Jail threat over illegal workers

Bosses who knowingly employ illegal workers could face up to two years in prison under Home Office plans.

Immigration Minister Liam Byrne announced the new offence as part of a consultation paper on preventing illegal working in the UK. Under current law, there is no difference between firms which deliberately employ illegal workers and those who are "less than diligent". Tougher punishments also include higher fines of between £5,000 and £10,000. Employers will get a "discount" for every illegal worker if they had carried out a partial check, but will still be fined.

Checking system

As part of its crackdown, the Home Office wants businesses to check whether all prospective workers have the right to work in the UK, as well as continuing to check during the worker's employment. A pilot scheme for checking the employment status of migrants will run from May to December, before being rolled out next year.

The Home Office said that in order to avoid racial discrimination, employers should treat prospective workers the same and ask them all to produce evidence of their right to work in the UK. The consultation document also says employers should only ask questions about an applicant's immigration status to confirm whether it would affect their hours - such as a student who cannot work more than 20 hours a week during term.

Mr Byrne said it was a combined approach of making it easier for employers to check, as well as "coming down much harder on businesses which break the rules or turn a blind eye". So, alongside compulsory ID cars for foreign nationals will come bigger, faster fines for those who break the law".

To read this article in full click here

Source: The BBC

Back to top

Thomas and Friends seek fat controller

A zoo has been ordered not to specify that people applying for the job of Fat Controller must be male or even fat.

Drusilla's Zoo Park, in Alfriston, East Sussex, has been licensed to run its "Thomas and Friends" railway since last year. Brian Wise, a staff member who has stepped in to fill the ample boots of the Fat Controller on a few occasions, is deemed too slim at 15 stone to do the job on a regular basis.

But when the zoo decided to advertise for its own Sir Topham Hatt, its "legal human resources advisers" said that what appear to be crucial qualifications to do the job - ie, being a fat male - must not be mentioned for fear of breaking anti-discrimination laws.

"Theoretically, I could end up having to hire a thin woman," moaned Laurence Smith, the zoo's managing director. "This is the craziest of all politically correct situations in a world that has gone mad."

Christine Smith, a fellow director, added: "Since we did the deal to bring Thomas to Drusilla's we have worked very hard to ensure the train and all the theming is an exact replica of the books and the television programme, so getting a fat Fat Controller is just part of that commitment. We are hoping that common sense will prevail and we will find the right person. We are currently advertising the part-time job on our website but have had to be very discreet about what we say."

The ad now says that candidates "must look and act the part and have a friendly and outgoing personality together with a sense of fun".

John Midgley, co-founder of the Campaign Against Political Correctness, said: "This is part and parcel of the crazy politically correct world in which we live. Why on earth should this park, which is trying to do its best to keep faithful to books that have been enjoyed by generations, be penalised by the politically-correct lobby? You couldn't make this up. I really can't think that the vast majority of people in this country would take the slightest offence over this."

Source: The Daily Telegraph

Back to top

T&G welcomes news that pay is going up

The Transport and General Workers Union this morning welcomed news that pay deals are in the increase and justified them by saying corporate profits were at a record high and productivity growth meant increases were affordable.

It also drew a contrast with the current pay offers in the public sector for NHS and local government workers which would represent pay cuts for key workers.

The union was commenting on the Incomes Data Services report which said median pay settlements rose to 3.5 per cent from 3.42 per cent in the three months to the end of February. IDS also reported that pay deals last hit 3.5 per cent in January, which was the highest level since Sept. 2001, and that over a quarter of the 186 pay deals surveyed came in at 4 per cent or more in March.

Back to top

Labour Market

The claimant count for April fell to 890,000, down 15,700, the lowest since October 2005, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The unemployment level for the three months to March was little changed. It was 1.7m, up 13,000 on the three months to December. This leaves the unemployment rate unchanged at 5.5%.

The number of vacancies was 638,600, up 32,100 from the previous quarter.

Source: The Recruiter

Back to top

Minimum Wage

The government is to fine employers £5,000 or prosecute them if they pay below the national minimum wage.

In a consultation starting this month the Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling will propose options including fixed penalty fines linked to the number of workers underpaid. It is also proposed that businesses would have to pay interest or other cash to workers they have underpaid on top of repaying arrears.

The consultation will also look at enforcement of employment agency standards, seeking views on whether offences should be triable in the Crown Court, and whether the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate should be given clearer investigative powers to obtain financial information on suspects.

Darling says: "Paying less than the minimum isn't only unfair to the workers - it's unfair to the vast majority of employers who obey the law, because it lets rogue businesses undercut them.

“I want to give this simple message to bad employers: pay less than the minimum wage and it will cost you. The vast majority obey the law already.”

Source The Recruiter

Back to top

Disability terms 'put firms off'

Employers feel the politically correct language of disability can be a barrier to employing more disabled people, a survey suggests.

Remploy, an employment services provider for disabled people, said most of the 400 employers polled believed in working towards a diverse workforce. But some complained a lack of understanding of the terms to use when describing disabilities put them off.

The British Council of Disabled People said it was a "ridiculous excuse".

One employer, who took part in the research, said: "The ballpark is always moving, as are the words that I can say. You don't say that someone is blind, you say visually impaired." Beth Carruthers, director of employment services at Remploy, said the survey showed employers recognised the talents and skills disabled people can bring to the workplace.

“The important thing is not the language used to described disability but that disabled people received the same respect and opportunities,” she added.

But chairwoman of the British Council of Disabled People, Anne Pridmore, said: “It's an excuse for not employing disabled people. It's crucial that they are defined by the right language.”

The study also found evidence that firms believed disabled people were not applying for enough jobs. Most agreed that disabled people could work in most areas, although construction and the fire service were considered unsuitable, the study showed. Ms Pridmore explained why more do not go for jobs: "That's because disabled people are absolutely sick to death of going to interviews and being turned down. If I told them in my application that I was a disabled person, they would not even write back.

“This survey has proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the government's emphasis on getting as many disabled people as possible into the workforce will never work while we have employers who have these ideas.”

Source: The BBC

Back to top

Biggest fall in union members for nine years

Trade unions lost between 83,000 and 100,000 members last year despite rising employment levels, according to official figures.

The fall in percentage terms was the biggest for nine years but the TUC said the figures in a Trade and Industry Department publication represented a "success story" because membership had almost stabilised since the Thatcher years.

Differences between unions and National Statistics which compiled the data on the best method of gauging membership have blurred the figures. The DTI estimates total membership, including self-employed, between 6.56m (6.67m in 2005) and 7.2m (7.28m) on one measurement. Another based on employee totals shows membership between 6.39m (6.27m) and 6.88m (6.98m).

The proportion of union members in a total workforce of 28.9m fell 0.6pc to 28.4pc. For the third year running a higher proportion of women than men carried union cards - 29.7pc against 27.2pc.

Union membership has dropped sharply in the private sector - down to 16.6pc of the total - with the decline in manufacturing but is strong in the public sector where almost 60pc of employees are members.

Supermarket giant Tesco is listed as the biggest private sector source of union membership. USDAW, the shop workers' union, claims to represent 100,000 employees.

The slide in membership and growth of the service and financial sectors has accelerated the pace of union mergers. Brendan Barber, TUC general secretary, said unions were having to "run hard just to keep still" but the "continuing success of unionised companies such as Tesco" showed employers had nothing to fear from constructive relationships.

Source: The Daily Telegraph

Back to top

Nurseries feel pinch as mothers stay home

The first evidence of an end to the “have-it-all” generation of women emerges today with thousands of nursery places lying empty because mothers are choosing to care for young children themselves.

Almost a quarter of nursery places are now vacant. The ideal of a woman juggling a full-time career with the demands of motherhood is going out of fashion as a new era of flexible parenting rights takes root.

At least a million parents have taken up their “right to request” part-time work instead of leaving their babies to return to the work-place full-time after it was introduced four years ago. The trend is expected to develop as mothers take advantage of their new right to a year’s maternity leave.

Source The Times

Back to top

Royal Mail rejects claim of 48,000 redundancies

Royal Mail has denied media speculation that up to 48,000 staff in its letters division could be made redundant.

A Royal Mail spokesman said: "The figures quoted are wrong, but in an increasingly competitive market we are of course testing new, more efficient ways of working including greater automation. Until we have done this we cannot confirm the impact on jobs.”

The Communications Workers Union said it was entering into talks with Royal Mail

Source The Guardian

Back to top

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.

Issue 37 - May 2007
Welcome to the May 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