the City veteran who has faced governance and performance challenges at Assetco, the London-listed asset manager he runs.

Its other directors include Michael Sherwood, the former Goldman Sachs executive who was jointly responsible for its operations outside the US and who was regarded as one of the most skilled traders of his generation.

An external shareholder in the company said the exclusion of non-employees from the deal could draw criticism from some investors.

Revolut has conducted secondary share sales of this kind in the past, including after its 2021 Series E round.

This weekend, Revolut declined to comment.

Business

Ex-Post Office head of IT says Paula Vennells ‘hoped to avoid’ inquiry – and reveals she blocked her number

Published

2 days ago

May 16, 2024

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Ex-Post Office head of IT says Paula Vennells 'hoped to avoid' inquiry - and reveals she blocked her number

A former Post Office executive has said she was forced to block ex-boss Paula Vennells’ phone number after the ex-CEO called multiple times asking for help to avoid an independent inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal.

Lesley Sewell, previously the company’s head of IT, told the Post Office inquiry on Thursday that former CEO Ms Vennells had reached out to her four times between 2020 and 2021.

Ms Sewell said that she blocked Ms Vennells’ number due to discomfort with the contact.

In her witness statement to the probe, Ms Sewell said that one of Ms Vennells’ emails referenced the need to fill in memory gaps regarding Horizon and “Project Sparrow”, a committee addressing issues with forensic accountants who identified flaws in the accounting system.

“Paula contacted me on four occasions in total. I recall blocking her number after the last call as I did not feel comfortable with her contacting me,” Ms Sewell said.

“I had not spoken to Paula since I had left POL [Post Office Limited] in 2015.”

According to Ms Sewell’s testimony, former chief executive Ms Vennells said that she had “been asked at short notice” to appear before a parliamentary select committee on “all things Horizon/Sparrow and need to plug some memory gaps”.

Ms Sewell says Ms Vennells added: “My hope is this might help avoid an independent inquiry but to do so, I need to be well prepared.”

Ms Sewell, who struggled to contain her emotions and broke down in tears while giving her oath at the start of her inquiry evidence, was offered support and breaks as needed by chairman Sir Wyn Williams.

Sir Wyn told the former executive: “Ms Sewell, I appreciate this may be upsetting for you, Ms Price will ask you a number of questions in a proper and sensible manner, but if at any time you feel you need a break, just let me know, all right?”

The Post Office has faced significant scrutiny following the ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office which highlighted the Horizon IT scandal.

The faulty system led to the prosecution of more than 700 sub-postmasters between 1999 and 2015, with many still awaiting full compensation despite government announcements regarding payouts for those with quashed convictions.

Business

London City Airport lands FitzGerald as first female boss

Published

2 days ago

May 16, 2024

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London City Airport lands FitzGerald as first female boss

London City Airport will on Thursday name its first permanent female chief executive as it targets approval of an expansion plan that would create nearly 1,500 jobs.

Sky News understands that the Docklands airport has told staff that Alison FitzGerald, who has been co-CEO since January alongside finance chief Wilma Allan, has landed the role.

Ms FitzGerald has worked at City Airport – the capital’s fourth-busiest – for more than a decade, becoming chief information officer and then chief operating officer.

She replaces Robert Sinclair, who left in January after six years to become boss of the High Speed 1 rail link.

The airport is owned by a consortium of Canadian pension funds and Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund, which have backed a plan to increase its annual passenger traffic from about 6.5m to 9m.

It is appealing against Newham Council’s rejection of a planning application that would see it extend operating hours at the site, which is popular with City commuters.

The airport’s proposals include no increase in the annual number of flights and, in what it claims is a first for a UK airport, a commitment that only cleaner, quieter, new generation aircraft will be allowed to fly in any extended periods.

The appeal is being reviewed by the Independent Planning Inspector.

Its change of leadership makes London City the second of the capital’s airports to name a new CEO in quick succession, following the arrival at Heathrow of Thomas Woldbye last year.

“London City delivers one of the best passenger experiences in the UK and I’m committed to building on this success even further,” Ms FitzGerald said.