August « 2009 « Go To Recruitment Employment Blog

27/08/2009

16.6% of uk homes are not working

Official statistics now show that one in six UK homes (with at least one person of working age) now has no work. These shocking figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show the highest number households without work since 1999 as the total hits 3.3 million. In the wider economy it does seem that we are starting to see some ‘green shoots’ and positive news starting to come through, but we should not forget that many families are still suffering. The recruitment industry recognises this and the importance of recruitment agencies can in getting people back out to work. Indeed the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) believes that the recruitment agencies and the recruitment industry have a key role in fighting the rising tide of unemployment.

A number of politicians have spoken out following the ONS figures and a action has been promised. A roundtable discussion involving the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and the shadow secretary of state for work and pensions, Theresa May, organised by Policy Exchange, a right of centre think-tank, starts today.

Filed under: recruitment agencies — admin @ 13:45

18/08/2009

Good news with city jobs

The momentum of City Jobs seems to have continued into July with figures from Morgan McKinley showing that even though there was a 7% drop in the number of new vacancies compared to June’s figure, this still represented the second highest month for 2009 and if you take into account seasonal factors, then this represents good momentum with City Jobs.

Morgan McKinley also found that there were still 60% less city jobs than there was last year in July. However the improving market has meant there is a 9% increase in the number of individuals looking for work. Average City salary is £53,223 which is an increase of 6% on June’s figure.

Andrew Evans, managing director of Morgan Mckinley’s financial services said that although the market is still weak compared to 2008, hiring is now occurring across most areas within the City’s financial services, particularly at the manager level and above.

These positive signals seem to show that the City is finally looking at ways to start recruiting again and hopefully this small amount of momentum gathers pace by the end of the year.

Filed under: city jobs — admin @ 18:41

04/08/2009

Agency workers are suffering

A report commissioned by the TUC showed that the agency workers view their level of rights and treatment worst than those who have permanent contracts.

2,700 agency workers responded to the survey and out of those, the feedback was;

28% said there were no overtime payments
33% said permanent staff was paid more
46% said they had fewer holidays than permanent staff
75% said they were entitled to less redundancy
70% said they were entitled to less maternity pay.

This survey shows agency workers can be exploited by employers and that due to a lack of employment rights agency workers can be treated badly. However this survey was based on opinions rather than factual and so could be very misleading when basing policies on.

Kevin Green, the REC’s chief executive said that the problem is that if this forces new EU regulations it could have a damaging affect on supplying agency staff. Temporary staff is by definition different to permanent employment and there are huge practical issues linked to establishing equal treatment in the UK, especially where there are no formal pay scales to refer to.

The last thing this country needs is to make the cost of agency workers higher and making it more difficult to use agency staff, especially in this current climate when in a recession temporary staff are essential to adapting to the economy and focusing on possible growth areas.

In light of the new VAT legislation that came into force form the 1st of April 2009, which meant that all agency staff had to be charged VAT on the full amount of their service. Another cost adding exercise in legislation would be extremely detrimental.

If you are looking for advice in this area and what kind of temporary work is out there, then it is good to get in touch with recruitment agencies in your sector.

Filed under: agency workers,recruitment agencies — admin @ 14:51