Survey shows barriers to recruitment

Posted on by
Reply

A new survey of 94 employers carried out by Xpert HR shows that 95% of employers facing problems in their recruitment processes over the last year named the low quality of candidates applying for the jobs as a barrier to recruitment.

Employers surveyed highlighted other problem areas including a lack of applicants, candidates withdrawing their acceptance of job offers and others not turning up for interviews.

According to the data gathered, 61% of employers listed a lack of applicants as a barrier to hiring, while 42% faced problems due to receiving too many applications for jobs. Overall, 41% of the organisations had experienced barriers to recruitment once the post had been advertised.

Rachel Suff, who wrote the XpertHR report, commented: “Just because unemployment is at its highest point for many years does not mean that employers can always recruit appropriately skilled individuals. The increase in unemployment often means an increase in the number of applications for vacancies, which can make it difficult to sort the wheat from the chaff.”

In addition, the survey found that the cost of filling vacancies fell for many employers over the period, with 41% of those surveyed reporting that their cost to hire had decreased, while 23% said that said their spend had increased.

For more information on employment law and your business, please call Lawson-West on 0116 212 1000.

 

Government to revisit ‘hire and fire’ employment plans

Posted on by
1

The government is likely to revisit plans to make it easier for companies to “hire and fire” employees in this month’s budget, although the plans face strong opposition from the Liberal democrats, notably Nick Clegg and Business Secretary Vince Cable.

Conservative MPs are pressing the Chancellor to relax employment protection laws as part of a “go for growth” package to be included in his Budget on 21 March. Last autumn saw a similar row following a review ordered by Downing Street when venture capitalist Adrian Beecroft proposed that all companies should be able to get rid of poorly performing staff without the risk of being taken to an employment tribunal.

Vince Cable and Norman Lamb, the new Business Minister, are said to be about to issue a “call for evidence” on a watered down version of the Beecroft report limiting the “fire at will” proposal to those employed by firms with less than 10 staff. The ministers will stop short of a full-scale consultation exercise to make clear that they have no intention of turning the proposal into law. Instead, they favour an informal, conciliatory approach to resolving disputes between employers and staff who are accused of poor performance.

A source is reported as saying: “In many cases, employers are terrified they are stuck in a difficult situation with an employee and can’t do anything about it. We have to tackle that perception, which is quite often myth. That doesn’t mean stripping away employment rights. There are other ways of tackling the problem that don’t involve taking away the rights of workers.”

One such option would be for a “protected conversation” regarding leaving or retiring between bosses and workers, which could not be used in evidence at any subsequent tribunal hearing. Another option could be a process which sees firms draw up a letter to inform an employee they could be dismissed and offering a small severance payment. The worker would be able accept or reject the offer – so their rights would not be compromised.

Tory MPs are however, hoping for more extreme action. Former Defence Secretary Liam Fox said: “It is too difficult to hire and fire, and too expensive to take on new employees. It is intellectually unsustainable to believe that workplace rights should remain untouchable while output and employment are clearly cyclical.”

 

Increase in compensation awards for employment legislation

Posted on by
1

From 1st February, the Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2011 comes into force, and increases the limits payable on certain employment tribunal awards and other employment legislation.

Firstly, the maximum compensation for unfair dismissal will rise from £68,400 to £72,300. Furthermore, when calculating a statutory redundancy payment, the maximum amount of a week’s pay will increase from £400 to £430. This increase also applies to the basic and additional awards for unfair dismissal.

The rise in the limits only applies to events giving rise to awards or payments of this kind that happen on or after 1st February 2012.

For information on unfair dismissal or redundancy, please contact Lawson West Solicitors Limited on 0116 212 1000.

Lawson West logo

MORE SMALL BUSINESSES LOSE STAFF THAN RECRUIT

Posted on by
Reply

Federation of Small Business research shows that the number of small businesses shedding staff compared to those hiring has increased over the last quarter.

Their quarterly “Voice of small business” survey, produced by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), found that 5.8% more FSB members planned to lay off employees than were looking to recruit new staff over the coming quarter. This compares to a small tendency towards hiring three months ago.

Managing Economist at the CEBR, Charles Davis, said: “Whereas the private sector overall has been creating jobs, small firms appear to have been shedding staff. At a time when the Government is also cutting back employment, this raises worries about a significant increase in unemployment, which has already been rising.”

The survey also showed that the overall level of confidence among small businesses fell from a 0.3% in the second quarter to minus 9.3%, the second lowest figure recorded since the index started in January 2010.

The FSB is now calling for the Government to bring in measures such as a national insurance contributions holiday for small firms aimed at helping with rising costs and a targeted cut in VAT, designed to encourage consumer spending.

Call to employ local people & improve education system

Posted on by
Reply

Outgoing British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) director-general David Frost urged the government to help businesses employ local people rather than migrant workers by equipping them with the right skills to do the job.

As he left his post at the beginning of September, Mr Frost said that this was one of six measures the country needed to help the economy recover. Furthermore, he described migrant labour as one of the most dramatic changes he had witnessed in his time at the BCC.

Mr Frost said: “Overwhelmingly, business has adopted migrant workers for the simple reason that they are often better educated and have a stronger work ethic than local people. It is not about paying lower wages. If the Government is serious about ‘British jobs for British workers’, then not only do they have to improve the education system, but also radically change the welfare system so it never pays not to work.”

Mr Frost also said we needed a “high-class education system” to prevent young people from leaving school with few or no qualifications, and to address the current situation – in which billions of pounds are being spent providing young people with basic employability skills to try and integrate them into work, a few years after they leave school.

For information on any aspect of employment law, please contact Lawson-West on 0116 212 1000.

Include small businesses in flexible working proposals, says CIPD

Posted on by
Reply

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has warned that the exclusion of small businesses from the proposed extension of the right to refuse flexible working could create a ‘two-tier labour market.’

The comments came about as part of the CIPD’s response to the government consultation on flexible working, which closed this week. The organisation also suggested that excluding any sized business from employment regulation could constitute a “perverse disincentive” for small companies to expand.

Mike Emmott, of the CIPD, said that although extending the right to request flexible working to all employees was “long overdue”, caution should be adopted regarding exempting some businesses from the Regulations.

The TUC further warned that because the proposal to extend the right to request flexible working to all employees would remove the statutory process for considering requests and replace it with a requirement to consider all those that were “reasonable”, it would ultimately be easier for employers to say no to staff putting in such requests.

A number of business groups have also criticised the proposals, recognising that although flexible working is beneficial, additional legislation could result in a “significant administrative and financial burden” on employers.

Latest data shows trend to part time working

Posted on by
Reply

The latest labour market data from the Office for National Statistics indicated that the number of people working part time because they can’t find a full-time job has hit the highest ever recorded figure of 1.25 million.

The number of employees and self-employed people forced to work in part time roles instead of full time employment had increased by 80,000 in the three months to May 2011.

The total number of unemployed people fell by 26,000 over the same period down to 2.45 million. This was mainly due to a drop in the number of 16- to 24-year-olds who were out of work, which was down by 42,000.

However, during the quarter, the number of students not active in the labour market went up by 41,000. More people were also found to be claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance, which saw an increase of 24,500 claimants.

 

Agency Workers to have new entitlements

Posted on by
Reply

From 1 October, agency workers are to have new entitlements in the workplace. From day one of their assignment, they must be provided access to available facilities such as canteen and childcare facilities, and must also be able to view information on job vacancies in their place of work.

Furthermore, after a 12 week qualifying period, agency workers are entitled to equal treatment relating to pay and other working conditions such as annual leave and overtime. Pregnant agency workers will also be allowed paid time off for ante-natal appointments during an assignment. For those agency workers already on assignment when the new rules come into force, the 12 week qualifying period will start from 1 October 2011 and cannot be ‘back-dated’.

If your business hires temporary workers through an agency, you will need to provide the agency with up to date information on your terms and conditions so that they can check that an agency worker receives equal treatment, after 12 weeks in the same job, as they would had they been recruited directly as an employee of the business. You will also be responsible for ensuring that all agency workers can access available facilities and information on job vacancies from the first day of their assignment.

For more information on any aspect of employment law please contact Ashley Hunt at Lawson-West on 0116 212 1000.

What April brings: changes in the law this month

Posted on by
1

A number of changes to the law came into force in early April, and below we offer a quick recap of what employers should know.

Default Retirement Age

Employers are no longer able to retire an employee at the age of 65 on the basis that they have reached the default retirement age.

Positive action

Under Section 159 of the Equality Act 2010, an employer is allowed to appoint or promote an individual who has a ‘protected characteristic’ over and above someone who doesn’t, under certain circumstances. Protected characteristics include race, disability, sex, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity and gender reassignment.

Additional paternity leave

Fathers of babies due on or after 3rd April 2011 are now able to take up to six months’ additional paternity leave if the mother of the child returns to work. Fathers are also entitled to take up to 10 keeping-in-touch days during the course of the additional paternity leave.  The rules apply to adoptive parents as well.

Statutory maternity, paternity, adoption and sick pay

The standard rates of statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay have now increased from £124.88 to £128.73 per week. Statutory sick pay has also risen from £79.15 to £81.60 per week.

For more information on any area above please call Ashley Hunt or Carrie-Ann Randall at Lawson-West on 0116 212 1000.

EMPLOYMENT SEMINAR TO ADDRESS CURRENT ISSUES

Posted on by
Reply

Have you heard of the Equalities Act – but are not sure how it will affect you? Come along to our breakfast presentation on 13th April to find out what you need to know. By investing a couple of hours’ time – you could save untold stress and penalties further down the line.

And, if you’re worried what will happen under the new paternity leave regulations when staff want to take extended time off work –or want to know how the changes to the Default Retirement age will work in practice – then we can set your mind at rest.
For just £15, including continental breakfast, you will also have the chance to ask questions of our specialist employment team.
Venue: Holiday Inn Express, Filbert Way, Leicester
Timing: 7.45 to 9.45 a.m, Wednesday 13th April 2011.
Cost: £15
To book your place please download and return our booking form here. For more information please call Marketing on 0116 212 1000.