The Times - UK (2022-01-19)

the times | Wednesday January 19 2022 15

News

Veterans will be fast-tracked into prison
officer roles in about 50 prisons across
England and Wales as part of a recruit-
ment scheme launched by the govern-
ment.
Former service personnel will also be
targeted to become teachers, with
offers of a £40,000 training bursary to
become a secondary school teacher.
The plans are part of the Veterans’
Strategy Action Plan which includes
more than 60 commitments, totalling
more than £70 million, to help veterans
with employment and healthcare after
they leave the military.
Last November the Recruitment and
Employment Confederation (REC)
union said that prisons were facing dif-
ficulties recruiting enough officers
amid a surge in job vacancies. Adverts

encers were contestants on the reality

show Love Island and the adverts will be

targeted at people who are likely to

follow them on Instagram. The advert

will say that the influencer has been

“sanctioned by the UK’s ad regulator

for not declaring ads on this platform”.

The new sanctions from the ASA

came as managers from some of the

biggest tech giants appeared before

MPs yesterday in an inquiry into the

“growing power” that influencers have

on social media. Tom Gault, the head of

UK policy for Instagram, told the

digital, culture, media and sport com-

mittee that it had a warning in place for

users as they were about to post content

that appeared to be sponsored. This

prompted them to declare the advert.

Advert watchdog to name

and shame influencers

Tom Knowles

Technology Correspondent

Veterans will blitz schools and prisons

for prison officers rose by 13 per cent in

late October and early November.

Schools have faced severe recruit-

ment and retention challenges for

years, with the pandemic making the

problem even more acute.

The government hopes that the vet-

erans scheme from “troops to teachers”

will not only benefit ex-military per-

sonnel but also allow school students to

benefit from the skills and insight that a

military career provides.

Other government departments, in-

cluding the Home Office, Department

for Work and Pensions and NHS En-

gland will also help veterans looking for

employment with the emergency ser-

vices and the health service as part of a

“Step into Health” scheme.

Steve Barclay, the Cabinet Office

minister, said: “Veterans make a fantas-

tic contribution to society and the

measures announced today will help

even more ex-service personnel realise

their potential.”

Leo Docherty, the veterans minister,

said: “Veterans already make a huge

contribution to society and the plans

outlined today step up our commit-

ment to allowing them to live successful

and healthy lives after service.” There

will also be direct placements into the

civil service with a target of 100 place-

ments a year by 2023-24.

The government also announced

that LGBT veterans whose lives were

“shattered” after being banned from

working in the military because of their

sexuality will share their stories as part

of a review. The Office for Veterans’ Af-

fairs, which is part of the Cabinet

Office, will be working with charities to

improve the support offered to LGBT

veterans through the review.

Larisa Brown Defence Editor

Social media influencers who consist-

ently fail to tell their followers when

they are paid to promote products will

soon be named on Instagram by the

advertising watchdog.

The Advertising Standards Author-

ity said that despite “repeated warn-

ings” some popular influencers were

still failing to reveal when they had

been paid to advertise items or services

on their platforms. It will now highlight

these rule-breakers in a series of

adverts to consumers on Instagram.

Six influencers with a combined

following of 4.8 million will be featured

in the adverts. All but one of these influ-

Moving to a four-day week with no loss
of pay may sound like a dream but for a
small group of workers it’s about to
become reality.
A pilot programme to test the hypo-
thesis that reducing working hours
increases productivity for businesses
and wellbeing for staff is to be run in
Britain.
Six companies, including the British
arm of the Japanese company Canon,
have signed up, and the organisers ex-
pect another 20 or more to join before
the trial starts in the summer.
The project is being brought to the

UK by Andrew Barnes and Charlotte
Lockhart, New Zealand entrepreneurs
who made their money in finance and
law before becoming among the first to
prove that asking staff to work fewer
hours increased productivity.
They have established the 4 Day
Week UK project in conjunction with
the think tank Autonomy and academ-
ics from the universities of Oxford and
Cambridge and Boston College.
Participants will run a four-day week
with no pay cut for six months from
June. The organisers say they are using
the “100:80:100 model” — 100 per cent
of the pay for 80 per cent of the time in
exchange for a commitment to at least
maintain 100 per cent productivity.
Each company will work with aca-

Entrepreneurs Andrew Barnes and
Charlotte Lockhart started the project

British firms

invited to join

four-day-week

experiment

demics from the three institutions to

measure the impact on productivity

and the wellbeing of staff, as well as the

impact on the environment and gender

equality. The project leaders will pub-

lish the results of the trial next year and

invite the government to examine it

with a view to encouraging ministers to

cap the working week at 32 hours.

Joe Ryle, the director of 4 Day Week

UK, said: “As we move out of the pan-

demic and build back better many

people want an improved work-life

balance. One hundred years on from

winning the weekend, we believe a

four-day week is long overdue. And we

believe this project will show it is a win-

win for businesses and employees.”

Several studies have suggested that

moving to a four-day week boosts out-

put. When Microsoft trialled a four-day

week with no loss of pay at its Japan

office, productivity was reported to

have gone up by 40 per cent.

In November Atom Bank became the

largest British employer to introduce a

four-day week, with all 430 staff mov-

ing to a 34-hour working week.

The biggest company to sign up to

the pilot scheme is Canon Medical

Research Europe, based in Edinburgh,

which has 140 employees.

Ken Sutherland, its president, said:

“We recognise that working patterns

and the focus that we all give to our

work-life balance has changed substan-

tially during the pandemic.

“As a responsive employer we are

always looking at how we can adapt our

working practices to ensure that

employees find their time with us

meaningful, fulfilling and productive.

For this reason, we’re keen to pilot a

four-day week to see if it works for us.”

The organisers say that more than

100 companies, mostly small and medi-

um-sized enterprises, have expressed

an interest in joining the trial, but they

expect some bigger firms to sign up.

Kyle Lewis, co-director of Autonomy,

said: “Any company interested in

taking part has until the end of March

to sign up.”

Andrew Ellson

M

att Hancock

was hardly

expecting to

make waves

when he

went for a dip in the

Serpentine yesterday

(George Grylls writes).

Unfortunately for him, he

had failed to reckon with

its notoriously officious

membership.

The former health

secretary has been

rebuked by the

Serpentine Swimming

Club after he was seen

enjoying a bracing swim

in the Hyde Park lake.

The club’s hierarchy

issued a statement,

warning that use of the

lido was “strictly for

members only” and that

there are “no guests

permitted”.

Later, Hancock said he

had been encouraged to

test the waters by

“enthusiastic” members

who had given him a

“warm welcome” and

offered him their towels.

Hancock, 43, has spent

more than six months on

the Tory back benches

after he was forced to

resign as health secretary

after admitting to

breaking social

distancing guidance with

Gina Coladangelo.

Before the dip Hancock

had been with the

Parliamentary Running

Club.

Robert Buckland, the

former justice secretary,

and Lord Bethell, a

former health minister,

were among those to

accompany Hancock.

According to

onlookers, Hancock

braved the frigid waters

for all of 20 metres.

The Serpentine

Swimming Club was

founded in 1862, making

it just one year younger

than the Football

Association.

Members of the club

have to abide by a strict

set of rules. Swimming

caps are allowed only if

they are brightly

coloured. Groups are not

allowed to swim more

than two abreast during

busy times. Wetsuits are

not allowed in the

changing room and

skinny dipping is strictly

forbidden.

The Serpentine

Swimming Club was

approached for comment.

Hancock

cuts no ice

with angry

swimmers

JEREMY SELWYN/EVENING STANDARD

Matt Hancock

was told off by

lido members

for his dip in

the Serpentine

issuedastatement

ENING STANDARD