Agency workers

John Hutton, secretary of state for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has endorsed the role of agencies in providing a flexible workforce, and in getting people into full-time work.

Source The Recruiter

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TUC welcome for minimum wage crackdown

Welcoming the proposals announced by the Government this month, which should see employers who fail to pay the minimum wage facing far tougher penalties in future, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: 'These measures will strengthen the incentive for all employers to pay the minimum wage, and the move to count all unpaid arrears at the current rate will give much-needed extra money to workers who have been paid illegal poverty wages over a long time.

'Employers who fail to pay their taxes face automatic penalties, so it's only fair that those who fail to pay their workers the legal minimum should also know that they are going to face an automatic fine. 'Since the minimum wage was introduced in 1999, a small minority of rogue employers have consistently stuck two fingers up at the law. The TUC has long argued that the current maximum fine of £5,000 is too low to deal with the worst offenders, so we welcome plans to allow much bigger fines for those who remain determined to cheat their workers.' read more

Source TUC

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encore manage their talent

encore have created a Management Training Academy to provide in-house development to existing employees.

The Academy provides training over a range of core subjects to develop the skills of aspiring managers and improve the knowledge of existing managers. The idea behind the academy is to enhance the service encore provides and to ensure expansion is in line with the encore culture and brand.

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Employment Bill

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) has welcomed the government’s Employment Bill which imposed tough penalties on agencies who cut corners and mistreat workers.

The government published the Employment Bill this month, aimed at toughening penalties for rogue employers who pay under the minimum wage. It also seeks to strengthen the powers of the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate. Commenting on the Bill Tom Hadley (right), director of external relations at the REC said: “We welcome this Bill as it aims to crack down on those employers and agencies that are breaking the rules. REC members abide by our Code of Professional Practice as well as the law. It is not right for them to be undercut by agencies that are cutting corners and mis-treating workers.”

The Bill aims to introduce new penalties for employers who do not pay the minimum wage. The Inspectorate who governs the recruitment industry will also be given more investigative powers and access to unlimited fines for those who flout the law.
Commenting on these new powers, added: “Over recent years, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate has re-focused its resources to a risk-based approach. The plans to increase the number of inspectors as well as the powers of the inspectorate can only be welcome by the recruitment industry. “Our industry should be applauded for placing 1.3m people into temporary jobs every week. For too long the actions of a few rogue agencies have tarnished this reputation. The REC hopes that the new powers and resources for the inspectorate will result in the rogues being put out of business for good.”

Source The Recruiter

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New fines for illegal working from February 2008

Following consultation earlier this year, the Government has published new measures to prevent illegal working which will come into force on 29 February 2008.

The Government has proposed a new system of penalties for employers who employ adults subject to immigration control in breach of the terms of entry or stay. The penalties comprise a criminal penalty which will be triggered against those who knowingly employ illegal migrant workers and a civil penalty relating to negligent recruitment practice.

Employers who knowingly hire illegal workers risk an unlimited fine and a prison sentence. Those who negligently hire illegal workers will face a civil penalty fine of up to £10,000 for each offence from February next year. Employers will be excused from paying a civil penalty if they produce and check specified documents. To find out the requirements read more

Source Field Fisher Waterhouse

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How to comply with the law to prevent illegal working

An essential part of the recruitment process is to ensure that any applicant is entitled to work in the UK. It is a criminal offence for you to employ someone aged 16 or over who has no right to work in the United Kingdom or no right to do the work you are offering. Read this hot tip, taken from the FPB's newly-updated Employment Guide, to ensure that you stay on the right side of the law.

The law gives employers a statutory defence against conviction for employing an illegal worker. The defence is obtained by checking and copying certain original documents, which you should ask your employee to produce. Follow the guide for EVERY potential employee, irrespective of his or her nationality, origin or racial background. By doing this, you will ensure that your recruitment practices comply with the law and establish the statutory defence, and you will not be convicted of employing a person illegally... read more

Source FPB

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'Smossiping' puts smokers at heart of grapevine

'Smossiping', or smoking outside while having a gossip, is fast becoming the new method of relaying office news.

For one in seven workers this is the latest way of finding out what's going on. The survey of over 1,000 workers, by recruitment outfit Office Angels, reveals that 74 per cent of workers look forward to catching up with their colleagues the next day.

According to the survey top gossip hot spots include:
Canteen or local cafe (28 per cent)
Water cooler (19 per cent)
Instant Messenger/email (17 per cent)
Walk around the block (10 per cent)

A bit of harmless gossip can turn sour, however. More than a third have heard someone talking about them behind their back, 26 per cent have had a working relationship ruined by office gossiping, and over 15 per cent have been caught discussing their boss' behaviour. However, the matter has not been taken lightly for 7 per cent who've been reprimanded for taking gossip too far. Receptionists are the ones to watch out for, seeing and hearing all. A quarter have caught their boss gossiping about a colleague - and told them. Over one in 10 of receptionists nationwide have been reprimanded for gossiping, compared with only one in five of workers on the office floor. read more

Source HR Zone

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Careless workers put business data at risk

More than half of workers have lost a laptop, BlackBerry or USB stick in a pub, bar and restaurant, with the majority showing an alarming apathy towards the value of business data.

This is according to a new survey by Databarracks, a secure online backup specialist. They found that whilst employees are dependent on business data, 84 per cent admitted they could not do their job for more than half a day if they lost access to it, and 43 per cent said they couldn't cope for any period without it, yet many are sloppy about keeping it safe. More than three-quarters admitted storing personal content including photos on their office network or PC. According to Databarracks, this increases the risk of malware infection. The same number would prioritise their personal mobile phone over their work PC if both were on fire, in a sign that personal over corporate data is most valued. Nearly two-thirds of respondents have accidentally deleted data on the networks, whilst 69 per cent admitted to saving more than 10 important work files on their PCs alone, causing major potential disruption if they were stolen or damaged... read more

Source HR Zone

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Issue 43 – December 2007

Welcome to the December issue of encore enews bringing together recent news items relating to the world of work – a magazine read by 5000 recruiters every single month!

This month’s Business Round-Up