The Harcourt Matthews Blog & News Articles

Employees – How to Attract Them & How to Keep Them

A recent survey by Towers Watson published in April 2012, has identified 10 key factors that make an employer stand out from the crowd, when it comes to attracting and retaining a work force that spans several age groups.

Having surveyed over 9,000 staff based in the USA, the results found that younger employees valued job security, base pay, healthcare benefits, vacation allowance, company reputation as an employer of choice, commuting time, career development opportunities, retirement benefits, challenging work and promotion opportunities as key.

Those banded in the 40-50 age range rated healthcare benefits, base pay, job security, vacation allowance, challenging work, company reputation as an employer of choice, retirement benefits, commuting time, career development opportunities and relationship with supervisor as most important.

And for those workers above 50 years old, key factors were job security, healthcare benefits, base pay, retirement benefits, commuting time, challenging work, vacation allowance, company reputation as an employer of choice, corporate products or services and the calibre of co-workers.

Interesting, whilst all age categories ranked base pay, job security & healthcare benefits within the top 3, the results also highlighted that retirement benefits have become a significantly attractive area to new and current employees, possibly due to the impact of the recent downtown in the economy.

If you are interested in other ways to attract and retain your workforce, then review our Employee Engagement – Part 1 and Employee Engagement – Part 2 blogs for some useful ideas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Diamond Jubilee Bank Holiday – Who’s Eligible?

Some employers will be hard pushed to justify the additional bank holiday in June for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee given the recent disappointing news on the UK economy, the Olympics certain to play havoc with business planning & the threat of transport strikes designed to bring misery to every London commuter.

For those of you who are under the assumption that every UK worker is entitled to the “Brucie Bonus” of an extra day’s holiday – think again!

For the Record
Workers do not have any statutory right to take paid leave on public holidays, or to take a day off or be paid a day in lieu, if they work on a public holiday.

Employees do have a statutory entitlement of 5.6 weeks or 28 days paid holiday per year (or equivalent) but this can be inclusive of all bank and public holidays.

It’s all about the Contract
Whether a worker will benefit from the extra holiday in June is entirely dependent on the provision within their contract of employment.

If an employee’s contract states entitlement to a set amount of days paid leave and bank and public holidays eg: 20 days plus bank/public holidays, then they are entitled to the benefit of the extra holiday, unless the contract contains provisions to specifically limit the bank and holidays to the usual bank/public holidays.

A Small Price to Pay
Boosting employee morale by granting the extra day might be a small price to pay, especially given clients and suppliers are also likely to be doing the same – just how profitable would it be to insist on everyone coming in?

For those of you employed in professions operating outside the “standard” week, then you know that working weekends, bizarre hours and bank holidays goes with the territory.  Fingers crossed that your employers acknowledge the fact and offer an additional day in lieu!

photo 1 – cooperail; photo 2 – myretailmedia

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2012 Pension Changes – Workers & Employers

Hopefully, our recent 2012 Pension Changes blog on forthcoming changes will have given you a quick overview of the impending amendments to UK pension law, which are due on 1st October 2012.

Impacting on permanent & temporary employees and across all UK businesses, the legislation will task employers with “Employer Duties” in providing staffing pension schemes for different types of workers.

Who is a Worker? A ‘worker’ is an individual who has entered into or works under, either  a contract of employment or any other contract by which the individual undertakes to do work or perform services personally for another party to the contract.

Eligible jobholders are aged between 22 & state pension age with annual earnings over £7,475
Non-eligible jobholders are aged between 16 & 21 or between state pension age & 74 with annual earnings over £7,475 or a worker aged between 16 & 74 with annual earnings between £5,035 & £7,475
Entitled workers have annual earnings below £5,035

Who is an Employer & what are Employer Duties? You are classed as an employer if you employ a ‘worker’

• Employers must automatically enrol an eligible jobholder into a qualifying pension scheme & make a contribution
• Employers are not required to automatically enrol a non-eligible jobholder into a qualifying pension scheme, but must do so & make a contribution if the non-eligible jobholder chooses to opt in
• Employers must arrange access to a pension scheme if an entitled worker asks the employer to do so, this does not have to be a qualifying scheme & the employer is not required to make contribution
• If you employ temporary staff directly or are a recruitment agency supplying interim contractors, then Employer Duties apply in the same way

Hopefully, this has given you some clarity on getting ready for October 2012. Stay tuned for our next blog which will cover additional key areas of this hot topic.

photo 1 by nationallibraryofireland; photo 2 by frozenpixels

 

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2012 Pension Changes – An Overview

With increasing concerns about the UK’s ageing population, the level of investment that we are setting aside for our retirement & the diminishing size of the State pension pot, October 2012 marks the start of significant changes in existing pension arrangements with the commencement of automatic enrolment for qualifying workers.

Without exception, all businesses including recruitment agencies, will be obliged to offer a workplace pension, and by law, must automatically enrol any worker who meets certain criteria. With this in mind, UK companies must take steps to prepare themselves to meet these reforms & ensure compliance with the new legislation.

Many employers may well have existing provision for their staff, either in the form of a corporate or stakeholder pension scheme, although new “employer duty” requirements will demand that interim & temporary workers are also covered by the changes. Ironically, workers will not have to remain in a pension scheme – they will have the option to “opt out”.

Key employer requirements will include:
• Automatic enrolment of eligible workers into a qualifying pension scheme
• Managing opt outs for workers who choose to “opt out”
• Facilitating an opt in for qualifying workers
• Contributing to the scheme for eligible workers
• Provision of specific information to different categories of workers

Although D-Day for large corporate enterprises is 1st October 2012, implementation of the scheme is being staged across a 5 year period, with the smallest businesses being incorporated into the programme by the end of 2017.

For additional information, visit the Pensions Regulator website for further tips & advice on regulations and compliance.

photo 1 by taxcredits; photo 2 weddingwalla

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Great News for the Job Market

The most recent Reed Job Index survey has given the recruitment sector yet more good news to shout about! With March figures just released, there is evidence of significantly positive statistics for the UK, which seems to support the growing belief that the economy is continuing to recover.

Q1 2012 has seen a 9% rise in job postings in comparison to Q1 2011
Job opportunities grew in 17 key sectors
New job opportunities increased by 11% compared to March 2011

Overall demand for new staff is now some 42% higher than when the Reed Job Index began in December 2009.

With Engineering, Motoring & Automotive and Estate Agency sectors leading annual growth for employer demand during March, and the East Midlands named as the UK’s leading region by measure of year-on-year growth, it appears that the job market is fighting back.

For those of you who have been encouraged to think about your next career step, visit the Candidate section of our website; take advantage of our FREE Job Search Tools & sign up to our weekly News & Blog for tips and advice on how to make the most of your job hunt.

photo by foto twerp

 

 

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New Jobs for 2012

A recent survey conducted by Barclays on the topic of job creation in 2012, has revealed that the majority of UK businesses will create new opportunities this year. Surveying some 670 executives within businesses of all shapes and sizes, some of the key findings for the reports include:

70% of large corporate business, those with turnovers exceeding £500m, looked to recruit this year

Small businesses appeared the most confident of companies surveyed, with 51% forecasting to increase their staff headcount

58% of companies confirmed that they planned to take on new staff over the next 12 months

Some 77% of executives stated that business growth would take precedence over job creation

David Roust, Head of Recruitment Industry team, Barclays, said:“It is good to see smaller companies in particular more confident around creating new positions than they were last year. The challenge for the recruitment industry however, is to support those looking for work to find the roles that fit their experience and skills. As larger firms appear more confident around investing in jobs in order to grow sales, rather than waiting for sales to increase before hiring people, we may see greater investment within the corporate sector in 2012.”

If you are planning to recruit additional staff, please visit our Employer Recruitment Services to see how we can support you, alternatively, if you are considering a career move, please take advantage of our Candidate Services which offers tips and advice on how to get started.

photo by jojo

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Keeping the Oomph in your Job Search

With Easter looming, Bank Holidays beckoning & the holiday season becoming a reality, keeping momentum in your job search can prove a frustrating time. Faced with 3 options, do you … give up completely?, put things on the back burner? or pull out all the stops to keep yourself in 5th gear?

As holidays are an annual event and part of life, whilst they present hurdles, they are certainly not insurmountable obstacles to your job search – so if you’re serious about forging ahead in your career, you should be going for option 3!

Our 5 Top Tips will ensure that you stay in the fast lane and keep things moving.

Reconsider your existing situation.  Just because you feel that you’ve come to the end of the road in your current role, doesn’t mean that your existing employer can’t offer you another challenge on a project, secondment or the chance to transfer to another department or office.

Review your online presence. How long ago did you post your details on those CV database sites? Does your CV need an overhaul? Are your search requirements still valid? When did you last log in?

Revamp your job alerts. Have things moved on since you set up your job criteria? Had a salary rise? Why not broaden the types of role you’d consider?

Reconnect with your network. We make new contacts in our work, social and personal lives on a daily basis, so make sure your network is up to date and aware that you’re still keen to take your next career step.

Ring your recruitment consultant. Keeping your agencies updated and in the loop about your job search, even if it’s “business as usual”, staying in touch is key to ensuring you stay in their eye line. It’s also a great way to update on the market and pick up some FREE advice.

Why not visit our website to review our current vacancies and sign up to our News & Blog to keep “in the know” on what’s new in the recruitment market.

photo 1 rex maximilian photo 2 images of money

 

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Working with Recruitment Consultants – 3 Top Tips

As we all know the path to finding the next step on the career ladder doesn’t always run smoothly, with more and more routes available to secure that elusive role.

Often people’s first foray into searching for new job starts with a response to an advert, and more often than not, that job is being advertised by a recruitment consultancy.

Given that a common complaint amongst the workforce is that agencies don’t find people jobs, if you are thinking of using an agency, then please bear these top tips in mind …

Top Tip 1
Remember that recruiters are tasked by clients to find candidates for specific roles NOT to find a job for you. As harsh as this may sound, the client ultimately pays the bill & although agencies will endeavour to be proactive on your behalf, they will often have more candidates than jobs.

Top Tip 2
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. As part of your job search strategy, you should be engaging with several recruitment consultancies and using the myriad of recruitment channels available to you. No one agency will have the monopoly on clients.

Top Tip 3
Recruiters work with you NOT for you. Team work is the name of the game. An open and honest approach will cement your credibility, and recruiters will go that extra mile to support you, whether it’s finding your dream job, critiquing your CV or passing on interview tips. A professional recruiter will look to develop a long term relationship with you, regardless of whether they are successful in securing you your next role.

If you are considering starting your search for a new role, why not download our FREE CV Template or review our FREE Salary Survey to check out how much you’re worth!

photo field notes - rich mooney

 

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AWR – Is It Living Up To Expectation?

With the Agency Workers Regulations now well and truly implemented since 1st October 2011, and the temporary market continuing to offer businesses a flexible solution to resourcing issues, we felt it was time to review the impact of AWR over the last 6 months.

Recent Feedback
Figures collated by Adecco, a leading global Recruitment group, demonstrate that the AWR may not be living up to expectation, according to a report published in March by Recruitment International. Research suggests that 78% of hirers “have not experienced any discernible effect” of the Agency Workers Regulations with only 16% saying that “the AWR had impacted on their plans”. Although it appears that clients have not felt the financial impact of AWR, this seems to be as a result of additional costs being absorbed by recruitment consultancies, but with no discernible financial benefit to agency workers. Additional evidence suggests that some temporary staff have been forced to lose their freelance status to become employees, and others have lost their jobs as they have been rotated out.

Call for Consultation
The Government’s proposed consultation on the review of AWR is being supported by industry bodies including APSCo, especially given recent evidence. The need to address several key issues are, to address several issues including the impact of the original legislation, the ambiguity and loose definition of the ‘opt out’, the issue of enforcement, transfer fees – and the fact that the transfer fee window does not coincide with the AWR window – as well as the lack of consistency with other regulations such as IR35 and the AWR.

So, it remains to be seen if the regulations remain in their current form or undergo a radical overhaul to address these inconsistencies.

For additional information on this hot topic, review our blogs AWR – Key Facts & AWR – More Key Facts or alternatively visit our website for industry news, tips & advice.

photo1 bluerobot photo2 beccafromportland

 

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More Cause for Celebration on the Job Front

Adding further weight to our recent Jobs & Economy on the Up and What’s New in the Job Market? blogs, which broadcast some encouraging news about the UK recruitment market, are two recent job reports from the REC – Recruitment & Employment Confederation.

The first report focuses on the Midlands and indicates a sharp increase in permanent jobs, which was the strongest recorded rise across 4 UK regions, alongside a rise in salaries and temporary pay rates during February 2012.

The South West, which is the topic of the second report, continues this positive theme and highlights an increase in permanent placements for the third successive month, with the growth rate the fastest since August 2011.

It’s refreshing to see that nuggets of cheer about the job market aren’t just restricted to London and the South East, although an increase in job numbers brings with it the challenges of skills matching and candidate availability.

So, if you’re thinking about dusting off your CV and checking out the job market, then visit our FREE Candidate Services section on our website to help you along.

photo 1 laurence broderick phot 2 vicdesigns

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