News

Recruitment manager Ricky Martin has won the latest BBC business contest, The Apprentice, securing £250,000 investment for his new business venture. Martin, from Portsmouth, beat Jade Nash, Nick Holzherr and Tom Gearing in the eighth series of the business reality show. Martin has an Honours degree in Biochemistry, and impressed Lord Sugar with plans for […]

Identifying the correct date of termination of an employment contract is crucial, and getting it wrong can be costly, as one employer recently discovered. An employee has three months from the EDT to present a claim to an employment tribunal   So, it is extremely important for both parties to be crystal clear as to […]

As you may have already noticed, more than 6.4 million LinkedIn passwords have leaked to the Web after an apparent hack. Some login details are encrypted, but all users are advised to change their passwords. LinkedIn has more than 150 million users worldwide, so this appears to affect less than 5 percent of its user […]

The introduction of the no-fault dismissal procedure in the Beecroft Report is meant to reduce the burden of compliance and encourage growth in small businesses – but could it actually have the opposite effect? The no-fault proposals are intended to lessen the pressure on small businesses without HR staff by helping them to manage the […]

Opt out’ is a common phrase in the recruitment industry, but who is opting out and what is it they are opting out of? The term ‘opt out’ is a term used to describe the situation where a limited company and the individual working through that limited company agree that the Conduct of Employment Agencies […]

Are you allowing your staff to leave early to watch football matches And what are the legal requirements? All the talk this summer is of the Jubilee and the Olympics, but England is also involved in another significant sporting event: the European football championships. You may have formulated holiday policies to allow staff to attend […]

The British Medical Association has announced that for the first time since 1975, doctors will be striking on 21 June as a protest against proposed changes to their pension arrangements. What do medical recruiters have to bear in mind? Recruiters will know that it is a breach of regulation 7 of the Conduct of Employment […]

The Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA), which has protected temporary workers in farming, shellfish gathering, and food processing since 2005, is to be scaled down and refocused. The changes will concentrate on stamping out the high-risk, criminal labour providers with links to serious crime and human trafficking. Agriculture Minister, Jim Paice announced how vulnerable workers will be […]

The latest guidance that was designed to provide clarity on IR35 has done anything but. Not only are contractors stuck with the same troublesome principles that have been grappled with since IR35s announcement on the contracting scene, but now there are even more tests to apply; Quite literally in the most recent guidance. For those […]

When providing a reference for an ex-employee it is important to approach with an element of caution. Getting it wrong could lead to claims of discrimination, breach of contract, defamation, malicious falsehood or negligent mis-statement. Over the years case law has helped to highlight some key points to take into account when providing a reference. […]

With the (not so unexpected) news that the UK is officially back in recession, and the fears that we may already have had our summer for 2012 it is easy to feel down beat. So we thought we’d remind you of a few things which you have to look forward to over the coming months. […]

It has recently come to light that Royal Mail has decided it is unsafe for its staff to deliver post to certain properties following health and safety assessments. The risks include uneven road surfaces which have reportedly resulted in multiple “near misses”, and the risk of a cat attack through the letter box. This has […]

The Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) this week announced that Zoe Evans, the Director of a recruitment agency in Loughborough trading as Kensington Mayfair, has been required by magistrates to pay £2,030.00 in fines and costs after prosecution for withholding pay from seven workers. Her actions were in breach of Regulation 12 of […]

From the 6th April 2012, the rules relating to the reporting of workplace injuries have changed. It used to be the case that employers were required to report any injury at work that incapacitates an employee for 3 or more consecutive days. The report had to be made within 10 days of the relevant incident. […]