|
 |
|
The Val Wade Brief
Complete Edition
September 2026
|
|
|
Jump to sector
Professional Services Built Environment Higher Education Arts & Heritage |
|
Issue 3 — September 2026
Welcome to The Val Wade Brief. This month: permanent hiring’s recovery gathers real pace, three major employment law changes land on 1st October, and the arts funding window (The Museum Transformation Programme and Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND) many of you have been waiting for closes at the end of this month.
|
|
September always feels like the real start of the year in our world, budgets refresh, hiring plans that stalled over summer pick back up and the new academic and cultural season gets underway.
This issue brings together what we’re seeing in the market, sector by sector, alongside the candidate side of it, who’s available right now and what’s shaping their decisions. We’ll also keep you up to date with what’s happening at Val Wade and highlight opportunities across the sectors we specialise in.
We’re incredibly proud to have been helping organisations and candidates build successful partnerships for nearly 40 years. While the world of recruitment continues to evolve, one thing hasn’t changed is our belief that great recruitment starts with listening, understanding and building genuine relationships.
Best wishes,
Emma Darbyshire
Managing Director, Val Wade Recruitment
|
|
|
|
|
|
1st October is a genuinely significant date for employment law this year, bringing several Employment Rights Act provisions into force at once. Here’s what lands and what’s coming next behind it:
|
|
1 October: Tribunal Time Limits, Harassment Liability & Trade Union Rights
Three changes take effect together: the time limit for most employment tribunal claims doubles from three to six months; a new stand-alone claim lets workers hold employers liable for harassment by clients, customers or suppliers where preventative measures were inadequate; and employers must issue written statements on the right to join a trade union, with unions gaining wider workplace access rights. Client-facing and front-of-house teams are worth a policy review ahead of the deadline.
|
|
|
1 October: Shift Notice & Cancellation Payment Rights
Workers on zero-hours or variable-hours arrangements gain the right to reasonable notice of shifts and shift changes, expected to be at least 72 hours in practice, plus a payment where a shift is cancelled, moved or cut short at short notice. This matters directly for temp and interim staffing: scheduling practices and cancellation processes should be updated before the deadline.
|
|
|
Looking Ahead: Guaranteed Hours (2027)
The government’s consultation on guaranteed-hours rights for zero and low-hours workers closed in late August. Once regulations are confirmed, qualifying workers with a regular pattern of hours will gain the right to be offered a contract reflecting those hours, based on a reference period (a 12-week period is the government’s stated preference). Exact commencement is still to be confirmed, expected sometime in 2027, we’ll flag firm dates as soon as they land.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The stabilisation we flagged last month has held and in London it’s turned into real momentum. Here’s what the latest data tells us.
|
|
Numbers to know
|
|
45-Month Downturn Ends
Permanent placements stabilise (KPMG/REC, July 2026)
|
Fastest in Nearly 4 Years
London permanent placement growth (KPMG/REC)
|
4th Straight Month
Temp billings rise (KPMG/REC)
|
|
|
|
Permanent hiring turns a genuine corner
The KPMG/REC Report on Jobs confirmed that UK permanent placements stabilised in July, ending the longest downturn on record for the survey @ 45 months, stretching back to late 2022. London led the recovery, with permanent placement growth there the fastest in nearly four years, while temp billings rose for a fourth consecutive month. Pay indicators strengthened too, with both starting salaries and temp wages accelerating. Demand for permanent staff rose across engineering and nursing/medical/care, while retail and hotel & catering saw the steepest declines. Employers are being encouraged to move on delayed hiring plans while conditions continue to firm up, though political and economic uncertainty means the recovery so far is gradual rather than a snap-back.
|
|
|
Business Support Salary Benchmarks — London 2026
|
| Role |
Salary Range |
Day Rate |
| EA / PA (senior) |
£50,000–£70,000 |
£200–£280 |
| Chief of Staff |
£75,000–£100,000+ |
£300–£400 |
| Office Manager |
£38,000–£52,000 |
£160–£230 |
| Team Administrator |
£28,000–£38,000 |
£120–£170 |
| Receptionist / FOH |
£26,000–£34,000 |
£110–£150 |
|
|
Sources: Lily Shippen 2026 Salary Survey, Robert Half. London median EA/PA base salary now sits around £54,500. Candidates with strong AI-assisted workflow skills are commanding an 8–15% premium.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sector Intelligence: Professional Services
|
|
|
The market for EAs and PAs is now candidate-driven
With recruiters widely reporting difficulty finding candidates who combine senior-level judgement with genuine digital fluency, the balance of power in EA and PA hiring has shifted toward candidates. Scope continues to expand faster than pay in many organisations; EAs increasingly taking on project management, stakeholder coordination and operational leadership beyond the traditional remit. This makes clear salary positioning and a fast, decisive process essential to securing the strongest candidates.
|
|
|
AI proficiency is now a genuine differentiator, not a nice-to-have
Skills premiums of 8–15% are now attaching to candidates with advanced AI-assisted workflow proficiency, on top of existing premiums for financial services regulatory knowledge and language skills. For clients hiring at pace, building AI-tool expectations into the job spec from the outset, rather than treating it as a bonus is proving the fastest route to the right shortlist.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sector Intelligence: Built Environment
|
|
|
41,200 additional workers needed every year through 2030
The CITB’s newly published Construction Workforce Outlook 2026–2030 puts a firmer number on the scale of the challenge: the sector needs an average of 41,200 additional workers annually just to keep pace with demand and replace those leaving. Vacancy numbers may be falling overall, but that masks a genuine shortage of experienced, deployable talent. Demand remains most acute for M&E engineers, BIM coordinators, project managers and net-zero retrofit specialists, where the digital and sustainability skills gap is most pronounced.
|
|
|
Wages climbing across every tier as competition intensifies
The supply-demand imbalance continues to push pay higher across the board. Site managers now commanding £50,000–£75,000 plus benefits, quantity surveyors up to £90,000, and project managers on major schemes reaching £100,000. Contractors are increasingly competing on benefits too, with enhanced pensions, flexible working and professional development funding becoming standard rather than exceptional. For candidates weighing offers, flexibility and progression are proving as decisive as day rate.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sector Intelligence: Higher Education
|
|
|
Over 5,000 redundancies announced across 20+ institutions since 2025
The financial pressure hasn’t let up going into the new academic year. Tuition fees in England rise to £9,535 this autumn, the first increase in eight years, after a prolonged freeze. For many institutions it isn’t enough to offset falling international enrolment and higher employer National Insurance costs. University of Essex has confirmed 400 job cuts alongside the closure of its Southend-on-Sea campus this August, and redundancy and restructuring programmes remain live at institutions across the country. University of Kent and Greenwich University have joined forces to make a super university London and South
|
|
|
Professional services staff carry knowledge that transfers well
As in previous rounds, the heaviest cuts are concentrated in HR, marketing, communications and general administration — especially at smaller or financially stressed institutions. IT and data roles have fared comparatively better as digital transformation stays a budget priority. Experienced professional services staff from affected teams are worth talking to before they move on their own timeline. Also worth noting this month: the London and South East University Group — the merger of Greenwich and Kent — officially launches this September as the UK’s third largest higher education institution.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sector Intelligence: Arts & Heritage
|
|
|
Museum Transformation Programme closes 30 September
Following last month’s £270m funding announcement, the Museum Transformation Programme opened for applications on 1 September, offering grants of £50,000 to £1m to local authority museums and those heavily dependent on local authority funding to strengthen long-term sustainability. Applications close 30 September, alongside Round 6 of the Museum Estate and Development Fund on the same date. Clients running capital or transformation projects should be moving now — expect a wave of project and bid-writing hiring as organisations rush to complete applications this month. Talk to us →
|
|
|
National Portfolio guidance due this month — “significant changes” flagged
Arts Council England has confirmed the next round of National Portfolio Organisation funding (2028–33) will bring significant changes to how the programme is structured, with detailed applicant guidance due for publication in September alongside advice from newly formed sector panels covering museums, theatre and other artforms. Organisations preparing NPO applications should expect this to shape resourcing decisions, including project and fundraising hiring, well into next year.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
There is strong, qualified talent in the market right now across our specialist sectors, and the conditions to attract it are better than they’ve been for some time.
|
|
Arts & Heritage
With the Museum Transformation Programme deadline approaching, expect a short-term surge in demand for bid-writing and project-delivery talent. Candidates with capital-project or funding-bid experience are especially well placed right now.
|
|
|
Higher Education
University restructures continue to release high-quality professional services talent — HR coordinators, faculty administrators, student services staff and PA/EA candidates with strong stakeholder management experience. Many are open to sector moves.
|
|
|
|
Built Environment
Strong candidate availability among M&E engineers, BIM coordinators and project managers, though genuinely experienced, deployable talent remains scarce. Roles offering flexibility and clear progression are filling fastest.
|
|
|
Professional Services
The EA/PA market has turned candidate-driven — strong candidates, particularly those with AI-assisted workflow skills, are receiving multiple offers and moving quickly. Speed and clear salary positioning are now essential to winning the best talent.
|
|
|
|
What candidates are looking for right now
|
✦ Hybrid working with clear office expectations set upfront
✦ Roles with genuine development or progression opportunity
✦ Organisations with a clear mission or values, especially in culture and HE
|
✦ Salary increases of up to 10% for full-time on-site roles
✦ Speed — the best candidates are off the market within 1–2 weeks
✦ Support for AI tool adoption in their role
|
|
|
|
Ready to hire, or looking for your next role?
We’d love to help. Val Wade has been placing office administration, digital, business and customer support professionals across our specialist sectors for over 40 years.
|
Get in touch |
|
|
|
|
Comments are closed