“Impact of legacy systems on pension service.Lessons learnt from DWP” The workshop aimed to talk about the current pinch points in operational infrastructure (i.e. why technology may not be fit-for-purpose and why legacy systems are increasingly becoming an impediment to business transformation) and why it is important to learn from peers, adapt quickly and implement future-facing operational infrastructure. The feature speaker was Sridhar Athreya, a management consultant and transformation director in the Financial Services Advisory team at Grant Thornton. With more than 17 years' experience leading strategic and operational transformation engagements at Pension Funds, Private Equity firms, Asset and Fund Managers and global systemically important financial institutions (G-SIFIs), Sridhar will share global industry insight and thoughts on the transformation efforts at DWP.

1. Welcome to Saxus Quarterly Insurance &
Pensions Breakfast Briefing
“Legacy thinking, new impacts
What can Pension Funds learn from the DWP’s transformation efforts?”

2. REC and KPMG Report-March 2015
• Vacancies available for people seeking employment continued to rise in February.
• Overall demand for staff rose at the strongest rate in four months
• Both permanent and temporary workers seeing faster increases.
• Further marked rise in salaries
• Permanent staff starting salaries continued to increase in February.
• Candidate availability continues to fall
• The availability of staff to fill job vacancies decreased further in February.
• Both permanent and temporary candidate supply deteriorated to a greater extent
than in the previous month, with the former recording the sharper decline.
• Private sector demand for staff remained substantially stronger than that from the
public sector during February. The sharpest increase overall was signalled for
private sector permanent employees.
• Engineering was the most sought-after category for permanent staff in the latest
survey period, ahead of Nursing/Medical/Care. The weakest growth of demand
was signalled for Hotel & Catering workers.

3. REC and KPMG Report-March 2015
Comments:
• Bernard Brown, Partner and Head of Business Services at KPMG, comments:
• “Recovery in the job market is gaining real traction, and this should help shore up consumer confidence in the run
up to the election.
• “However, while the job market might be booming, demand for staff is by no means universal across the
sectors. The recovery is being heavily driven by hiring activity by UK plc, while the public sector remains in a semi-
stasis ahead of further anticipated cuts later in the year.
• “The availability of skilled candidates remains a significant concern and businesses are already fiercely competing
to secure top talent. This dynamic is driving significant salary growth in pockets of the market, such as the IT and
engineering sectors, where the demand/supply mismatch is particularly prevalent.”
• Kevin Green, REC chief executive, says:
• “Recruiters are reporting talent shortages across the economy as businesses expand in response to increasing
demand.
• “This is a major challenge for employers, however those seeking work are feeling the benefit. A third of recruiters
say that starting salaries for permanent jobs are increasing as competition for skilled staff drives up pay.

4. Latest Employment Statistics -March 2015
• More than one in three (39%) UK employees will be looking for a new job if they don't
receive a pay rise in the next 12 months, a survey by Glassdoor has revealed.
• The Glassdoor UK Employment Confidence Survey calculates that 12 million people could
potentially change jobs in 2015, which could add up to a possible recruitment bill of £360
billion for British businesses.
• However, 35% of employees are confident about getting a pay rise. Almost half of those
(48%) confident of a pay rise are expecting an increase of 2% or less, which is four times the
UK’s current rate of inflation (0.5%).
• When asked about negative workplace changes, 36% of those affected said their employer
had reduced pay and bonuses. On positive changes, 49% cited new company benefits such as
flexible working.