iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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The British Academy @britishacademy.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

There are less than two weeks left to apply for the British Academy/Leverhulme Senior Research Fellowships. The scheme supports senior researchers in the humanities and social sciences towards the completion of a major piece of research. Find out more and apply: bit.ly/3VMeTZ9

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Tom Pollard @pollardtom.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

.@mind.org.uk's response to Reform's proposals to "cut PIP payments to people with anxiety" in this BBC News piece: bbc.co.uk/news/article... So much of the political debate around PIP betrays a complete lack of understanding of what the benefit is for, who gets it & how it's assessed

Quote from BBC News article: Mental health charity Mind's head of policy Tom Pollard said Reform's plan seemed muddled and did not appear to "bear any relation to how this benefit actually works", not least because PIP is not an out of work benefit.

"People have to prove they face significant health and disability-related barriers in their day-to-day lives to qualify for Pip, and it is not based on diagnosis," he said.

"Anxiety can have a debilitating impact, and many people will also have multiple and complex health issues when anxiety is recorded as their 'primary condition'."

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Andy Westwood @andywestwood.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

If you’ve not checked these out and you’re interested in anything to do with skills at a local/regional level, then you should! #SkillsEngland department-for-education.shinyapps.io/local-skills...

department-for-education.shinyapps.io

Local Skills Dashboard

Data dashboard presenting local skills data from Skills England.

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Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 30/10/2025

As things stand, child poverty is on track to reach record highs by 2029-30. By then, we predict that more than one-in-three British children (34 per cent) would be growing up in poverty. That's the highest rate of child poverty we'd have seen since 1961 ⤵️ buff.ly/qVc9CWs

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Nuffield Foundation @nuffieldfoundation.org · 03/10/2025

The economics of the justice system is the theme of the 2025 @resmedia.bsky.social Summit, which is sponsored by the Foundation & taking place at our office on 2 December. We hope the event provides an opportunity for academic economists to gain an understanding of the work we fund. bit.ly/46JttXP

bit.ly

Strategic Fund | Apply for Funding | Nuffield Foundation

The Nuffield Foundation £15m Strategic Fund is now open for ambitious, interdisciplinary research projects. Check your eligibility and apply for funding.

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Work Foundation @workfoundation.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

Comment from our Head of Research, @alicepmartin.bsky.social, on figures from the Office for National Statistics on the impact of motherhood on monthly employee earnings and employment status. The full statement is available at: lancaster.ac.uk/work-foundat...

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Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 03/10/2025

47 per cent of families in the bottom half of the income distribution have less than £1,000 in liquid savings, almost three times the proportion in the top of half of the distribution. These are the sort of funds that would be used to cover urgent needs - like a car break-down of broken boiler.

As Figure 1 reveals: three-in-five (60 per cent) of families in
the bottom half of the income distribution had liquid savings of less than three months’
income, compared to two-in-five among families in the top half of the distribution (38 per
cent). This gap widens, however, if we look at a lower savings threshold of £1,000 – not
enough for a prolonged period of lost income, but sufficient to cover an urgent need like
a car break-down or broken boiler. 47 per cent of families in the bottom half of the income
distribution have less than £1,000 in liquid savings, almost three times the proportion in
the top of half of the distribution (17 per cent).

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Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 21/09/2025

Almost half (47%) of families in the bottom half of the income distribution have less than £1,000 in liquid savings, almost three times the proportion as the top of half. These are the sort of funds that would be used to cover urgent needs - like a car break-down of broken boiler.

Chart showing proportion of non-pensioner families with savings below a given threshold: Gb 2020-2022.
The charts shows that three-in-five (60 per cent) of families in the bottom half of the income distribution had liquid savings of less than three months’ income, compared to two-in-five among families in the top half of the distribution (38 per cent). This gap widens, however, if we look at a lower savings threshold of £1,000 – not enough for a prolonged period of lost income, but sufficient to cover an urgent need like a car break-down or broken boiler. 47 per cent of families in the bottom half of the income distribution have less than £1,000 in liquid savings, almost three times the proportion in the top of half of the distribution (17 per cent).

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Osmond Chiu (赵明佑) @redrabbleroz.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

A good little chart from the Parliamentary Library showing how almost all social spending by the Commonwealth is already means-tested #auspol

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The Institute for Fiscal Studies @theifs.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

NEW: Previous state pension age increases have not been felt equally: women already out of employment in their late 50s were particularly hard hit by the rise from 60 to 65 in the 2010s. THREAD on Jonathan Cribb, Anna Henry and @heidikarj.bsky.social’s new research on state pension rises:

Chart shows effect of increasing state pension age from 60 to 65 on the weekly individual income of 60- to 64-year-old women. Title states: "Women aged 60–64 who were out of work at 58 saw their weekly income fall by £81 on average as a result of the state pension age increase."

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British Sociological Association @britsoci.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

Early Career Researchers – get connected with the Administrative Data Research initiative, which gives access to administrative datasets that are not publicly available. Book now for our @bsaecr.bsky.social workshop, 22 October, online tinyurl.com/mrckf2fa

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ETUI @etui.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

What happened over the summer in the world of #CollectiveBargaining? ☀️ 🤝 🔺Austria: Collective agreements for freelancers possible from 2026 🔺 France: Unions unite against Government budget plan 🔺 Slovenia: Reduced working hours for older workers Catch up with our newsletter 🔗 etui.org/ZR2

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SPA Employment policy group @spaemploysocsec.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

If you're London or South East England based, you might be interested in this role: Head of Social Policy, and New Economics Foundation neweconomics.org/about/work-w...

neweconomics.org

Head of Social Policy

Together we can change the rules to protect the planet, share the wealth and give everyone a say in how the economy is run.

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SPA Employment policy group @spaemploysocsec.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

SPA funded event led by Elke Heins and Steven Ballantyne in Edinburgh. 18th September Sign-up here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/collaborat...

eventbrite.co.uk

Collaborative Workshop: Skills in the UK

Challenges and Opportunities for Boosting Economic Growth and Achieving Net Zero

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Social Policy Association @socialpolicyuk.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

Research briefing launch event: "Successfully engaging paid care workers in organising: Challenges, opportunities, and what works". 12pm to 1pm, 18th September 2025 via Zoom w/ Duncan Fisher( @duncfsh.bsky.social) and Liam Foster, Uni of Sheffield. Info ▶️ social-policy.org.uk/events/resea...

social-policy.org.uk

Research briefing launch event [online]: Successfully engaging paid care workers in organising: Challenges, opportunities, and what works - Social Policy Association

This online event will introduce a new research briefing and generate discussion of organising and union activity among paid adult social care (ASC) workers and [...]

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Duncan Weldon @duncanweldon.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

RF report on the jobs market data is interesting. Good news: they reckon the ONS data on employment and inactivity looks to be broadly right! Bad news: they reckon the trends are pretty much the opposite to what the official data says and rather grim. www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...

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Louise Murphy @louisemurphy.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

There are a few jobs going in the RF research team - more info here: www.resolutionfoundation.org/about-us/opp...

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Anna Dent @annadent.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

Next week is back to school for many Of equal importance, it will also see the next edition of my Digital Welfare State newsletter! Sign up now to receive a bumper pack of things you might have missed, interesting reading and food for thought - read all about it ⬇️

abdconsultancy.co.uk

Digital welfare state: origins, controversies, research — ABD Consultancy

How are governments worldwise using AI and other tech to administer the welfare state? Find out about research, policy and investigations into the digital welfare state, including digital surveillance...

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The Institute for Fiscal Studies @theifs.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

When and how should the government protect existing claimants from benefit cuts? @eduinlatimer.bsky.social and @matthewoulton.bsky.social discuss trade-offs involved when designing transitional protections for benefit cuts & what it means for recent benefit reforms: ifs.org.uk/articles/whe...

ifs.org.uk

When and how should the government protect existing claimants from benefit cuts? | Institute for Fiscal Studies

Important trade-offs are involved when designing transitional protections for benefit cuts.

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Anna Dent @annadent.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

What's the best way to pay people who are involved in a research project? It's a challenge I've encountered many times - how to pay people without bank accounts, or worried about the interaction with their benefits? This looks like a super useful resource:

thesocialchangeagency.org

Payment for Involvement Playbook [Free Resource]

Your comprehensive guide to creating a fair and equitable payment for involvement policy.

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SPA Employment policy group @spaemploysocsec.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

New article: "More than a mental health issue: broadening the concept of ‘work capability’ through qualitative secondary analysis of claimant narratives" by @annieirvine.bsky.social and Cassandra Lovelock: bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journal...

bristoluniversitypressdigital.com

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SPA Employment policy group @spaemploysocsec.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

Analysis exploring the impact of eligibility criteria on living standards and income adequacy. This research uses the established Minimum Income Standard research to explore the impact of apprenticeships on household income. youthfuturesfoundation.org/publication/...

youthfuturesfoundation.org

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SPA Employment policy group @spaemploysocsec.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

How does the benefits system influence young people’s choices? How does support provided for young people in different circumstances vary according to whether they remain in education, begin an apprenticeship or move into paid work with training? ssac.blog.gov.uk/2025/08/01/h...

ssac.blog.gov.uk

How does the benefits system influence young people’s choices?

The Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC) exists to provide impartial advice to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and the wider ministerial team on the social security system. As part o...

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Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 26/08/2025

🚨 New research published today 🚨 Our analysis finds that inactivity is rising and unemployment has not yet peaked. Learn more 👉 buff.ly/a9SnWhw

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Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 18/08/2025

What are the impacts of the new Employment Rights Bill? Raising job quality and tackling hours insecurity will be key. Here's what you need to know ⬇️ Get all the details our latest Low Pay Britain report: buff.ly/0OSArrI

Having reduced low pay, the next frontier is raising job quality
Progress on reducing low pay - from a fifth of the workforce to just 1% of workers aged 25+ - has not been matched action to tackle insecurity at work
Strengthening employee rights will benefit mainly low-paid workers, including extending Statutory Sick Pay coverage to the 1.3 million lowest paid.

2.4 million workers who are anxious about surprise changes to shifts will gain new protections.

Employment rights are about improving workers’ lives, not GDP growth
While business groups claim the Employment Rights Bill will be damaging, the government says it will help solve the UK’s productivity problems.
In reality, evidence suggests there will little economic impact in either direction. Countries that have reduced employment regulation have seen similar employment growth to other countries.

Clocking in..
Plans to tackle hours insecurity include:
1) A new right to a contract reflecting the hours someone usually works
2) A new right to reasonable notice of shift patterns with compensation for short-notice cancellations

However, details are being left for secondary legislation.
We suggest ‘reasonable’ notice for shift changes should be set to 2 weeks. Shifts cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice should be compensated in full.
These, along with other measures, will reduce workers’ anxiety.

Tackling bogus self-employment
The recent increase in Employer National Insurance has raised the employment status tax gap between employees and self-employed workers to 9% for a typical earner.
This raises the risk of bogus self-employment - where workers are misclassified as self-employed to avoid tax and legal responsibilities.
The Government must therefore complement stronger rights with stronger enforcement of the boundary between workers and the genuine self-employed.

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Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf-uk.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

Are you ready to help us make the news? 🤔 Do you want to use your instincts for what makes a good media story to make a difference for those living in poverty? We have two job roles in our media team: - Senior Media Manager - Media Manager Apply here: www.jrf.org.uk/careers.

jrf.org.uk

Careers

Do you want to help build a fairer future, free from poverty? Join us and use your skills to make a real difference.

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Women's Budget Group @womensbudgetgrp.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

Important findings from @niesrorg.bsky.social - Bangladeshi & Pakistani women face the highest unemployment & pay gaps in London. This new research reveals bias in hiring, inflexible workplaces & poor access to childcare. Migrant women also face visa issues & unrecognised overseas qualifications.

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Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 18/08/2025

Over a million lower income families today include both a disabled person and an unpaid carer. These households suffer a £3,300 income penalty as a result. And this rises to £7,600 if disability benefits are excluded. Read More: buff.ly/u26GnmA

Chart showing the proportion of working-age adults who are disabled or are caring for someone who is ill, disabled or elderly for at least five hours a week, and proportion of families with a disabled member or a carer, by household income: UK, 2023-24
More than two-in-five (43 per cent, or 5.6 million) of low-to-middle income families include a disabled person or a carer, and almost one-in-ten (9 per cent, or 1.1 million) low-to-middle income families include both – more than twice the rate among higher-income families, at 4 per cent (see Figure 7). A further 9 per cent of both low-to-middle income and higher income families have a disabled person or a carer in their wider household, but not within the family

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High Pay Centre @highpaycentre.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

Our annual review of CEO pay in the FTSE 100 has revealed that the typical FTSE 100 CEO is paid £4.58 million a year. 123x the typical UK worker. Here are 5 key tables and charts from the report🧵 highpaycentre.org/ceo-pay-in-t...

highpaycentre.org

CEO pay in the FTSE 100 reaches record high for the third year in a row - High Pay Centre

The High Pay Centre's annual review of CEO pay in the FTSE 100 shows median CEO pay jumping from £4.29m to £4.58m in 2024/2025

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Jan Willem Goudriaan @jwgoudriaan.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

🚨Trump's union-busting- largest, most shameful - in US history: hundred thousands of federal workers lose their collective bargaining rights. This is a whopping 2️⃣,5️⃣% of total US unionised workforce Trump seeks to kill Federal government unions @fedworkersunited.bsky.social keeps fighting back

portside.org

What Trump’s Decertification of Federal Employee Unions Means

Last week, pursuant to President Donald Trump’s March 27 executive order, the federal government unilaterally voided the collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) covering almost 400,000 Veterans Admini...

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Sally Wyatt 🟥 @sallywyatt.bsky.social · 17/08/2025

I've experienced failure in my academic career - who hasn't? And I wrote about it last year in @lseimpactblog.bsky.social as a counterpoint to @fasosmaastricht.bsky.social research evaluation. blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsoci...

blogs.lse.ac.uk

Assessments of research culture should be open about failure - Impact of Social Sciences

Sally Wyatt suggests that research culture can benefit from a more realistic appraisal of failure.

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UofG Centre for Public Policy @uofgpolicy.bsky.social · 13/08/2025

#WednesdayFocus CPP is back at @parliament.scot Festival of Politics! 🔹 Holyrood 2026: The Big Issues 22 Aug, 10.30am With speakers @profnicolamcewen.bsky.social @graemeroy.bsky.social @shannonvallor.bsky.social @haylesben.bsky.social 🔗 www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/...

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Institute for Employment Studies @employmentstudies.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

Comment from IES' @naomiclayton.bsky.social on the just-announced Labour Market Statistics from ONS. Our briefing note will be available later today, sign up here to receive via email: employment-studies.co.uk/news-press/i...

"The labour market continues to cool as employers respond to cost pressures and global uncertainty. Payroll numbers are falling, pay growth is slowing and vacancies are now well below pre-pandemic levels, as employers cut back hiring. Hospitality and retail sectors have seen the largest declines in employment and among the fastest pay growth - pointing to the combined impacts of the rise in employers’ National Insurance contributions and the increase in the National Living Wage. While the headline data remains uncertain, these trends underline the urgent need to boost the economy and support job creation."

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Centre for Cities @centreforcities.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

BLOG | What sectors will benefit from the Industrial Strategy? A place-based strategy means that what happens in the eight sectors does not have to stay in the eight sectors. Read our latest blog 👇 buff.ly/FDxHB7B

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Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 12/08/2025

UK labour market is loose, and getting looser, with over four-fifths of the recent jobs fall taking place in retail and hospitality ⤵️

Hannah Slaughter, Senior Economist at the Resolution Foundation, said:
“The UK’s post-pandemic labour market was red hot. But that period is officially over – the labour market is loose and getting looser, having shed 165,000 payrolled jobs over the past eight months.
“These jobs falls continue to be concentrated in low paying sectors like retail and hospitality. This reinforces the Government’s decision to take a cautious approach to the minimum wage next year as the economic fallout from the recent employer NI rise continues.
“Pay growth is decelerating much more slowly than jobs growth, and private sector wages are still increasing by 0.7 per cent in real terms. This is good news for workers who still have jobs. But it will give pause to monetary policy makers on the lookout for signs of persistent inflation.”

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Louise Murphy @louisemurphy.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

Today’s labour market statistics show that the jobs market is continuing to loosen, with jobs, vacancies and pay growth all weakening. Our @resfoundation.bsky.social take, from myself and @hannahslaughter.bsky.social, is below...

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SPA Employment policy group @spaemploysocsec.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

The IAB’s Graduate School (GradAB) and the FAU invites young researchers to its workshop “Perspectives on (Un-)Employment” to present their ongoing work in the field of theoretical and empirical labor market research. Deadline 30 September 2025 iab.de/en/iab-veran...

iab.de

17th interdisciplinary PhD-Workshop - Perspectives On (Un-)Employment - IAB - Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung

The workshop provides an opportunity for graduate students to present their ongoing work in the field of theoretical and empirical labor market research.

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Dr Hayley Bennett @haylesben.bsky.social · 06/08/2025

Reading an excellent & important research report on the need to end austerity economic, and develop sustainable long-term economic and social policies for coalfield areas. It's by David Etherington, Mia Gray, and Lisa Buckner and well worth a read. 👇 www.staffs.ac.uk/news/2025/04...

staffs.ac.uk

Legacy of ‘inequality and deprivation’ in former coal mining communities

A new report calls for an end to austerity, and sustainable long-term economic and social policies for coalfield areas

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Annie Irvine @annieirvine.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

Crucial message from Citizen's Advice: "When both working full-time and claiming maximum benefit entitlement leaves one in a low-income limbo, focusing on making the former slightly more financially beneficial than the latter is only ever going to have a limited impact on outcomes..." (1/2)

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Nye Cominetti @nyecominetti.bsky.social · 05/08/2025

Minimum wage remit for 2026 now published. As expected, it's mostly a rollover of last year's policy. 1. Adult rate "not to fall below 2/3 median wages" i.e. in practice this means rise in line with forecast average earnings (will have a look at the likely rate later)

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Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 05/08/2025

Each year, more than twice as many people move from employment to health-related inactivity compared to moving the other way. Read 'Opening doors' now, to learn how employers can create more opportunities for disabled workers 👉 buff.ly/d9KvJpj

Chart showing Number of adults aged 16-64 who flow from employment into health-related economic inactivity, and vice versa: UK

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LSE Inequalities @lseinequalities.bsky.social · 05/08/2025

“We found that countries with higher levels of income inequality are associated with higher rates of obesity, diabetes, mental illness, asthma, drug use and infant mortality” – Kate Pickett in our latest blog post #LSEInequalitiesBlog @equalitytrust 🔗 buff.ly/PKusA3m

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British Sociological Association @britsoci.bsky.social · 04/08/2025

Call for Papers WES accepting full papers on the relationship between earning and learning, redressing the invisibility and marginalisation of student workers. Deadline for submission 27 February 2026. Full CFP below. www.britsoc.co.uk/media/26914/...

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Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf-uk.bsky.social · 04/08/2025

Learning and Impact Lead applications close Thursday 🚨 Can you help us and our network better understand how change happens and the difference we can make in community organising, narrative change and wider civil society for a more equitable future? jrf.octo-firstclass.co.uk/candidates/c....

jrf.octo-firstclass.co.uk

Octo Candidates - Application Form - Vacancy Details

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