UNEMPLOYMENT UP, BUT SOME SIGNS OF HEALTH 22.02.2012

The UK unemployment rate for the final quarter of 2011 rose to 0.1% to 8.4%, reveals the Office for National Statistics (ONS), but the number of people entering employment and a rise in recruitment in January give some cause for optimism.

While the number of unemployed people rose 48,000 to 2.67m, the number of people in work was up 60,000, to 29.13m, with Charles Levy, senior economist at The Work Foundation, welcoming the rise, which he says “is in sharp contrast to the steep falls recorded in the Autumn”.

Levy says: “Todays labour market statistics offer us further hope that the economy was stablishing at the ends of 2011.”

This correlates with the Recruitment and Employment Conferation’s (REC’s) January “Report on Jobs” produced in co-operation with KPMG, which showed a rise in the number of permanent job placements made in January – outside of the period covered by the current ONS data – the first such increase time in four months.

Scott Liversidge. managing partner at medical recruiter Flame Health, calls the REC/KPMG report “the only positive indicator in the jobs market at the moment”, although he goes on to add: ” There are still sectors creating jobs. Healthcare, clerical, IT and engineering & construction are just some of these.”

Richard Baker, a director of Robert Half UK adds that ” there is still increasing supply and demand for jobs in specialised areas such as accountancy, finance, IT and financial services”, areas that have been consistently singled out as strong performers in recruiter.co.uk coverage of previous unemployment figure releases.

Baker adds that a net 14% of senior business executives surveyed by Robert Half last month plan to increase their permanent headcount in the first half of 2012, and is optimistic that the government’s Youth Contract – further details of which came out yesterday – can help “avoid a lost generation of talent that will impact the modern workforce for years to come”.

Levy at the Work Foundation goes on to add that apparent “shift towards part time work” may actually be key to understanding today’s ONS figures, noting that the number of full time jobs fell by 10,000 with the number of “part-time workers unable to find full time work” standing at 1.35m.

“It will take several months of sustained job creation before we can expect to see unemployment fall significantly,” he adds.

The ONS figures also show that employment for UK nationals was down 166,000 between the final quarters of 2010 and 2011, while over the same period employment for non-UK nationals was up 166,000, and that one in three of the unemployed have been looking for work for over a year.

Source: Recruiter: 15 February 2012

New Job Interview Technique 21.02.2012

Take the prospective employee and put him in a room with only a table and two chairs. Leave him alone for two hours, without any instruction. At the end of that time, go back and see what he is doing…

If he has taken the table apart, put him in Engineering.
If he is counting the butts in the ashtray, assign him to Finance.
If he is waving his arms and talking out loud, send him to Consulting.
If he is talking to the chairs, Personnel are a good spot for him.
If he is sleeping, he is Management material.
If he is writing up the experience, send him to the Technical Documentation team.
If he doesn’t even look up when you enter the room, assign him to Security.
If he tries to tell you it’s not as bad as it looks, put him into Marketing.
If he is wearing green sunglasses and needs a haircut, Software is his niche.
If he mentions what a good price we got for the table and chairs, send him to Purchasing.
If he mentions that hardwood furniture does not come from rainforests, Public Relations will suit him well.

Around 69% of employers reject candidates because of their facebook page 13.02.2012

Prospective employees should be extremely mindful of how they use social media in relation to progressing their careers. Some early research shows that around 95% of the employers researched, confirmed they referred to social media sites as part of their screening process for candidates. Further, a staggering 69% confirmed that they had actually rejected candidates based on what they had seen on a Facebook page.

Typical rejection reasons were for inappropriate photos and comments, namely around drinking, discrimination and drugs, as well as negative comments about previous employers or even demonstration of poor communication skills.

Potentially, if employers were to tell these candidates why they had been rejected, the perception of Facebook might change. Currently, users feel that they are just talking with their ‘friends’ and this would change with increasing awareness that actually, employers and others unknown to you are also checking you out. And more than this, it would seem that what you say attaches very strongly to your identity and personality.

So the message is clear; be cautious about how you use social media because the world is looking.

Statistic source: Kashmir Hill, Forbes, Oct 2011.

WITHDRAWING A JOB OFFER IN LIGHT OF NEW INFORMATION 11.02.2012

Let’s suppose you offered a candidate a job and their references were fine. Further information then comes to light – it’s undesirable and makes you think twice about hiring them. Can you retract your offer?

Having second thoughts

Normally once satisfactory references have been obtained, a candidate is home and dry and may take up their new role. But suppose that, in between this happening and them starting, you unearth some information which leads you to question whether you still want to employ this individual. What’s more, they have already handed in their notice to their current employer! A tricky situation – so how should you play it?

Contractual issues

As you have almost certainly entered into a legally binding contract, you must tread carefully. If you job offer was stated to be “conditional” on the receipt of satisfactory references, the contract would have become “live” once they came back and were acceptable to you.

Risk. That means any attempt to withdraw your job offer in the absence of a solid reason at this late stage is likely to trigger a claim for breach of contract and damages,

A claim for damages

In most cases, the damages sought will equate to the period of notice a candidate would have been entitled to had they started working for you and then been dismissed, i.e. three months’ notice would equal three months’ pay. If they have incurred other “reasonable” expenses in reliance on your job offer, e.g. rental costs for a temporary property close to your workplace, they may be able to claim these too. However, this all depends on how justified your second thoughts are and how you deal with the individual concerned.

Talking about your concerns

Before doing anything, contact the individual by phone with your concerns – don’t beat around the bush here. Explain the exact nature of the information, why it is potentially problematic for you – this will differ on a case by case basis – and make arrangements to meet them as soon as possible to discuss it.

Tip 1. Keep all your conversations polite and allow the individual a clear and real opportunity to provide you with an explanation and/or evidence to the contrary. It’s perfectly conceivable that the information you have received may be wrong, misconstrued or even malicious.

Tip 2. If things are not ( and can’t be) resolved to your satisfacton, you may withdraw your earlier job offer. Write to the individual immediately outlining your full reasons for this decision.

Tip 3. Remember, these reasons must present a real and significant risk of harm to your business; they can’t, when picked apart, amount to trivial or unreasonable excuses not to employ an individual. Furthermore, they must not, in themselves, amount to discriminatory grounds.

Tip 4. Thankfully, for most employers, a situation like this is rare – but it can happen. Protect yourself by adding a paragraph to your offer of appointment letter that gives you the right to withdraw a job offer should key information later come to light. In our own, this disclaimer is right at the top so it can’t be missed!

Source: Tips & Advise Personnel 2 February 2012

EMPLOYEES AND YOUR FIRST AID OBLIGATIONS 10.02.2012

A flyer from a company offering first-aid training has just landed on your desk. It states that every employer is “legally required to have employees who are qualified first aiders”. But that’s not quite true. What does the law really say?

First aid and the law

First aid at work is covered by the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981. In line with the risk-based approach that’s taken with health and safety generally, this legislation requires an employer to make first aid provision that is “adequate and appropriate” to their workplace. In other words, the law recognises that a building site will have different needs to an office. As a result, not all of you are going to need a qualified first aider – any suggestion to the contrary is a dubious marketing tactic!

What must you do?

The minimum legal requirement here is that all workplaces must have: (1) a suitably stocked first aid box; (2) an “appointed person” (AP) to take care of first aid arrangements; and (3) provided information to all employees on what type of first aid arrangements have been made, e.g. where your first aid boxes are located. These rules apply to every employer and there’s no small business exemption.

What’s an appointed person?

APs don’t require any training (although some may be emergency first aid trained). Their main tasks are to look after any equipment, such as first aid boxes, as well as any facilities, e.g. a first aid room, and to call the emergency services (if required) This is different to a qualified first aider who holds an HSE approved qualification.

Tip, If a risk assessment shows that the nature of your workplace justifies having first aiders, it’s not necessary to appoint an AP.

Assessing your risks

In practice, many employers will require more than just the statutory minimum. Luckily, the HSE has an interactive online tool that can help you assess your first aid needs. It’s based around two key factors. The first concerns the hazards that can be found in your workplace. Once you have identified these, you will then need to consider the number of employees. This figure also influences whether you need a first aider as opposed to an AP.

Further guidance on numbers

According to the HSE, a “low risk” workplace only requires a first aider if there are 50+ employees. Higher risk workplaces, e.g. warehouses, with between five and 50 employees, should have a first aider who is at least trained in emergency first aid. Where you have more than 50 employees, then one first aider with a more comprehensive “first aid at work certificate” is recommended for every 50 people employed (or part thereof)

Tip 1 If you operate a shift system, or have a site with several buildings, you are likely to need more first aiders. The same applies if you employ higher numbers of young workers and/or those with disabilities or known health problems.

Tip 2. The HSE provides further inormation for employers in its free booklet: First Aid at Work – your questions answered.

Source: Tips & Advice Personnel 2 February 2012