REC Confirm Strong Temporary Job Market In JobsOutlook

Posted on January 27, 2012 by icsjonathan

Following a report into the impact of the Agency Workers Regulations, the REC have also reported that hiring intentions for temporary positions remains strong in their latest JobsOutlook. This is at a time whilst many employers are becoming increasingly cautious, and in many cases waiting for the economy to pick up before they begin to hire again.

Their report revealed that more than a quarter (27%) of employers are planning to increase the number of agency workers they employ in the short term. Added to this over half of them (57%) aim to keep temporary staff levels around the same. In the long term the figures are similar, with 22% planning to increase and 65% looking to keep levels the same. Continue reading →

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AWR Still Having A Low Impact On Contractors

Posted on January 27, 2012 by icsjonathan

With many recruiters anticipating a fall in contractor jobs it was interesting to note that the REC have again revealed that despite the burden of the Agency Workers Regulations, the demand for contractors remains strong.

Whilst they admitted that there was a slight fall in temporary jobs at end of last year, this is more likely to be attributed to the poor state of the economy rather than the impact of the AWR. They did however highlight the issues that recruiters are facing with some end clients, and have said that they will continue to address this. Continue reading →

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IT Spending Increase Should Boost Contractor Jobs

Posted on January 25, 2012 by icsjonathan

As with many sectors of the UK economy, the IT sector has fluctuated in terms of job availability over the last year, however it has always remained a key area post-recession in order to drive employment and growth.

After early optimism regarding IT spending at the start of last year, predictions from IT analyst Gartner suggest that 2012 will be even bigger, with many firms investing a lot into IT in order to stimulate growth. Continue reading →

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Petroplus Calls In The Administrators

Posted on January 24, 2012 by icsanna

The Swiss Oil Refiner, Petroplus has said it is to file for insolvency and have appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as administrators.

The UK subsidiary of the firm owns the Coryton oil refinery in Essex. Owned and operated by Petroplus Refining and Marketing Limited, the oil refinery employs around 500 staff and 350 contractors.

It supplies about 20% of fuel for London and the South East. There is already concern that there could be a fuel shortage in the South East due to this closure but speaking to the BBC, BP say; “There are no immediate supply issues across our network.” Continue reading →

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Reed Loses Battle With HMRC

Posted on January 23, 2012 by icsanna

It has been revealed that HMRC have won their case against Reed, a specialist recruitment company. They took the recruiters to court over travel and subsistence bills of their temporary job candidates.

Reed paid 500,000 temporary workers between 1998 and 2006 daily payments which covered lunch, up to £6, and commuting, up to £11.45. They were meant to be part of a salary sacrifice agreement but it has appeared that no real arrangement was in place for the six 12-month periods to 2006. Continue reading →

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Growing Number Of Self Employed UK Workers

Posted on January 20, 2012 by icsjonathan

Despite the latest unemployment figures showing a further rise, to 2.69m, a rate of 8.4% in the UK, the Office for National Statistics also revealed that the number of self employed workers rose by over 100,000 in the three months to November. This took the self employed workforce to a record high level, at 4.2m people.

Despite some fluctuation in contractor jobs over the last few months, there has been a growing number of people preferring the freelance or self employed option. John Philpott, advisor at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), claimed that many workers may prefer this route due to not being able to find permanent employment. However, a leading contractor group believes that the UK’s flexible workforce is key to economic recovery. Continue reading →

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Postponed IR35 Forum Meeting Indicates Progress

Posted on January 20, 2012 by icsjonathan

The decision to postpone the latest IR35 Forum meeting could indicate progress on the proposals being looked at to improve IR35 administration. HMCR confirmed that the meeting originally scheduled for January 18th has been moved to the 21st February following a number of ‘sub-meetings’ last week.

HMRC met with regular member of the forum on January 11th in order to have detailed discussions about the administrational plans for IR35 and the current ideas for the planned business test. A spokesperson confirmed that “following working groups with the external stakeholders, we felt that there was more work to do prior to holding another full Forum meeting”, which led to the postponement. Continue reading →

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HMRC To Review Business Records Checks

Posted on January 18, 2012 by icsjonathan

HMRC have this week announced that they are to review their Business Records Checks which was initiated last year. The idea behind the checks was to encourage businesses to keep better records, but it was criticised because of the amount of extra burden it places on small businesses.

In an official statement HMRC said that following consultation with representative bodies, they have started a detailed review of the BRC project. They go on to say that the pilot tests have caused “considerable concern to the tax profession” and that “the project would have benefited from more detailed consultation with tax professionals at an earlier stage.” Continue reading →

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Expansion Plans At Luton Airport Could Create 6,000 Jobs

Posted on January 17, 2012 by icsanna

Luton Airport want to double the number of passengers that go through their airport and have big expansion plans to accommodate this. The airport currently handles nearly 10 million passengers a year at present and is submitting an application to increase this to 18 million passengers.

The project, branded, futureLuToN:Optimisation, begins a four-week consultation process on 6 February. If the project is approved, it is expected to create around 6,000 jobs. Continue reading →

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HMRC Staff Strike A ‘Lightning’ Walkout

Posted on January 16, 2012 by icsanna

As many as 20,000 HMRC staff that provide advice on tax returns have staged a ‘lightning’ walkout this afternoon. They are protesting about HMRC’s plans to outsource and privatise their workload. HMRC is holding year-long trials from next month with two firms, Sitel and Teleperformance, at Lillyhall in Cumbria and Bathgate in West Lothian.

A series of 30-minute walkouts are scheduled for 10am and 4.30pm today (16/01), but will culminate on January 31st, self-assessment tax deadline day. The walkouts are at HMRC call centres and enquiry offices and will affect anyone trying to contact these centres. It is likely to cause huge inconvenience for millions of higher-rate taxpayers and those with untaxed income, such as landlords, freelancers and sole traders, who are required to submit a tax return each year. Continue reading →

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