Why are there so many job vacancies??

[Manyanaish]

Where we live businesses are sending fb messages to say that they are having to reduce opening hours due to lack of staff .. they are paying well above minimum wage ( £ 16 ph) , and are doing this to protect staff they have as they are pushed all the time.
the businesses that are sating this locally to us did not rely on pre brexit conditions . So .. what is going on ?

This.

I recently left a job which was completely remote with a contract that was unique to me to say that my place of work was my home. Other members of staff had contracts to say their place of work was the London office so their WFH arrangement was purely discretionary. They could have been called into the office at any stage.

When I left my boss said I would be unlikely to get another job with such a great home working package. However, two weeks later I did just that and got a massive payrise to boot. No one I work with goes into the office, we are all remote and work in various locations all over the UK which means that commuting simply isn't possible. They are paying for talent and experience in a niche industry rather than worrying where those people are sat. I would refuse to go into an office now, not worth the time, money or hassle.

I’d suspect 9 am start is an issue - unless school on your doorstep that’s breakfast club needed. Not always available and could cost 2 hours net pay a day if 2 children.
Then the sat unless you have another adult to cover you it’s very difficult. It means children can’t do any sat am activities for example.
I’d split it into 2 roles. One ‘mum’ hours 9ish - 2 and one sat am - even fortnightly would be attractive to a sixth form student with more hours in hols, when mum wants leave so win win. Set hours Saturday jobs are like gold dust.

I work in a University, and volunteer to be an interview panels.

Over the last 5 years I have seen the new thing of people cancelling interviews on the day, or simply not showing up.

These vacancies used to be incredibly popular, 80-90 applications for an entry level admin job just so people could get into the industry and be with a renowned good employer.

We are looking to get 20 decent applications now, and as I say, regularly get ghosted by people we have asked to an interview.

As far as I can tell, I'm guessing that the established wage bands are now simply not as attractive as they used to be. Something has definitely changed.

I would say the following things are true

• Covid has made people re-assess their priorities . People of all ages are asking themselves do they really have to work? is that extra money earned working in a pub/cafe /restaurant really worth it?
• People are not thinking about careers as much as they used to. People are living in the here and now.
• Associated costs of working, such as travel, childcare, lunches etc make some jobs not worth considering and cut down the number of potential applicants.
• Brexit - and you cannot deny this - has cut down the number of people available to work in the hospitality and tourist industry.

I think the vacancies we are talking about are affected by any or a combination of the above.

I did factory work as a student and those type of shifts and twilight shifts say 6-10 pm were norm picking up mum and in the evening student workers. They also ran usual 6-2, 2-10 shifts.
A biscuit factory near me offers 10-2and seems to have a reputation as an ok employer and doesn’t struggle for staff.

I also think there’s a huge problem that there’s been a shift in what age it’s acceptable for children to be left alone. NSPCC advice (not law) is under 12s shouldn’t be left for long periods.
Theres this grey area of too old/no childcare but society frowning on a 11 or 12 year old being left alone for hours.
If you are are working outside home with a commute or shifts then 11/12 yr olds could be on their own for several hours especially in school holidays.
You can’t blame people for wanting more flexibility or wfh to get through these years.

With respect to older people retiring early, I think the real situation is much more complex. According to Carers UK, the largest group of unpaid carers fall into the 46-65 age bracket. With difficulties finding social care provision, and people living longer, I suspect many people, like me , have not 'left' the workplace, but have taken rather insecure employment that can be done at home , with the flexibility for caring commitments to be undertaken.

Difficulties with social care and mental health resources may also mean that young people, like my son, have not been able to access the type of support and mentoring they need to transition to training and work.

@ThisOldThang my son earns that in IT (mind you he is only 25 and started at 16 with an apprenticeship) he has a huge skillset in networks , hardware and comms. He is inundated daily with recruiters- but he likes his company, likes the bosses and has a very interesting client site role at moment in a 'sexy' industry and is good with people and is about to start his formal PM training. As he said to me he could easily get 7k more but hate the job/company

Depending on your child’s needs is it something a sixth former could do? Lots want caring experience for medicine applications.
An acquaintance who was a single parent Dr had a former nanny pick hers up from school and care for her at home with nanny’s own baby in tow.

Mumsnet posters genuinely do. They think the only group of people in the world who have zero ulterior motive and have purely honourable intentions are benefit claimants. They think they would ‘never claim benefits if they could work, I’m sure they would love a job’. It’s madness!

Tax position needs looking at too. If you are at 40% point then dropping to 4 days can make a lot of sense. Hit on wage isn’t as big as you’d imagine due go tax and the one day off means you can do own gardening/cleaning/batch cooking etc so by time you’ve factored in all that you are actually net better off.

I don’t think I believe that. How are such vast swathes of the country suddenly so unhealthy they cannot work under any circumstances?

We have a lady at work with one arm, and a man with a musculoskeletal condition which means he’s in a wheelchair.

I think a lot of it is ‘mental health’. Suddenly everyone is pathologising normal feelings, pushing the GP for a diagnosis then deciding it means they can’t work. Perhaps they truly believe they feel worse than everyone else and need to do it, but objectively I would guess a lot of them don’t.

I know I’ll get flamed for that but that’s how I feel. It’s all very well blaming ‘the big corporations’ for not paying tax that they legally don’t have to, and saying ‘one person on benefits is a piddly amount compared to tax evasion’, but when you’ve a population the size of Scotland on benefits then that is unsustainable and a huge problem for both productivity and the people who have to work to fund them.

doesnt that prove the point though- you would be just the financially if you didn’t work at all. Not much of an incentive to work

There's a world wide shortage of staff somehow an impact of covid, but surr what happened exactly maybe lots of people didn't return to the workforce or something

I have worked in the past though when I would have been better off claiming benefits. It’s not acceptable to just live off the rest of us. Everyone should be contributing to society if they are able

I agree but I think people like you are in the minority to be honest. Depressingly.

In the past employers incentivised to take employees with a disability. There were also employers like remploy.
My friend worked in office at remploy and when they closed the factory she struggled to find another employer despite qualifications and experience eventually going to police.
Other than public sector and very large companies with proper policies it’s hard for people with a disability.
I do wonder how things will pan out for my DC who has a physical disability. Shes at sixth form and works pt in McDonalds who have been great.

Over the last 5 years I have seen the new thing of people cancelling interviews on the day, or simply not showing up.

What's not helping is employers sticking to the old ways of recruiting. You can't wait until the end of the advertised deadline period or until you've 20 applicants to convene a panel for an interview. If you aren't interviewing strong candidates within a week you will lose them because they are attending other interviews.

But they’re not. That’s why we have 5 million claiming.

But they’re not. That’s why we have 5 million claiming.

Strong candidates aren't claiming, are they? They're snapped up almost immediately.

The last time I switched jobs, I had two banks in a bidding war for my skills.

Depending on your child’s needs is it something a sixth former could do? Lots want caring experience for medicine applications.
An acquaintance who was a single parent Dr had a former nanny pick hers up from school and care for her at home with nanny’s own baby in tow.

Thats not a bad idea tbh re senior students.

I did try to find a nanny/nanny share with no luck - it would be costly but I could afford it if I returned to work full time. It would mean a nanny picking up my DS from school at 3 and then getting my DD at 3.30 from her school which is literally across the road from my DS school. My sense is there’s a high demand for childcare in my area so anything out of the norm or that looks a bit complex just isn’t attractive enough compared to straightforward pick ups and kids with no additional needs.

I’ll have a look at high schoolers though because they’d literally just need to sit with my DD at home for an hour or two.

@Garethkeenansstapler whilst I know what you are saying I myself am kind of in that position - luckily we have a business and are good earners and I can do my bits from wherever at my own pace- if I had to apply externally I would def be underperforming

I developed nasty neurological stuff post covid/4th vaccine (don't know which as they timed close together) blooming daily migraines, nerve/muscle twitching, neck pain, one weak leg , coeliac , - it's affected my ability to actually focus and makes you very anxious- I'm afraid post viral illness has given a fair few older people I know the equivalent of ME/MS even. It's being vastly underreported too. If you go onto the health boards here in general health and look at those bringing up sudden neuro or heart issues- with no explanation after bloods, MRIs etc. not all old either or fat or diabetic

I am the kind of person that hadn't seen a doctor for 22 years .

It's almost a bit easier if you have a defined condition that can be treated or a physical disability that doesn't affect mental ability - this shit offers no respite, no treatment

If you aren't interviewing strong candidates within a week you will lose them because they are attending other interviews.

I applied for a job recently, it took 5 weeks after closing date for them to shortlist, I was invited for interview 3 weeks later and it took them 2 weeks after that to let me know the outcome by which time I wasn’t interested. A friend applied for a job in the same project, interviews were finally held 12 weeks after the closing date by which time she too had lost interest.

My dc is 17 and lots of her peers would be great at that type of role. They are mature sensible girls often with volunteering experience like brownies/guides and first aid qualifications. Or a childcare college student. The local primary after school club employs some of them (pays £5 an hour to 16 yr olds) so watching tv/making a snack with one child would be a much more attractive job.

The benefits system needs an overhaul so that people are encouraged to work where they can, but not penalised for being sick, being caters, having no childcare or not being able to take on any job. Every single person should have enough money to be safe, housed and fed. When you start assessing a human beings value based on their financial contribution that’s a slippery slope.

with the rise of AI, lots of lower level jobs will eventually go and without a drastic change in attire a lot of people will be homeless and starving. There’s no reason at all we couldn’t have a universal basic income, the savings alone from it being universal and not means tested helps pay for it. There is more than enough money in the system if we aren’t paying billions for private companies to harass the sick and disabled.