Briefings

Mishcon de Reya Recruitment Watch - February 2008

Welcome

Welcome to the February 2008 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.

News

Policy

Recruiters are concerned about the new money laundering regulations that will catch companies who do executive search or act as a payroll agency and require them to register with HM Revenue & Customs, otherwise they could face up to two years in jail.
Recruiter, 6 February 2008

The trade union Unite has launched a public campaign to press supermarkets to improve working conditions for migrant agency workers in the meat packing industry and has particularly criticised Marks and Spencer paying temporary staff less and giving them worse employment terms than their permanent counterparts.
Financial Times, 31 January 2008

Trends/Practice

The Annual Reward Management survey by CIPD has shown that almost half of organisations no longer award across the board annual pay rises or cost of living adjustments for employees.
Recruitment Consultant, January 2008

Companies

The Takeover Panel has turned the competitive bidding for Imprint by OPD and Hydrogen into an auction after the situation failed to reach a resolution.
Financial Times, 9 February 2008

Angela Campbell-Noe, chief executive, and Paul Billett, finance director, of executive recruitment agency Hat Pin have announced their resignations after accounting irregularities were found that led to the suspension of the company's shares.
Financial Times, 9 February 2008

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation has appointed Harrison Winterburn to find its new chief executive. Recruiter, 30 January 2008

Robert Smith, the former managing director of Hays Construction & Property, has launched a new executive search firm for the construction sector called The Management Recruitment Group.
Recruiter, 30 January 2008

Eden Brown has set aside £218,000 over the last two years to pay for fines after voluntarily admitting a breach of regulations to the Office for Fair Trading.
Recruiter, 30 January 2008

Trinity Mirror plc has acquired the online job board The Career Engineer Limited, which specialises in the engineering sector, for an initial consideration of £1.9m and a deferred consideration of up to £400,000 dependant on achieving specific operating targets.
Recruitment Consultant, January 2008 

Gap Personnel has acquired a controlling stake in HML Personnel, in a deal worth over £500,000.
Recruitment Consultant, January 2008

Legal Developments

Legislation

Changes to the immigration rules come into effect on 29 February 2008, which include changes to the statutory defence from conviction for employers if they can prove they check and record documentation, such as passports, requiring them to undertake repeated checks at least once a year for those employees who have the right to remain or enter for a limited period of time.
Recruiter, 6 February 2008

Cases

Merana James v Greenwich London Borough Council
The Court of Appeal has ruled that temporary worker Merana James, who worked in Greenwich council's asylum support team until she was replaced in 2004, does not have the same protections as a permanent employee, declining to imply a contract of service where there was no express agreement.
Court of Appeal, 5 February 2008

Servoca has agreed an undisclosed out of court settlement with three former senior managers after taking legal action against them for alleged breaches of their employment contracts, alleged breaches of their duties of confidence and alleged infringement of Windsor Training and Recruitment's database rights.
Recruiter, 30 January 2008

Mishcon de Reya Workshops

Jennifer Lambe will discuss thetimings, implementation and impact of the Points Based System, focusing particularly on Tiers 1, 2 and 5; the duties and responsibilities that the new system will impose upon Employers; and how this overhaul in respect ofImmigrationpolicy and practicewill affect  businesses within the recruitment sector and the employment of overseas nationals in the UK.

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.

<< Back to News and Events Index