Short of manpower, British companies offer impressive bonuses – Ouest-France Evening Edition

In an effort to attract new employees, many British companies sometimes offer hiring bonuses of over £10,000 or €11,000. One way of dealing with the labor shortage that affects many sectors of activity in the United Kingdom.

One “Welcome Bonus”. Here’s how the British company HC One, which runs retirement homes in the UK, received the hiring bonus it promised to pay to people who agreed to take up the two nursing positions in Scotland for which they took the job. Posted offers. The amount of this check: 10,000 pounds sterling, or over 11,000 €.

In the United Kingdom, these hiring bonuses are increasing, although they are often smaller than this five-digit amount. It is a way for employers to tackle the labor shortage that affects many sectors of activity, the British daily explains. Guardian, Sunday 1 August 2021.

Nationwide, there is a paid bonus on hiring with around 5,000 job offers published on the exclusive platform Adzuna, the British newspaper further indicates. In related positions: healthcare worker, early childhood sector, or restaurant chef.

Supermarket chain Tesco promises checks worth 1,000 pounds (1,100 €, approx) to truck drivers who will agree to sign an employment contract by 30 September, as reported by the television channel. sky News At the end of July.

Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit

This labor shortage has been explained, on the one hand, by the COVID-19 pandemic, and in particular a phenomenon dubbed “pingdemic” by the British media.

The phrase refers to information sent by the health services’ anti-Covid digital app: In recent weeks, hundreds of thousands of UK residents have been asked to self-isolate because they have been in contact with people infected with the coronavirus .

The incident, logically, shook the British economy: in some companies, up to 20% of employees have had to self-isolate and are unable to work, the British daily reported. The Financial Times, mid-July. At the same time, others were unable to take on a new job, or pass job interviews.

Another element that explains this labor shortage is Brexit, the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union, which marks the end of the free movement of people between the European Economic Area and the EU country.

Thus, some workers, expatriates who had previously lived in the United Kingdom, found it difficult to obtain or extend work visas, including NHS, British health services workers, already reported Guardian Migrating to the country has become even more complicated in November, and for citizens of many European countries.

Bonus in USA also

With the COVID-19 pandemic, beyond Brexit, many migrants prefer to return to their country of origin to be closer to their families, specifies BBC, British Broadcasting Corporation.

These are the problems in recruitment “Another sign that demand is returning and jobs are being created”, indicated in mid-July by Matthew Percival, one of the leaders of the British employers organization CBI to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

But at the same time, some areas suffer from “Lack of qualified personnel”, And “Hundreds of thousands of workers are still on leave”Andrew Hunter, co-founder of the Adzuna platform, explains, Guardian.

The United Kingdom isn’t the only country concerned: these hiring bonuses have multiplied in recent weeks in the United States as well.

“about 20%” The job offer was accompanied by such bonuses, published in June on the specialized site ZipRecruiter, then noted the American daily. wall street journal.

As reported by American Public Television Network, the United States is also facing labor shortages in many industries as the US economy accelerates. PBS, Sunday 29 July, and especially in the catering sector.