http://www.rec-con.co.uk News from www.rec-con.co.uk http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/Is_AWD_unlawful/2679 The Association of Recruitment Consultancies has claimed a technical irregularity in the Agency Workers Directive has considerable ramifications. Government laid draft Regulations before Parliament in January 2010, following a two part consultation which ended in December 2009, forcing businesses using temporary workers to give them equal rights to their permanent colleagues in similar roles following 12 weeks. However, after taking extensive legal advice including from the Queen`s Counsel - ARC believes aspects not raised in the consultation are not lawful. The Regulations provide that recruitment businesses which have no contract at all with an agency worker, can be made liable for the rights that the agency worker will now acquire, even though such recruitment businesses are excluded from the scope of the Directive.. ARC chairman Adrian Marlowe explained: To be an agency worker within the scope of the Directive, the worker must have a contract with a temporary work agency, which in turn must be in the business of concluding employment contracts or relationships with agency workers for assignment to a hirer. He added: A recruitment business, such as a master vendor, does not usually enter into contracts with agency workers, has no employment relationship with the worker under UK law and therefore cannot be a temporary work agency under the Directive. Therefore such organisations should not be brought within the scope of the Regulations and held to account. The point is technical but it has considerable ramifications. ARC has written to MPs to alert them and Marlowe added: It is crucial to understand that this argument does not affect the rights of agency workers to equal treatment or enforceability against the actual temporary work agency or the hirer. It is unfortunate that so little time has been given to consider these regulations when we have pressed for more time, and that they have been laid before Parliament ahead of an approaching election when MPs minds are probably more on their constituents than anything else. http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/Job_surgery/2678 Deprived housing estate residents in the UK are to get free job advice within their community centres and surgeries. Work and pensions minister Helen Goodman announced today that Jobcentre Plus Outreach advisers will work with partners, such as housing associations, resident groups, local authorities and local community organisations, to reach more than 15,000 people and to address the issues of deep-seated and intergenerational worklessness. The recent employment White Paper announced an extension to the community-based approach which has been trialled since October. This will be funded by an additional £12m. Helen Goodman said: We know that most people want to work but for a small minority of people not working has become an accepted way of life. We will be taking our services out of the Jobcentre and into the community in a number of deprived estates. Our Outreach advisers will work with community partners in unemployment hotspots across Britain to make sure Jobcentre Plus support and advice is easily accessible to everyone. Work is the best way out of poverty and our Outreach programme is part of the broad range of support available through Jobcentre Plus to help people into work. The 16 teams working across Britain will focus on deprived communities to help benefit claimants move closer to the jobs market and into work. http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/IT_growth/2677 The coming year will see a significant rise of IT roles, pay however, will remain the same. There are three times as many IT Directors planning to hire than fire personnel in 2010 according to research from ReThink Recruitment, the technology staffing company. This is the first significant and positive rise signalling re-growth in the sector since 2008. The research reveals that nearly half plan to boost headcounts in 2010 three times the number who plan to shed jobs (17 per cent). Despite more jobs IT workers are unlikely to receive immediate pay increases with more than half of IT directors planning to freeze pay for staff. A spokesman for ReThink Recruitment said: IT workers have already suffered two years of pay austerity far worse than they had to endure following the dot com collapse. 71 per cent of IT staff and 98 per cent of IT contractors had their pay either frozen or actually cut in 2009! This contrasts sharply with just 10 per cent of all UK companies who have frozen pay during the recession. Michael Bennett, a ReThink Recruitment director said: The good news is more jobs. The bad news is IT Directors intend to keep pay down. The majority of IT professionals have seen their pay decline in real terms over the last two years. While pay increases are likely to remain subdued in 2010, IT Directors are now switching from firing to hiring mode. Despite IT Directors looking to keep a tight rein on pay, this could be difficult as the job market picks up. Hiring eventually feeds through to pay increases as the best quality candidates get snapped up. He adds: Good quality candidates with the right skills are already difficult to find. As IT departments begin hiring again they will increasingly have to poach personnel from rival organisations, which will fuel rapid pay rises. http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/Slow_process_blamed/2676 Time is no longer on the recruiters side of as research has revealed hirers want to speed up the recruitment process. Research from TalentPuzzle, the online recruitment marketplace came up with the astonishing figure of 86 per cent of business owners and HR staff surveyed saying that they would like to spend less time dealing with recruitment processes and agencies. This is a timely warning for the staffing sector as 88 per cent of those quizzed saying they would be looking to make a significant number of permanent hires over the next six months. TalentPuzzle CEO Virginia Raemy said: Currently employers are caught in a catch 22 situation when it comes to recruitment. Employers recognise the importance of recruiting the right people, however many simply dont have the time to properly devote to recruitment. Ultimately, they can be dealing with dozens of agencies for a single advertised position, which means multiple contracts, multiple fees and multiple negotiations all of which can be very time-consuming. In another slightly worrying revelation the survey also claimed that nearly three-quarters of the organisations surveyed said that they found it difficult to find good recruitment agencies; with 73 per cent of the respondents admitting that because of a lack of time they were limiting their recruitment pool and missing out on potentially good candidates. Employers want to continue working with recruitment agencies, however up until now it has been quite difficult for them to quickly identify the best or most suitable. By using a recruitment marketplace such as TalentPuzzle, organisations can easily rate the performance of individual agencies based on the quality of CVs submitted and their responsiveness. This crowd-sourcing approach to rating agencies can help organisations quickly identify the best or most appropriate agencies to work with, added Virginia Raemy. The survey of 250 business owners and HR staff at UK organisations, with up to 750 employees, was commissioned by TalentPuzzle and conducted by independent research company Vanson Bourne. http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/New_starter/2675 eploy®, the UKs leading provider of online recruitment software has expanded its management team with the appointment of Mark Hobson to the role of Business Development Director. The appointment that sees Mark heading up the sales division comes as a result of eploy®s success over the last 12-18 months, and forms part of the companys major growth plans. Mark has more than 12 years recruitment experience which included heading up an international IT recruitment agency before moving into the software sector. He joins eploy® from a US based multi-national software company that specialises in Cloud Computing. In this role Mark was involved in developing and delivering software systems specifically for UK recruiters; however working remotely in the UK for a US centric company proved quite limiting with many problems relating to customer support and delivery. Mark is now eager to take up the new role at eploy®, and he said; I am delighted to join the team here, and the fact that eploy® is developed, hosted and supported in the UK was a major deciding factor. eploy® is also extremely well respected in the industry and being at the forefront of developing true web based recruitment systems means they have experienced unprecedented success in recent years. By working with Paul Burgess and Christopher Bogh, the Companys Founders and Directors, I very much look forward to building on their success and applying my skills and experience to create new business opportunities Paul Burgess, Managing Director at eploy® added: Were very pleased to welcome Mark to our team. He has tremendous industry knowledge and experience of the recruitment software industry, and will be a real asset to the company as part of our expansion plans. http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/Disparate_IT_worry/2674 Recruiters are dissatisfied with how the technology applications they need to do their job effectively integrate with one another. This is according to new research from IT services provider Kamanchi. The company surveyed a cross-section of staffing firms covering a range of industry sectors from accountancy and financial services to sales and retail recruiters. The research found that while recruiters are increasingly reliant on technology to carry out their job function (66 per cent said technology is essential, 33 per cent said quite important) there is frustration in the market about how different elements of the IT system work together. Over half of respondents (56 per cent) were dissatisfied with how their email system integrates with their database while a third of those surveyed were unhappy with how their database and phone system work together. As the technology used in the recruitment process becomes more complex integration issues are bound to come up, says Raymond Pennie, pictured, commercial director of Kamanchi and co-chair of the APSCo Technology Forum. Increasingly complicated database, online and social networking applications can be difficult to use together. The best advice is for staffing firms to adopt a holistic approach to their IT. That way they can get the best out of the technology available as well as being ready to adapt quickly to new innovations as they come on to the market. Raymond will be speaking at Thursday`s Recruitment Conference in London on the subject - for booking details call 0845 094 8022. http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/Recruiters_plea/2673 A recruiter`s desperate plea for life-saving medical help for his wife has been answered by a well-known industry trainer. On March 29 trainer Mike Walmsley, pictured, is running a £99 per month SuperBiller Training Programme - the proceeds of which will be donated to saving the life of Charlotte Hutchinson. Charlotte, who is suffering from a rare form of bone cancer, has been married to Goldteam recruiter Marcus Hutchinson for just two years. Charlotte needs to raise £25,000 for private treatment before mid April as funding for the Cyberknife surgery has not been made available to her through the NHS. Any recruiter that attends this programme will benefit from 2 days live training with Mike, 24 live webinars and access to all 29 recruitment videos - all for £99per month for 12 months. A spokeswoman said: "At the same time they will be helping to save the life of a wonderful young lady who does not have time on her side." For further information contact the team through www.mikewalmsley.com. http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/Perms_stronger/2672 The latest Report on Jobs from KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation has shown acceleration in permanent placements, the fastest since July 2007. February figures also showed vacancies increased at their sharpest rate for over two-and-a-half years with a stronger rise in permanent placements in February, but the slowest increase in temporary staff billings for three months. The supply of candidates to fill vacancies continued to rise in February, but at a slower rate. The latest increases in both permanent and temporary/contract staff availability were the weakest since April 2008. REC chief executive Kevin Green, pictured, said: The UK jobs market is continuing to improve. Increasing employer confidence has resulted in the best performance weve seen in permanent employment for two and a half years. High-end sectors such as IT are showing particularly strong growth and we are also seeing significant increases in demand for admin and back-office support. Looking ahead, there are indications that recruitment in the public sector could drop off fast. A new approach to public sector resourcing is now critical and will have a direct impact on the wider employment outlook. We question whether the public sector has the right capability in place to lead the necessary transformation and put in place staffing structures that will keep costs down while improving public services. Rather than responding with random job cuts, the public sector needs to embrace radical reform. Flexible working must be seen as part of the cost solution, rather than the problem. http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/Adecco_2009_slump/2671 The worlds biggest recruiter Adecco Group has announced a 26 per cent slump in revenues during 2009. The figures mean revenues were EUR 14.8 billion compared to EUR 20.0 billion in 2008. CEO Patrick De Maeseneire said: "The year 2009 has been exceptionally tough, but I am pleased to say that we have managed the downturn very proactively. We made the necessary cost reductions and structurally changed our branch network and delivery models. Our pricing discipline and our well-balanced service portfolio have led to an adjusted gross margin that was only down 20 bps to 17.8 per cent. He added that the fourth quarter saw trading conditions continuing to improve in Adeccos major markets France and North America. He added: This positive trend continued into the first two months of the year, with France and North America returning to year-on-year growth in recent weeks. The substantially lower SG&A base, our disciplined pricing and the higher professional staffing exposure, will let us fully profit from the upturn." http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/CIPD_new_tier/2670 The CIPD has announced the creation of a new Associate level of professional membership. The new level sits below the existing professional grades of Chartered Member and Chartered Fellow, enabling the CIPD to fully recognise professionalism at all levels. Anyone demonstrating the knowledge, experience and behavioural impact in the workplace to secure the new membership level will be able to use the designatory letters Assoc CIPD after their name, indicating to current and potential future employers the level they operate at and the skills and experience they have. The new level forms part of the CIPDs wider update of membership and professional standards. Other changes, already announced, strengthen the criteria against which the knowledge, experience and behavioural impact of members seeking to move into the Chartered Member and Chartered Fellow grades of membership can be measured, while also opening up access to people whove followed different career paths. All the changes, and the accompanying new routes to membership the CIPD is developing, are built on the CIPD HR Profession Map, which clearly sets out what HR professionals need to know, do and deliver at all levels, at different stages of their careers, whether they are specialists or generalists, and regardless of the sector they operate in. Sue Upton, Director of Membership at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, said: Chartered Membership of the CIPD is already well-established as the gold standard for professionalism in HR. But we also know there are many people making an impact in HR but operating below the chartered level. The new Associate level allows us to recognise the professionalism and impact of these people in the workplace. As with the Chartered Member and Chartered Fellow grades, to secure the new Associate level members will need to meet rigorous criteria, clearly demonstrating the knowledge, experience and behaviours required to meet the standard. As a result, members can be sure they have a meaningful and portable benchmark of their professional achievements. Well be playing our part in ensuring employers know what the new grade means, and appreciate the value and contribution they can expect from those who hold it. http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/Slick_move/2669 The international online job board for the oil and gas industry, oilcareers.com, has opened its first office in North America and has embarked on an international candidate attraction programme, to increase its users from the current total of 640,000. OilCareers new office in Houston, Texas will serve the USA and Canada, both of which are already strong markets for the company. The new marketing campaign reaches relevant oil and gas workers across multiple platforms to deliver the best candidates for OilCareers clients. Mark Guest, MD of OilCareers.com, said: Given the nature of the oil and gas industry, OilCareers has always been a global brand. However, the launch of our international candidate attraction campaign will go even further to cement our position as the leading site for oil and gas jobs. Our highly targeted, multi-channel approach ensures well reach oil and gas workers throughout the day and drive the most relevant candidates to OilCareers for our clients. http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php//Slick_move/2667 The international online job board for the oil and gas industry, oilcareers.com, has opened its first office in North America and has embarked on an international candidate attraction programme, to increase its users from the current total of 640,000. OilCareers new office in Houston, Texas will serve the USA and Canada, both of which are already strong markets for the company. The new marketing campaign reaches relevant oil and gas workers across multiple platforms to deliver the best candidates for OilCareers clients. Mark Guest, MD of OilCareers.com, said: Given the nature of the oil and gas industry, OilCareers has always been a global brand. However, the launch of our international candidate attraction campaign will go even further to cement our position as the leading site for oil and gas jobs. Our highly targeted, multi-channel approach ensures well reach oil and gas workers throughout the day and drive the most relevant candidates to OilCareers for our clients. http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/Nipped_in_the_bud/2666 Gangmasters for the flower-picking industry have been sent a warning as a licence has been revoked before the high season begins. The GLA along with other industry representatives recognised the serious breaches within the industry in 2009 and have therefore acted early to avoid a repeat this year. This led to the immediate revocation of Lincolnshire based Powerstaff Recruitment Limited, who were found to be employing Jonathan Beckson whose own licence was revoked in 2008 following serious exploitation and threats together with Magdalena Gojtowska a known associate of Mr Beckson who herself was found to be influencing a number of businesses who had their licences revoked in 2009. Mr David Quinn of Powerstaff could not demonstrate an understanding of how to run the Spalding-based gangmaster business and openly admitted he leant heavily on Mr Beckson. While Mr Quinn was supposed to be in charge of the business, the GLA was convinced he was not and felt he was being used as a front to allow previously banned gangmasters back into the industry. Mr Quinns business had been trying to source contracts to supply workers for the current flower picking season in Devon and Cornwall. Ms Gojtowska and Mr Beckson had previously supplied labour during the flower picking season. Paul Whitehouse, GLA chairman, said: The actions of the flower industry and especially some of the big suppliers is a model that should be followed elsewhere. They have worked proactively with the GLA to ensure that the industry is no longer tarnished by exploitation of workers. We have banned these people from supplying workers in GLA sectors for a good reason and we cannot allow them to find a back-door route to continue. They have a history of serious exploitation and it is our job to protect workers. http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php//Nipped_in_the_bud/2665 Gangmasters for the flower-picking industry have been sent a warning as a licence has been revoked before the high season begins. The GLA along with other industry representatives recognised the serious breaches within the industry in 2009 and have therefore acted early to avoid a repeat this year. This led to the immediate revocation of Lincolnshire based Powerstaff Recruitment Limited, who were found to be employing Jonathan Beckson whose own licence was revoked in 2008 following serious exploitation and threats together with Magdalena Gojtowska a known associate of Mr Beckson who herself was found to be influencing a number of businesses who had their licences revoked in 2009. Mr David Quinn of Powerstaff could not demonstrate an understanding of how to run the Spalding-based gangmaster business and openly admitted he leant heavily on Mr Beckson. While Mr Quinn was supposed to be in charge of the business, the GLA was convinced he was not and felt he was being used as a front to allow previously banned gangmasters back into the industry. Mr Quinns business had been trying to source contracts to supply workers for the current flower picking season in Devon and Cornwall. Ms Gojtowska and Mr Beckson had previously supplied labour during the flower picking season. Paul Whitehouse, GLA chairman, said: The actions of the flower industry and especially some of the big suppliers is a model that should be followed elsewhere. They have worked proactively with the GLA to ensure that the industry is no longer tarnished by exploitation of workers. We have banned these people from supplying workers in GLA sectors for a good reason and we cannot allow them to find a back-door route to continue. They have a history of serious exploitation and it is our job to protect workers. http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/Final_call/2664 The exciting conference line-up will take to the podium at the Strand Palace Hotel from 2pm on March 11, before moving on to Manchesters Deansgate Hilton Hotel on April 7. The presentations will include a fascinating look at social media and its burgeoning role within recruitment by well-known industry figure and e-recruitment expert Alan Whitford owner and founder of Abtech. Among many topics Alan will explore how iPhone apps can aid recruitment and tips on sourcing candidates through social networking sites. Next to the stage is Raymond Pennie, commercial director at recruitment software providers Kamanchi who said: As large corporations increasingly look to IT to develop their own staffing programmes, agencies need to develop effective strategies to ensure that they continue to provide a valuable service to their clients. At the conference he will examine how onsite recruiters are using technology and discuss the business challenges the new environment brings for recruitment firms. Then Jobsites marketing director Felix Wetzel tackles the subject of recruitment in the future. Using the Delphi report on the staffing sector landscape in the next 10 years, Felix will outline the findings of the report as well as the expected technological advancements which we will need to keep abreast of between now and 2020. For more details or to book your delegate place, visit www.rec-con.co.uk/conference http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php//Monster_slims_down/2662 Monster Worldwide is laying off 200 of its international workforce which represents about 3.5 per cent of Monsters global staff. The redundancies have come about two weeks after Monster acquired Hot Jobs from Yahoo for $225 million. Monster was approached for comment but had not responded at time of publication. http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/MaxAd_revolution/2661 GROUNDBREAKING recruitment experts MaxAd have launched a nationwide service saving employers up to 90% of their recruitment costs and many hours of frustrating hassle. Companies seeking to fill a vacancy have until now faced an unenviable choice. They could pay a recruitment agency an eye-watering average fee of £6,000 or they could try posting an ad on some of the UKs bewildering array of 500 different online job boards, only to be inundated with CVs, many unsuitable, to wade through. Some 86% of British businesses find it hard to recruit the right people for the job, while also seeking to reduce recruitment costs, according to a survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Thats where MaxAd come in. Their pioneering approach combines the benefits of recruiting via the internet with specialist agency knowledge so employers get the right people at the right price. Weve revolutionised recruitment by offering employers an easy, effective one-stop shop for just £795 plus VAT, said MaxAd founder Matthew Fernandez, who has 12 years experience in the recruitment industry. We write their ad, tailored for content, candidate appeal and maximum internet impact, then we upload it to the right online job boards selected by our software analytics. When applications come in we sift them then send a short-list to the client, who handles interviews, and we offer extra help such as advice on negotiating salary. MaxAd is fit for purpose for todays employers, saving them time, money and hassle. Weve filled roles from product manager to sales execs, marketing managers to technical staff. Weve even been asked to find a pest consultant for a UK company expanding into Germany. MaxAds clients are delighted. Its absolutely brilliant, said Niki Akhurst, Managing Director of gift experience company Smartbox. Exactly the recruitment service our members and SEMs in general will benefit from, said Nicholas Hoath from South-East Chamber of Commerce. Matthew Fernandez is offering companies a challenge: The next time you are recruiting, run MaxAd alongside your current method, especially agency suppliers, and you will be amazed at the results! Notes for Editors: MaxAds muscle comes from a clever combination of leading-edge technology and software analytics, ultra-effect processes and 12 years recruitment experience in using online job boards. SMEs see an average saving of £4,200. Employers save up to 90% on agency fees and 60% on job board charges. MaxAd, based in Petersfield, Hampshire, was founded in December 2009. Contact: Matthew Fernandez on 01730 231777 or 07768 235715 matt@MaxAd.couk www.MaxAd.co.uk Navigate Contact: Nick Keith, 01730 235669. nick.keith@navigate-design.com http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/Public_pay_fears/2660 Public sector jobseekers are worried that election year 2010 will lead to wage freezes and job cuts. This is according to research commissioned by totaljobs.com in which three-quarters of 8,000 public sector jobseekers questioned expected to see pay frozen or reduced as a result of the election and many expect their jobs to become more insecure. A staggering 38 per cent of public sector workers remain undecided as to how they will vote, making them a target for the parties. John Salt, website director at totaljobs.com, said: Traditionally, the public sector has been counter-cyclical, investing during recessions in an attempt to pull the rest of the economy up. That is what we have seen recently with the public sector continuing to recruit and raise wages. But with public finances stretched as never before, we are starting to see signs of the public sector contraction we predicted at the end of last year. http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/On_the_up/2659 With increasingly positive news from the construction sector a specialist recruiter has reported a significant upturn in demand for skilled construction workers. Weve seen some very positive news in the press recently says Director Paul Payne. Taylor Wimpey, for example has recently announced a 28 per cent rise in orders. This suggests that the increase in house prices last year is beginning to have an effect on construction and encouraging new building which has to be good news not just for construction but for the economy as a whole. The company is reporting an increase in demand for site managers, finishing managers and project managers as well as various trades and labour staff. He added: We are also seeing a general increase in demand for building services and maintenance staff across both the commercial and residential sectors. http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/Features/Be_prepared/2658 One thing is certain about the October 2011 implementation of the Agency Workers Directive and that is the uncertainty of exactly what its final manifestation will be. Recruiters are quite rightly keeping fairly reticent about the legislation which was laid before Parliament in January and leaving it up to the support services and trade associations to do the talking. With such an upheaval of the structure of recruiting temp workers, the new administration businesses will need to get to grips with will undoubtedly be a headache for many. The logistics involved in keeping compliance with the directive will be huge and the support services will no doubt be working on clever ways to keep you within the law as we speak. The bare bones of the directive will give an estimated 1.3 million UK workers rights equivalent to their full-time colleagues following 12 weeks work. The framework for the directive in its current form was agreed by the TUC and CBI in 2008 and following two consultations the industry proper, including the REC and APSCo, gave their vital input. Legislation backdrop The Government claims it has consulted extensively with what it calls stakeholders, holding two separate policy consultations in 2009. In its own words BIS says: Over 300 organisations took part, representing all interests trade unions, employment agencies, business groups and employers of all sizes from both the private and public sectors. Consultation events were also held across the country, enabling the Government to hear first-hand about the issues at stake. In the very simplest of terms BIS adds: The rights on pay will apply not just to the basic hourly rate, but to all pay for work done, including bonuses that are directly related to the performance of the agency worker personally. But, as set out in the Directive, they will not extend to some of the wider benefits that permanent staff can enjoy in the context of their longer-term relationship with their employer, such as occupational pensions and sick pay. Within the recent updates BIS has strengthened the caveat for those agencies seeking to avoid giving their temps similar rights. Any loopholes, in other words, will have been closely regarded and BIS continues: The Regulations include provisions that will deal with repeat assignments designed to prevent workers acquiring equal treatment rights. Agencies and hirers will face the prospect of having to pay out up to £5,000 to the worker if an Employment Tribunal finds that these specific anti-avoidance rules have been breached. And to provide a greater deterrent in low-value cases BIS has introduced a general minimum award of two weeks pay, subject only to Tribunal discretion if that level of award does not seem reasonable. Meanwhile other benefits that agency workers will gain from the first day of their assignment include: information about internal vacancies to give them the same opportunity as other workers to find permanent employment; and equal access to on-site facilities such as child care and transport services. Trade conditions It seems that all contract workers have been lumped together in one bucket, says Parasol chief executive Rob Crossland. You can kind of see it from a government point of view that they have tried to prevent people getting out of compliance by not differentiating between different sectors, but it really is not helpful for the UK economy. It fundamentally changes the way that contractors and freelancers are going to be engaged and how the UK can use flexible working. Rob explains that while there is an obvious need to protect the vulnerable there are huge amounts of workers that are happy to work in the manner they are accustomed to at present. Crossland is also keen to point out the change in administration from the clients as well, suggesting they will have to get used to being approached for detailed information regarding their business. They will be asked by recruiters if they already have someone in that role and be asked what rates they get, he continues. The solution as far as it goes, because it is too late to get the directive halted, is for the industry and all sectors as a whole to get behind sensible solutions and to not go off and do their own thing. We should all get together to work out what is the right solution and then the market can then at least try and remain competitive and flexible to the extent that the law will allow us to do so. And people like us (Parasol) can work together with agencies, I dont want to be out there on my own delivering my own IP. I could be the leader for six weeks and then someone else will come out with an idea and we will have a mass of solutions; it will be too messy for anyone to get any surety. Agencies and end clients wont know whats right and whats wrong. Admin concerns One recruiter voicing concerns is Hays, and Paul Venables the group finance director, spoke soon after the legislation was laid before Parliament. As with any seemingly rubber-stamped policy, the air of inevitability regarding the AWD has of course meant many are seeing any positives where they exist as well as all the pitfalls. And of course the subject of a delayed implementation was high on the agenda. Venables says: We have worked closely with the REC and CBI over the last year to support their efforts to felay the implementation of the AWD and we welcome the confirmation that these changes will not be brought into effect until October 2011. However, there remain concerns about the increased administrative costs that these new regulations will place on UK businesses and it is important that clear and practical guidance is provided well ahead of the implementation date. We will continue to support our clients through the next stages prior to implementation. Another voice raising the concerns of over-burdening the recruiter with statutory administration is Alan Rommel, managing director of IT recruitment agency Parity Resources, who says: Thankfully there is still quite a long time to go until implementation and that it is not being shoehorned in too quickly. We have got 18 months to sort out its practical implications and I hope that in that time there will be more clarification on how it will impact the market which hadnt been affected by the issues the directive was designed to help. There is of course the exclusion of limited company contractors within the legislation but care needs to be taken that the vulnerable workers arent forced into inappropriate services just to avoid the employers obligations. Alan adds that the AWD, along with the many other administration requirements, including CRB checks and right to work documentation are increasing the workload, and therefore the expense, to recruiters. He concludes: The clients dont seem to realise there is a cost to all of this and this affects the margins. Limited scope Adrian Marlowe, chairman of the Association of Recruitment Consultancies, has also picked up on the limited company issue. He believes the picture is very different than the reported exclusion and adds: The Government response document makes it clear that the idea of exclusion for those operating through limited companies was rejected and this is reflected in the regulations. Instead the government provides that an individual is not an agency worker if that individual runs his/her own business and the contract provides that the hirer is a customer of that business. He believes the real test of whether an individual actually has a business rather than simply operating through a limited company is designed to winkle out sham arrangements and adds: Government policy is stated to be that this will be a matter for Employment Tribunals to assess. What is very clear is the use of a limited company as an operational vehicle for an agency worker is not in itself a silver bullet. While guidance in this area is expected, the fact of the matter is that an agency will have to check whether a contractor operating through a limited company is actually in business. This will add yet another layer of administration to agencies as well as uncertainty, and for the government represents a lost opportunity for clarification. http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/Market Place/Tongue_tied/2657 In the US, Senator Harry Reid's recent remark about President Obama being electable partly because he had no Negro dialect caused a furore. Here in Britain, despite Government attempts to foster social mobility accent and dialect remain obstacles to well-paid jobs. But recruiters should beware of making assumptions about the skills and aptitudes of candidates from their accents. Admittedly, there has been a shift in attitudes. Regional accents are no longer generally frowned upon as they once were by employers of managerial and professional staff. Although a very strong accent which is difficult for others to understand will obviously be a disadvantage, so may an excessively posh accent for some jobs although not at the top end of the market. Race and region Some accents stereotypically fit with certain kinds of job. For example in practice a Glaswegian accent such as Sir Alex Ferguson's might well be an advantage for a candidate applying for a job thought to require a tough, no-nonsense management style, but not for one thought to require silky diplomatic skills, regardless of the actual attributes of the candidate. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the most acute obstacles to well-paid jobs are faced by those from minority backgrounds where the first language spoken at home is not Western European and those younger people whose speech is excessively street. It appears that an ability to switch from one accent or dialect to another, attributed to President Obama, is indeed an advantage. I am reminded of my father, who was a grain merchant dealing with farmers on both sides of the Scottish border. As a child listening to him speaking on the telephone, I could always tell which side of the border he was doing business with, as his accent subtly changed. There is currently no UK legislation specifically outlawing discrimination on grounds of accent, dialect or social class. Although there were rumblings about social class from the Labour Government in a White Paper (New Opportunities) published in January 2009, nothing has come of it so far. It is perhaps unlikely that a Conservative Government would consider introducing any such legislation unless forced to do so by the EU. However, existing discrimination legislation has been and will continue to be used by candidates and employees who feel that they have been unfairly treated as a result of their accent or use of language. Pride and prejudice The most common tack is based on race discrimination, such as in Meshram v Talk Talk [2007], where an Indian-born call centre trainer who had spoken English since the age of two was replaced in his position on the grounds of his accent not being sufficiently English. Mr Meshram succeeded in his race discrimination claim in the Employment Tribunal. He was quoted by The Times as saying: I know I speak with an accent but my job was to give technical advice, not to give expertise on how to communicate. It was an embarrassing and humiliating experience. Mr Meshrams comment gets to the nub of the issue. Under the current legislation, claims of this kind will usually be brought as indirect discrimination claims. This gives employers and recruiters the opportunity to argue that any indirect discrimination which did occur was justified as a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. If Mr Meshrams job had been to train Indian call centre workers on how to communicate with British customers, the result of his case may well have been different, as the employer would have had a reasonable argument that a clear English accent was a requirement for the job, as a proportionate means of achieving the legitimate aim of improving the ability of the call centre workers to carry out their jobs. In England, English regional accents will not usually form the basis of a race discrimination claim, assuming that the comparison is with the way in which a well-spoken English person would speak. However, Scots, Irish and Welsh accents could form the basis for such a claim. In view of the risk of discrimination on grounds of accent or dialect, candidates would be best advised to moderate their use of language as best they can to the circumstances of the job. And we may yet see age discrimination claims based on the use of language which is down wid da kids to which a succinct defence might read: Yeah right. Whateva. LOL ; ) . Rob McCreath is partner at Archon Solicitors LLP http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/Analysis/Service_lift/2656 Traditionally in a recession one of the first things to happen is that companies cut back on permanent recruitment in an effort to cut costs and this has certainly been the case this time around. However the exception to the rule has been at our right4staff branch in Grimsby where our senior permanent consultant Carol Smith has been delivering record levels of placements in the past year for a number of local companies. Here are the client and candidate perspectives of how to achieve growth through excellent communication and service. Service is key Carol believes that her secret is quite simply good service which she believes is increasingly essential especially in the current market where there is more competition for fewer opportunities. None of it is rocket science my clients and candidates know that I listen to them so I can be sure to meet their expectations. I am also a great believer in being honest and I think that people appreciate that, she explains The Candidate One possible explanation might be the low levels of service that are delivered by some other recruitment companies. Jim Hughes, who visited Carol at the Grimsby branch had been looking for his next appointment for two months while on garden leave and had tried a number of other recruitment agencies. In a letter to Carol he explained: As you are aware I have previous managerial experience of the recruitment sector and have also spent the last two months in the labour market looking for my next role. This has given me an excellent insight into the quality and professionalism of numerous agencies on a national level. For the most part my worst fears were confirmed, no agencies responded to my emails or returned my calls, some agencies informed me the posted vacancies were filled or incorrectly advertised regarding salaries etc, all in all a very, very stressful process. One well known agency even incorrectly informed me I had been successful in a position for which I then travelled to London for a 10:30am meeting for what was actually a second interview! Carol, you responded to my emails and returned my calls. You insisted we meet for an informal chat first so you could be sure I was right for your client and vice-versa. Your knowledge, professionalism and above all customer service to myself and your client has been second to none in this industry. Having now been in this new role for three months now I would also like to commend you on your after service, not of just the company but of myself as well as I have received two courtesy calls from you. Thank you very much Carol. Although we sometimes hear that other recruitment agencies are less than professional it does seem that Jim had a particularly bad experience. However Carol remains modest and says only that it is her job to find the right jobs for candidates and the right candidates for jobs and that is how she does it. The Client Debra Burnett, HR Manager at Headland Foods is one of Carols clients and says: Businesses like ours are looking for a recruitment agency that delivers first class service and who pride themselves on getting it right first time. Currently, there are many people looking for work but each time I task Carol with a vacancy to fill she puts forward a shortlist of potential candidates who have the relevant experience, the desire and passion to want to succeed and who fit into the criteria relevant to the post. As a result Carol has continually successfully filled many positions here at Headland Foods, even in the recent recession and I truly believe this is down to the excellent service of which she provides. Looking ahead Going into 2010 Carol and the right4staff team are also confident that the market for permanent jobs is continuing to improve. We are definitely seeing an upturn even in these few weeks since Christmas with more jobs being registered across a number of different industries and generally companies feeling more positive. Its like they believe the worst is over, she concludes. Richard Ansell is regional manager for right4staff in the North East http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php//Be_prepared/2655 One thing is certain about the October 2011 implementation of the Agency Workers Directive and that is the uncertainty of exactly what its final manifestation will be. Recruiters are quite rightly keeping fairly reticent about the legislation which was laid before Parliament in January and leaving it up to the support services and trade associations to do the talking. With such an upheaval of the structure of recruiting temp workers, the new administration businesses will need to get to grips with will undoubtedly be a headache for many. The logistics involved in keeping compliance with the directive will be huge and the support services will no doubt be working on clever ways to keep you within the law as we speak. The bare bones of the directive will give an estimated 1.3 million UK workers rights equivalent to their full-time colleagues following 12 weeks work. The framework for the directive in its current form was agreed by the TUC and CBI in 2008 and following two consultations the industry proper, including the REC and APSCo, gave their vital input. Legislation backdrop The Government claims it has consulted extensively with what it calls stakeholders, holding two separate policy consultations in 2009. In its own words BIS says: Over 300 organisations took part, representing all interests trade unions, employment agencies, business groups and employers of all sizes from both the private and public sectors. Consultation events were also held across the country, enabling the Government to hear first-hand about the issues at stake. In the very simplest of terms BIS adds: The rights on pay will apply not just to the basic hourly rate, but to all pay for work done, including bonuses that are directly related to the performance of the agency worker personally. But, as set out in the Directive, they will not extend to some of the wider benefits that permanent staff can enjoy in the context of their longer-term relationship with their employer, such as occupational pensions and sick pay. Within the recent updates BIS has strengthened the caveat for those agencies seeking to avoid giving their temps similar rights. Any loopholes, in other words, will have been closely regarded and BIS continues: The Regulations include provisions that will deal with repeat assignments designed to prevent workers acquiring equal treatment rights. Agencies and hirers will face the prospect of having to pay out up to £5,000 to the worker if an Employment Tribunal finds that these specific anti-avoidance rules have been breached. And to provide a greater deterrent in low-value cases BIS has introduced a general minimum award of two weeks pay, subject only to Tribunal discretion if that level of award does not seem reasonable. Meanwhile other benefits that agency workers will gain from the first day of their assignment include: information about internal vacancies to give them the same opportunity as other workers to find permanent employment; and equal access to on-site facilities such as child care and transport services. Trade conditions It seems that all contract workers have been lumped together in one bucket, says Parasol chief executive Rob Crossland. You can kind of see it from a government point of view that they have tried to prevent people getting out of compliance by not differentiating between different sectors, but it really is not helpful for the UK economy. It fundamentally changes the way that contractors and freelancers are going to be engaged and how the UK can use flexible working. Rob explains that while there is an obvious need to protect the vulnerable there are huge amounts of workers that are happy to work in the manner they are accustomed to at present. Crossland is also keen to point out the change in administration from the clients as well, suggesting they will have to get used to being approached for detailed information regarding their business. They will be asked by recruiters if they already have someone in that role and be asked what rates they get, he continues. The solution as far as it goes, because it is too late to get the directive halted, is for the industry and all sectors as a whole to get behind sensible solutions and to not go off and do their own thing. We should all get together to work out what is the right solution and then the market can then at least try and remain competitive and flexible to the extent that the law will allow us to do so. And people like us (Parasol) can work together with agencies, I dont want to be out there on my own delivering my own IP. I could be the leader for six weeks and then someone else will come out with an idea and we will have a mass of solutions; it will be too messy for anyone to get any surety. Agencies and end clients wont know whats right and whats wrong. Admin concerns One recruiter voicing concerns is Hays, and Paul Venables the group finance director, spoke soon after the legislation was laid before Parliament. As with any seemingly rubber-stamped policy, the air of inevitability regarding the AWD has of course meant many are seeing any positives where they exist as well as all the pitfalls. And of course the subject of a delayed implementation was high on the agenda. Venables says: We have worked closely with the REC and CBI over the last year to support their efforts to felay the implementation of the AWD and we welcome the confirmation that these changes will not be brought into effect until October 2011. However, there remain concerns about the increased administrative costs that these new regulations will place on UK businesses and it is important that clear and practical guidance is provided well ahead of the implementation date. We will continue to support our clients through the next stages prior to implementation. Another voice raising the concerns of over-burdening the recruiter with statutory administration is Alan Rommel, managing director of IT recruitment agency Parity Resources, who says: Thankfully there is still quite a long time to go until implementation and that it is not being shoehorned in too quickly. We have got 18 months to sort out its practical implications and I hope that in that time there will be more clarification on how it will impact the market which hadnt been affected by the issues the directive was designed to help. There is of course the exclusion of limited company contractors within the legislation but care needs to be taken that the vulnerable workers arent forced into inappropriate services just to avoid the employers obligations. Alan adds that the AWD, along with the many other administration requirements, including CRB checks and right to work documentation are increasing the workload, and therefore the expense, to recruiters. He concludes: The clients dont seem to realise there is a cost to all of this and this affects the margins. Limited scope Adrian Marlowe, chairman of the Association of Recruitment Consultancies, has also picked up on the limited company issue. He believes the picture is very different than the reported exclusion and adds: The Government response document makes it clear that the idea of exclusion for those operating through limited companies was rejected and this is reflected in the regulations. Instead the government provides that an individual is not an agency worker if that individual runs his/her own business and the contract provides that the hirer is a customer of that business. He believes the real test of whether an individual actually has a business rather than simply operating through a limited company is designed to winkle out sham arrangements and adds: Government policy is stated to be that this will be a matter for Employment Tribunals to assess. What is very clear is the use of a limited company as an operational vehicle for an agency worker is not in itself a silver bullet. While guidance in this area is expected, the fact of the matter is that an agency will have to check whether a contractor operating through a limited company is actually in business. This will add yet another layer of administration to agencies as well as uncertainty, and for the government represents a lost opportunity for clarification. http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/French_fancy_upturn/2654 Smaller French temp recruiters are fighting back and could increase share prices rapidly economists have predicted. France, which has the fourth largest temps market after the USA, UK and Japan, saw massive temp cuts in the previous two years as redundancy laws meant businesses were reluctant to dismiss perms. Reuters economic writers have predicted a sluggish recovery of the temporary work market in France this year could be an opportunity for small-cap staffing firms to gain market share from larger global rivals and boost their share prices. France is the biggest sales base for market leaders Adecco and Randstad while small recruiters make up just 20 per cent of total billing. However, with large companies rehiring, albeit cautiously, there is a good opportunity to reclaim some of the market share back. Smaller temp companies retained staff better during the downturn than their larger rivals, which places them at a comparative advantage. "In periods of economic transition like we have at the moment, between two cycles, it's certain that there is a premium to the most nimble players," said Natixis analyst Olivier Lebrun, adding the majors should catch up in the second half. http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/Dont_fight_law/2653 The Employment Agency Standards (EAS) inspectorate has banned four agency directors for up to ten years from running a recruitment business. The four who ran a HGV recruitment company were found to have been in breach of the law on five counts including failing to keep records and supplying drivers who were not holders of the required licences. The REC has urged the industry to stay within the law and has used the ruling to promote its business ethics programmes. Fola Tayo, the RECs head of professional standards said: Legitimate, law abiding agencies will applaud the fact that the minority of providers who routinely flout regulations are being held to account. Overall, we are making huge progress in raising the bar on professional standards through specific initiatives such as REC Audited and the Serious about Standards campaign. This case is useful reminder of the need for recruitment agencies to be fully aware of their regulatory obligations and to strive for the highest levels of compliance. http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/Debate_opened/2652 The licensing debate for the staffing sector hots up in the summer when APSCo hosts a conference across the UK. The venues being used for the June 24 debate will be the CBI Centre Point in London with live webinar links running in central locations in Edinburgh, Manchester and Birmingham. The speakers involved will be the relevant ministers at the time, both Conservative and Labour, a CBI representative and an executive member from the TUC and the GLA. 1st option and RBS will be sponsoring the event and Recruitment Consultant Magazine is proud to be media sponsor. APSCo chief executive Ann Swain, pictured, added: During the consultation on the Conduct Regulations last year, the issue of licensing for the recruitment sector was raised. Those of us who are old enough to remember the previous licensing system, know that de-regulation was a good thing! However, maybe now is the time to look again at this to see whether a meaningful licensing system would add value. Its for the recruitment industry themselves to decide whether it wants to push this agenda. The debate will be open to APSCo and non-APSCo members alike. For some current views on the licensing debate check out the Licence to Bill feature on the www.rec-con.co.uk website (left). http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/Randstad_growth/2651 Recruitment giant Randstad has recorded its first US growth for three years for Q4 2009. The Dutch staffing company said yesterday it made a net profit of euro46 million ($62.5 million), against a loss of euro233 million a year earlier. "Our markets have stabilized and classical recovery patterns are visible," said chief executive Ben Noteboom in a statement. "If recovery continues we should do very well." The company said this down to the early stages of economic recovery when companies often turn to temporary employees rather than adding permanent staff. http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/Conference_call/2650 For those involved in the recruitment industry wanting to prepare for the future of the staffing sector, then the IT and Technology Recruitment Conference 2010 is a must. Tackling the hot subjects of disintermediation, the burgeoning trend of client-owned candidate databases, social networking as a business tool and a break-down of research into the long-term future of the industry will be a panel of top experts. Taking place at 2pm on March 11th at the Strand Palace Hotel in the heart of London and then moving on to Manchester`s Deansgate Hilton on April 7, also starting at 2pm, the conference`s are your opportunity to get to the heart of the issues affecting your business - both now and in the future. Raymond Pennie, commercial director for recruitment software specialists Kamanchi will be joined on the panel by Jobsite`s marketing guru Felix Wetzel and Abtech and RCEuro founder Alan Whitford. For a full conference programme visit www.rec-con.co.uk/conference or for further booking details call Gary King on 0845 094 8022 or email conference@rec-con.co.uk. Cost per delegate is £110 with a 10 per cent discount for APSCo, REC and TEAM members. We look forward to seeing you there, looking forward to the industry`s future. http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/Industry_cautious/2649 Despite a drop in unemployment the latest ONS job figures have concerned the recruitment industry. The figures released today show a 3,000 drop in unemployed during the last quarter of 2009 to 2.46m, however, a rise of 23,000 benefit claimants was also recorded. Dr John Philpott, chief economic adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development was fairly bleak in his response to the figures and said: The latest unemployment figures show that conditions in the UK labour market remain extremely weak and indicate that talk of the jobless rate having already peaked is premature. "Moreover, separate analysis by the ONS showing that 2.8 million UK workers are underemployed shows that the headline jobless figures provide only a partial account of the full impact of the recession on the workforce. He was also fairly despondent regarding the rise in benefit claimants adding: Most disappointing is the 23,000 January increase in the number of people unemployed and claiming jobseekers allowance, which comes after a short period in which the claimant count has been falling. Januarys rise in the count is explained by a drop in the number of people flowing out of unemployment rather than an increase in fresh benefit claims, which suggests that recruitment activity weakened at the start of the year. Kevin Green, chief executive of the REC added: "This is good news and supports the feedback weve had from members who have reported an increase in recruitment activity over recent months. Improving employer confidence is resulting in a more positive outlook on hiring intentions over the coming year, but the UK jobs market remains fragile. There are real concerns that the squeeze on public expenditure will counteract some of these positive trends, particularly in regions that are heavily dependent on public sector jobs. Mr Green then countered the TUC argument that the UK jobs market looks "deceptively healthy" because of an increase in temporary and part-time work, and he added: "There is nothing 'deceptively healthy' about the fact that temporary work provides an important bridge back into employment and helps to develop the skills, experience and confidence to access permanent job opportunities.. Flexible working options provide real benefits for job-seekers as well as for employers, they must be recognised not stigmatised. With regards to part-time jobs, it is true that some employers have reduced hours rather than make redundancies In these cases, employers will increase the hours of existing staff before they recruit new staff which is another reason that the road back to full employment will be long and tortuous." http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/Hat-trick_of_wins/2648 eploy® has kicked off the New Year with a trio of new contract wins in the agency sector. Recruiters Care@, Straco and Morgan Jones have all selected eploy®s web-based recruitment software solution to support, and further enhance the services they provide to their clients and candidates. According to Paul Burgess, the Managing Director of eploy®, the last 12-18 months have seen more and more agencies like Care@, Straco and Morgan Jones choose online recruitment solutions in preference to traditional client server systems. He explains; The current economic climate has forced many recruitment agencies to evaluate their business and find ways in which they can reduce costs yet still provide innovative added value services for their clients. Reviewing technologies has been a fundamental part of this strategic process, confirmed Paul. They want a system that will help strengthen client communications and promote transparency; one that will bring all the parties involved in the recruitment process together by allowing them to perform their individual tasks on their part of the recruitment process. Only an online central recruitment system can provide the variety of niche web services needed to coordinate the different users involved in the recruitment process. Paul adds; The benefits of this are that clients are able to have full visibility and remote input into the recruitment process. Candidates too, can make use of online registration, apply for jobs and even have access to resources such as diaries to arrange their own interview times and track the status of their application. The growth in online also goes a lot further than this, says Paul. Agencies now understand the benefits of scalable online recruitment software that not only integrates with their own website, but with a multitude of advertising and candidate acquisition channels to automate a wide range of recruitment processes that have previously been either resource intensive or impossible to manage with traditional technology platforms. This also now extends to the need to have remote access to the central system, due to the advancements in mobile technology and the popularity of home working. Automated communications with mobile technologies via RSS feeds and SMS services for example, is another. Also popular is the ability for the system to integrate with other Web Services such as Job Boards, Social Networking Sites and CV Libraries so that users have the ability to post jobs out to the net instantly and have access to hundreds of thousands of CVs. Only true web browser based systems like eploy® can offer this flexibility and enable different web services to coordinate and make use of each others functionality. Above all, recruiters want their technology solutions to work hard on all levels, including as a business management tool. It is for these reasons and more, why more and more agencies are now choosing eploy®, Paul concluded. http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/Market_on_the_ropes/2647 More than a third of public sector employees are set to cut jobs in the coming year. The cutbacks will be in line with Government savings as it tries to pay back massive borrowing. The quarterly report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development said that the UK jobs market was still on the ropes despite its emergence from the recession. CIPD chief economic adviser John Philpott, pictured, said: "Despite the jobs market proving resilient in recent months, this represents a mere pause for breath with the number of redundancies easing in the private sector and spending cuts yet to be felt by large swathes of the public sector." "Unfortunately, there are more testing rounds ahead. Alongside the spectre of deep public spending cuts, the private sector will be dealing with ongoing concerns about productivity, wage costs and inflation. The survey quizzed more than 700 employers and found defence and public administration look set to be hit particularly hard. http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/Interim_win/2646 Provider of interim management solutions Interim Partners, has been awarded preferred supplier status by Buying Solutions, the national procurement partner for public services in the UK. This means the company will now play a key role in helping to source high calibre interim managers across a wide number of disciplines within the public sector. MD of Interim Partners Doug Baird said: This is a substantial step forward in the development of our business. Were delighted that the quality of our work and the value it delivers has been recognised by this accreditation. "This is a great opportunity for Interim Partners to expand our delivery of interims to the public sector. Interims are increasingly vital for the public sector as a cost-effective way of managing projects, vacant periods between senior staff replacement and delivering institutional change. http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/Cop_hotline_flooded/2645 A North Yorkshire Police recruitment hotline for 60 new jobs has gone into meltdown after more than 200,000 jobseekers called in. The line crashed during the first few hours when 20,000 callers inundated the Forces phone lines on Monday. Since then a new number was issued and more than 200,000 people have since called; the line is only open between 5pm-8pm. This is the equivalent of more than half the working adults in the county calling the line. According to the BBC the demand was so great that senior officers, including chief constable Grahame Maxwell, deputy chief constable Adam Briggs and assistant chief constable Sue Cross, decided to chip in and take some calls. Mr Briggs told the BBC: "We have had an incredible response to the recruitment campaign and it was nice to be able get involved and lend a hand. "I am very pleased to say that despite this massive number of calls there was no effect on the frontline services we provide." http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/Tax_clawback/2644 HMRC has won a High Court Ruling to clawback tax retrospectively from contractors lured into using offshore schemes. Thousands of contractors have been using the money-saving schemes to minimise their tax since the Managed Service Companies (MSC) legislation in 2007, which made it much harder for contractors to minimise their tax liabilities by using UK-based providers. HMRC is now in a position where it can introduce anti-avoidance measures that apply tax retrospectively. This means that any offshore scheme marketed as legitimate could be made retrospectively illegal, leaving contractors having to pay tax backdated for many years. Matthew Brown, Managing Director of Giant Group said: This ruling sends a clear signal that if tax arrangements are blatantly artificial, they can be taxed retrospectively. Even if a tax scheme exploits a loophole in current law the risks of using it are still very real. As a general rule, if a tax scheme sounds too good to be true, it probably is. He added: Numerous providers of tax services to contractors operate offshore. Contractors and recruiters need to be wary about dealing with these providers as the risk of retrospective measures from HMRC has significantly increased. He added there was a slim but improbable chance of assistance from the scheme providers: Contractors could try to persuade HMRC to collect outstanding tax from scheme promoters, but this may not be possible, in which case recruitment agencies could also be in the firing line. HMRC has already shown its willingness to include debt transfer provisions in anti-avoidance legislation, so in cases where it believes debts will be unrecoverable from contractors, recruiters could be targeted if schemes are deemed to be MSCs. http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/eploy_expansion/2643 As a result of securing several significant new recruitment software contracts in 2009, eploy® has expanded its web development and technical team with the appointment of three new members of staff this month. The new appointments include John Trimming who joins as a Senior Developer, Andrew Evans as Web Developer and Sundip Patel as Support Technician. Paul Burgess, Managing Director at eploy® says: The business case for adopting a true web browser based system as opposed to traditional client server systems or even those that claim to be internet based, is now stronger than ever. Consequently we enjoyed considerable success in 2009, particularly in the last few months following the release of our new customisable interface Project Embrace. By expanding the technical team we are now in a strong position to facilitate this growth, and can continue to innovate and develop new tools and applications for our system that can benefit the recruitment industry. In 2009, a handful of eploy®s new clients included Straco International, Care@ Recruitment, Morgan Jones, Expand Recruitment and Ardent Search & Selection. Many more significant clients are also expected to be announced shortly. http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/Market_fair/2642 Online recruitment activity fell by eight per cent in January as the seasonal slowdown took hold. According to the Monster UK Employment Index hospitality and tourism registered the largest decline while arts, entertainment, sports and leisure led all sectors and administration also showing an upward trend. The UK Index matched its January 2009 level and the overall EU Index was down by 12 per cent year-on-year. The growth in HR and office administration suggests further growth in the labour market can be expected. Despite a seasonal fall during January, the long term annual growth rate of the Index continues to improve, commented Julian Acquari, managing director at Monster UK and Ireland. There was encouraging growth for business support functions such as administration, organisation and HR, which point to more confidence in taking on workers to plan for growth. Whilst business conditions are likely to remain challenging for some time, it is encouraging to see some stabilization in long-term hiring trends. http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/Applicant_overload/2641 Businesses have seen a 130 per cent increase in applications in the past two years and receive an average of 120 CVs for each newly advertised vacancy according to a survey of 872 businesses. Shortlists have also doubled and candidates face a one-in-ten chance of passing the interview process. The student and employer matchmaking site, www.studentgems.com, conducted the study to highlight previous results that show experience is valued over qualifications. More than two-thirds of managing directors surveyed (67 per cent) claimed hobbies and personal achievements also helped to make a more successful CV. Sue Harrison, co-founder of studentgems.com said: With jobs being lost across the UK, passing the interview process is becoming much more challenging; the candidate really must wow the employer in order to stand out against other applicants. We encourage students at university and college to gain as much relevant experience as possible, which is one of the reasons we set up studentgems.com. Then, when the time comes for interviews, their CV is loaded with relevant evidence to show they are suitable for the position. Employers are taking great care in the interview process and ensuring they hire the right person for the job. http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/Quarter_to_quit/2640 Despite the expected upturn a quarter of Brits are planning to quit their jobs and start a more secure profession in 2010. Monster.co.uk believes the workers response to the recession is fears over job security. Additionally, a huge 46 per cent of Brits polled said that their career prospects for 2010 were very gloomy and that they were extremely worried, but had no plans to change jobs. Remarkably only 20 per cent of survey respondents said that they were feeling optimistic about their careers in 2010. http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/Grad_hard_times/2639 Competition for graduate roles is set to be tougher than ever in 2010 as more than half of graduates from 2009 join the hunt for jobs alongside the class of 2010. The Alexander Mann Solutions research has shown this increased competition seems to have hit 2009 and 2010 graduates confidence, leading to less targeted applications and a willingness to apply for positions outside of their preferred field. The Emerging Talent Index, found that of the students that graduated from university in 2009, just 24 percent have been working in a role that requires a degree since leaving university. More than half (53 percent) of the 2009 graduates surveyed are planning on applying for graduate positions this year. 63 percent of those set to graduate in 2010 are also applying for graduate roles (compared to 50% of recent graduates in 2009), leading to far greater competition for positions than in previous years. Clodagh Bannigan, head of client services at Alexander Mann Solutions, said: The lack of confidence in todays graduate marketplace means that jobseekers are increasingly likely to formally accept multiple offers and then make their final decision just before their joining date. This is, perhaps, understandable in the economic climate but it represents a real challenge to employers. Organisations must factor in this kind of behaviour and ensure their strategy will not be adversely affected by applicants dropping out late in the day. http://www.rec-con.co.uk/article.php/News/HBs_half-billion/2638 Hamilton Bradshaw is expected to hit £500m revenues from its portfolio after acquiring 90 per cent of medical recruiter DRC Group. Venture Structure Finance put up the £11.5m funding package for the BIMBO deal to assist DRC in its acquisition by James Caans private equity firm Hamilton Bradshaw. The deal was led by HB managing director Tristan Ramus and Venture structured an £11.5m receivables finance package, combined with a cashflow term loan. A Venture spokesman said: This combination was designed to refinance an existing facility, and was completed within four weeks, helping the BIMBO deal to go ahead with no delays. DRC Group is the third largest supplier of locum doctors in the UK and is on the National Medical Framework Agreement. It has also recently been awarded multi-year preferential contracts to supply nurses, non-medical and non-clinical staff to the NHS and has enjoyed nine successive quarters of growth. The deal sees Hamilton Bradshaw acquire 90 per cent of the DRC Group and includes the majority of departing founder Darren Card and finance director Riaz Dhanji's shareholdings. With DRC Group turnover currently exceeding £50m and 2010 revenue forecasts totalling over £80m, this deal will result in Hamilton Bradshaws 41 company portfolio surpassing annual revenues of £500m. James Caan, pictured, said: I am pleased that Venture Structured Finance was able to work so quickly to provide a suitable package. The funding line will allow for both instant and ongoing financial support. We are excited and energised about the prospect of working with DRC, which has maintained an excellent reputation in the market and feel that, working closely with DRC's management team, we can help position the firm for substantial, mid-term growth.