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Report shows employee engagement is falling globally
Gallup published its 2025 report in what it considers is the world’s largest ongoing study of the employee experience. The State of the Global Workplace Report shows that in 2024, the global percentage of 'engaged' employees fell from 23% to 21% which represents only the second fall in the past 12 years. In this context, engagement refers to the involvement and enthusiasm of employees in both their work and workplace. Wellbeing measurements also decreased for the second year in a row. Amongst European countries, the UK has the second highest percentage of workers reporting that they experience “daily sadness”. Only Northern Cyprus reported a higher figure. Gallup suggests that the “world’s workplace is not headed in the right direction. However, the data also show a productivity boom opportunity if executive leaders seize the moment”. It estimates that if the world’s workplace was fully engaged, US$9.6 trillion in productivity could be added to the global economy. It sees the solution lying in improving manager engagement - thriving managers producing thriving teams. Employers may wish to factor the analysis into their wellbeing strategies.
Call for evidence on equality policy
The UK’s Office for Equality and Opportunity issued a call for evidence on a number of topics, including areas of existing equality law frameworks and areas for possible reform. Evidence and views are sought on:
• “the prevalence of pay discrimination on the basis of race and disability;
• making the right to equal pay effective for ethnic minority and disabled people;
• measures to ensure that outsourcing of services can no longer be used by employers to avoid paying equal pay;
• improving the enforcement of equal pay rights by establishing an Equal Pay Regulatory and Enforcement Unit, with the involvement of trade unions;
• improving pay transparency;
• strengthening protections against combined discrimination;
• ensuring the Public Sector Equality Duty is met by all parties exercising public functions;
• creating and maintaining workplaces and working conditions free from harassment; and
• commencing the socio-economic duty.”
Much of this call for evidence refers to equality policy areas which we already knew are earmarked for further consideration/ policy change, but detail on what might be proposed is seen in the questions being asked. The section on outsourcing seeks views on potentially enabling equal pay comparisons between outsourced workers and in-house employees; and the possibility of liability resting with the customer organisation is mooted. The suggestion of an Equal Pay Regulatory and Enforcement Unit is notable, with suggestions that it could bring litigation on behalf of workers, facilitate dispute resolution and provide employer training. Pay transparency measures are explored including the provision of salary ranges on job adverts, prohibiting asking job candidates for salary history and the publication of pay structures.
This call for evidence, which closes on 30 June, is separate to the consultation on proposed ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting frameworks which has an earlier submission deadline of 10 June 2025. We will be gathering views on the proposals for ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting at our Global Equality Diversity & Inclusion Conference 2025, and will use feedback to share insights on market readiness for the new reporting framework and to respond to the consultation. If you haven’t already registered to attend the event in-person in London or online, please do soon!
Businesses and unions disagree on economic impact of ERB
Business groups and unions have outlined different perspectives on the potential economic impact of ERB. The British Chambers of Commerce, Confederation of British Industry, Institute of Directors, Federation of Small Businesses and Make UK warned Parliament in an open letter that the ERB in its current form could hit growth at an uncertain time for the UK economy. The major business groups warned that the ERB will "damage growth and employment, undermining the govt's own goals" and will discourage companies hiring "particularly those at the margins of the labour market" as business will not want to risk costly ET cases. However, Paul Nowak, general secretary of the TUC responded to business concerns, asserting that the measures will wean “a layer of employers off low-paid insecure employment” and that to end low-paid, precarious employment “we’ve got to bite the bullet at some stage”.
This page is updated weekly with News and Views from that week’s employment weekly briefing email. For previous articles, please contact us: Employment Law Plus.
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Employment law horizon watching | Upcoming employment law changes