Britain 'leads way in letting in new workers'

Britain was held up by Brussels yesterday as a shining example for France and the rest of "Old Europe" to follow when it comes to letting in workers from the former Communist bloc.

Since eight former Communist nations joined the EU 18 months ago only Britain, Ireland and Sweden have opened their borders to workers from those countries. Other nations from the old 15-member EU have imposed quotas and permit schemes to shield domestic workers from a feared flood of "Polish plumbers" and other cheap labour.

In the time since Britain opened its job markets, the Government's registration scheme recorded 290,695 workers from the old Communist bloc. Probably half of those had been in the country already and had now joined the legal workforce, said EU employment commissioner Vladimir Spidla. A progress report by Brussels said the effects on the economy appeared to be "largely positive".

It said there were visible benefits for countries that had opened their borders. "We can see high economic growth and, as for unemployment, it has remained the same, or slightly declined."

It added that experience had quelled fears that new arrivals would steal jobs from locals.

To read this article in full click here

Source: The Daily Telegraph

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We've been badly hit by minimum wage increases

Retailers and their staff are already suffering; these pay hikes cannot go on, argues Kevin Hawkins of the Guardian

Polly Toynbee's advice to the chairman-elect of the Low Pay Commission, Paul Myners - that he should encourage the government to "keep pushing [the national minimum wage level] upwards until it begins to do more harm than good" - is misguided The retail industry as a whole has always supported the principle of the national minimum wage (NMW), and retailers have endeavoured to pay well above this level. Yet the successive above-inflation increases that have been imposed over the past three years, amounting to over 20%, have forced many, including large multiples and department stores, to set their introductory rates at the minimum level; and employment within the industry is now being affected.

It is disappointing to read that Toynbee, like many other commentators, sees the performance of one or two supermarkets as representative of the retail industry as a whole. In times of weak consumer confidence it is not the food sector that is hit the hardest: it is sectors such as DIY, furniture and electrical. And it is also important to remember that the independent retailers (many of whom are represented by the British Retail Consortium) are squeezed first, as Toynbee quite rightly states. However, this is not a new occurrence - small retailers have always found it difficult to absorb the increase in employment costs. Today, margins in all sizes of retailers are under pressure from falling prices and rising fixed costs. Future above-inflation increases in the minimum wage will only add to this.

To read in full click here

Kevin Hawkins is director general of the British Retail Consortium

Source The Guardian February 2006

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Firm sacked after staff underpaid

Restrictive covenants – is it worth bothering?

Losing a talented employee can be a blow to any business. Their experience will be missed, their knowledge mourned and their place on the tea-making rota left blank.

But when they cut the apron strings, don’t grab hold of their ankles in floods of tears, begging them to stay. Instead, stiffen that upper lip and consider a restrictive covenant to prevent them pinching your customers, working for a rival or generally twisting the knife. In this hot tip, experts Kate Catherall and Simon Edwards from Aaron & Partners look at what to include in a covenant and how to make it enforceable.

Restrictive covenants are usually clauses in contracts of employment which aim to stop former employees from:

• working with or for competitors (sometimes in a defined area)
• poaching their former employer’s staff
• seeking or doing business with their former customers
• using confidential information.

Top Tips

1. Do include post termination restrictions in the contracts of employment of your senior staff (or those you feel could harm your business by working for a competitor, or taking key customers, employees or contacts with them).
2. Work with specialist employment solicitors to ensure that the restrictions are reasonable and actually prevent the actions you require.
3. The more specific you are in the drafting (demonstrating a legitimate interest to be protected) the more likely these clauses are to be enforceable. Don’t be greedy, focus on the specific interests you want to protect and go no further than is necessary.
4. Include a clause stating that the employee should bring those restrictions to the attention of any new employer, but in any event remind the employee of the restrictions when leaving and notify his new employer.
5. Even if you have no intention of trying to enforce restrictions through the courts, consider instructing solicitors to write to an ex-employee on your behalf. The impact of such a letter, on solicitor’s headed paper, and sent by post rather than fax may well achieve the desired result.
6. Remember, the courts will only enforce restrictive covenants if their wording (examined critically) actually covers what the ex-employee is doing or intending to do. The court must also deem that it is reasonable to enforce the covenant in the case’s specific circumstances and also that you, as the employer, have not been in breach of contract in any way.

* Article prepared by Kate Catherall and Simon Edwards of Aaron & Partners LLP.

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The Recruitment and Employers Confederation have just released the Annual Recruitment Industry Survey 2004/05

The results of the 2004/05 survey show a decline in the demand for temporary/contract labour and a marked switch to permanent business. Overall, there has been a 4.2% decline in total industry turnover, which now stands at just under £23.5 billion.

This reduction in overall turnover, for only the second time in the history of the survey, is mirrored by government VAT data.

Total Industry Turnover 2001-2005

The main points from the survey were:

• Total industry turnover reduced by 4.2% to £23 Billion.
• This was mainly due to the downturn in temporary recruitment which reduced turnover by 11% to £20 Billion
• Volumes of temporary workers fell by 20%(!) which is the lowest since before 2000
• In contrast permanent recruitment has grown significantly to £3.2 Billion
• Industrial Blue Collar is the most prevalent sector (23%) by placement
• The average turnover per Temporary Branch is £1.4 million PA

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Temps jump for joy as staff jobs lose lustre

Temporary workers are happier and healthier than their permanent counterparts despite worries about job security, according to researchers.

They feel the findings weaken EU arguments that temporary workers are a disadvantaged group at risk because of their precarious employment status.

The research also revealed growing levels of dissatisfaction among permanent workers.

Prof David Guest, director of the research project carried out at King's College, London as part of a European-wide programme, believes two key factors underpin the results.

He says: "The first is that permanent workers are more likely to feel that their psychological contract with their employer has been in some way violated and this affects their well-being. Secondly it is not so much that temporary jobs are good but that permanent jobs have got worse. People are working harder, they have less freedom at work and there is a general decline in job satisfaction."

He feels the findings suggest that "we need to give urgent attention to improving the quality of all jobs, including those of permanent workers". The report concludes that it would be better to "focus legislation and policy on improving the quality of the experience of work for all workers rather than seeking to legislate on flexible employment".

The findings were echoed by research conducted by consultants BMG for the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) into the £24billion-a-year market for agency or temporary workers. A telephone survey based on 250 interviews showed that almost 60 per cent were either satisfied or more satisfied with their work than their permanent colleagues. Two in five felt they were underpaid but found they were compensated by the freedom and flexibility that came through agency work

This article can be read in full, here

Source: The Daily Telegraph

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Migration. How Points would work

The government has detailed how it will change the entire UK immigration system to one based on points: the more in demand the skill, the more likely the individual will be able to come to the UK.

THE CURRENT SYSTEM

Today's economic migrant system is complicated. There are 80 different routes into the UK to either work or study which have historically developed in a piece-meal fashion over decades.

Rather than tinkering at the edges, the government is now embarking on major reforms.

Depending on the type of worker you are, your entry into the UK is controlled by one type of permission or another, even though the government sees each in its own way as contributing to the economy.

So, at present, a banker must meet different entry criteria from a student who, in turn, will be governed by rules different from those, perhaps, affecting a Thai chef The right to settle - and later possibly seek British citizenship - is handled separately.

HOW THE SYSTEM WILL CHANGE

All the different work permits and entry schemes will be replaced by a single points-based system, the aim being to only allow entry to those whose skills will benefit the UK. The more skills you have, and the more those skills are in demand, the more points you will gain, increasing your likelihood of entry to the UK. European Union workers will not be affected - they and a few other European countries will still be able to come and go under the free market rules that allow British people to move to the continent.

Similar systems are already used in other industrialised countries and the basic principle is perhaps best summed up as "entry-through-skills". Supporters of a points system, such as Australia, believe it is much more transparent and responsive to the needs of the economy.

To read about the five tiers of entry and who will get in click here

Source

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If you have liked what you have read so far why not recommend a colleague as a subscriber to our monthly enews. By clicking here you can nominate by simply detailing the email addresses of any colleagues you think would be interested in this free subscription.

One of the most comprehensive HR reference tools on the web has been launched by Encore

Aimed at the small and medium business sector, the online reference point will greatly assist owner managers to deal with complex issues relating to the employment of staff.

Subjects covered include disciplinary problems, staff development and appraisals, industrial disputes and Health and Safety. The site also has many links to Government and professional bodies particularly useful for downloading official forms and tables. For example, a simple click will enable the user to look up taxable pay tables on the HM Revenue & Customs website.

‘The launch of the HR portal is the culmination of much investment in time and money and we hope will place Encore in a pre-eminent position for Human Resource support on the web.’ commented Greg Latham, Managing Director. ‘With over 670 pages the site is a fantastic reference tool for anybody who manages or employs staff’

The web site can be viewed at www.encorepersonnel.co.uk/hrportal

Iraq reservist 'sacked on his return'

An employer accused of refusing to let a TA soldier go back to work has been taken to court

AN EMPLOYER accused of refusing to give a Territorial Army soldier his job back after he returned from an operational tour of Iraq is being prosecuted, in the first case of its kind.

The Crown Prosecution Service took up the case of Lance Corporal Neil Wright, 31, a radio operator serving with the Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry, who went to the police after finding that he had lost his job as a mechanic.

Under the Reserve Forces (Safeguard of Employment) Act 1985, employers are “prohibited from terminating reservists’ employment without their approval at any time if the termination is due solely or mainly to their reserve liability”.

The unique case will serve as a warning to all employers who in recent years have had to provide thousands of reservists for operational tours overseas, from Bosnia and Kosovo to Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Ministry of Defence relies on employers to support members of their staff who are mobilised for six months’ reservist duty. But the Reserve Forces Act provides the legal muscle to ensure that they honour their obligation to keep jobs open.

Nearly 30 members of the reserve forces have had to go through a special appeal system to get their jobs back since the Iraq campaign began in 2003. But the case of Lance Corporal Wright, from Telford in Shropshire, is the first since the Act came into force where the Crown Prosecution Service has agreed to take action against an employer.

This article can be read in full by clicking here

Source: The Times

Issue 23 – March 2006

Welcome to the March issue of encore enews.

Included in this months edition... How has the latest increase to the National Minimum Wage effected your organisation? 5 months on from this last increase Kevin Hawkins of the Guardian argues how industry in particular retailers are suffering.Meanwhile the Recruitment and Employers Confederation have published details of their latest survey which illustrates the declining fortunes of the recruitment industry with the lowest performance for at least 5 years, last year.This hasn’t prevented the majority of Agency workers from declaring their positive satisfaction. Research has revealed that temporary workers are more likely to be healthier and happier!Good reading

Greg Latham

Managing Director