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BriefingsMishcon de Reya Recruitment Watch - December 2007
WelcomeWelcome to the December edition of Mishcon de Reya's Recruitment Watch, prepared by the Firm's Recruitment Services Group. Its aim is to provide those involved in the recruitment sector with a snapshot of what has been happening in the world of recruitment in the last month. Thank you to all of you who took the time to fill in our recent survey. The three winners, picked at random, will be receiving their prize in the next couple of days. NewsPolicyJohn Hutton, the Business and Enterprise Secretary, has ruled out UK legislation to give agency workers the same rights as permanent employees but the government will continue to try to find a solution in Europe, after blocking the draft directive earlier this month. The government has published guidelines recommending that all job applicants should have to prove they are eligible to work in Britain, as a way to stop employers being accused of discriminating against people on grounds of ethnicity or race. MarketLeading recruitment agencies have reported a dramatic slowdown in recruitment in the finance sector following the credit market turmoil. A survey carried out by Manpower has shown that the number of firms planning to recruit staff has fallen to a six year low with four out of five companies not expecting to recruit new staff in the first quarter of 2008. Research by the European Confederation of Private Employment Agencies has suggested that if countries across the EU lifted restrictions on temporary workers it could create 2.1m jobs and boost the European economy by €12.5bn in the next five years. A survey of more than 400 recruitment agencies by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and KPMG has found that the number of people placed in permanent posts since the credit market turmoil has increased at the slowest rate since early 2005. Financial Times, 5 December 2007 According to 3 senior recruitment industry figures, who all sit on the executive committee of the Forum of Professional Recruiters, 2008 is likely to be a challenging year for the industry but the market will continue to grow. Trends/PracticeA report by the Adecco Institute and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation has found that the government will have to pay private recruitment agencies more than the going market rate to help achieve the goal of getting lone parents off benefits and back to work as this area of the jobs market is largely ignored by agencies that need to make a profit. Daily Telegraph, 6 December 2007 The Association for Consultancy and Engineering is calling on the new select committee formed to oversee the work of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills to investigate the skills shortage in the industry and the conduct of recruitment agencies, which it thinks is having a detrimental effect on firms' ability to fill vacancies. CompaniesThe temporary employment agency Randstad has bought its Dutch peer Vedior in a cash and shares deal worth about €3.3bn. Red Advertising Ltd has acquired Jobstore.co.uk for an undisclosed sum. LA Recruitment has opened a second overseas office in Kuala Lumpur, as part of its growth as an international employment specialist. Scantec Personnel has opened its new headquarters in Birkenhead, which will allow the company to grow its workforce by employing 30 new employees. Prime People Plc has announced strong interim results for the year half ending 30 September 2007 with gross fee income up from £9.29m in the same period in 2006 to £11.97m. Legal DevelopmentsLegislationThe draft Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses (Amendment) Regulations 2007 have been published aimed at increasing protections for vulnerable agency workers and reducing the administrative burdens on employment businesses. The House of Lords has introduced the Employment Bill, aimed at toughening penalties for rogue employers and affording greater protection for agency workers, and the bill received its 1st reading on 7 December 2007 in the House of Lords. Mishcon de Reya WorkshopsUnderstanding Employment Tribunals, taken by Daniel Naftalin and Jennifer Millins, will be the first workshop in our 2008 programme. The workshop, held on Thursday 24 January 2008 will outline the procedures of the Employment Tribunal, the types of claims brought and strategies to adopt in litigation. The aim of the workshop is to be an interactive session dealing with real problems and real situations. Therefore, a large part of it will be devoted to discussing questions, sent in by attendees prior to the event, in an open forum format. To register for this event please RSVP to Richard Giles at richard.giles@mishcon.com, setting out up to three issues concerning the Employment Tribunal system that you would like addressed or discussed. Mishcon de Reya Mishcon de Reya's Recruitment Watch is published by the Recruitment Services Group of Mishcon de Reya Solicitors who were established to meet the demands of their clients within the recruitment sector. The Group is made up of cross departmental specialist lawyers who are able to meet the diverse legal needs of the recruitment industry, with wide and varied experience within the sector and who have a proven track record in being able to meet the growing demand for a one-stop service amongst their recruitment clients. |
IMPORTANT: This briefing note is only intended as a general statement of the law and no action should be taken in reliance on it without specific legal advice. |