Monthly Archives: March 2011

HCL dismisses Kate Bleasdale

In last month’s statement HCL said that “Kathleen Veronica Bleasdale has resigned from the board of directors of the company with immediate effect. This does not affect her status as an employee of the company. Healthmark UK has formally withdrawn its notice requisitioning a general meeting of the company, details of which were announced on […]

8 Occupations To Be Removed From Shortage Occupation List

The Government has announced that it has accepted all of the Migration Advisory Committee’s (MAC) recommendations following the publication of two reports looking at Graduate Level Jobs and the Shortage Occupation List for Tier 2 General. The recommendations include the removal of 8 skilled occupations from the Shortage Occupation List and the removal of 71 […]

REC calls for a Budget for Jobs

The Chief Executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), Kevin Green, said that “Businesses around the country are anxiously awaiting this year\’s Budget, which must do all it can to create an environment where companies find it easy to grow and create jobs. While we have seen some good progress in the last year […]

OTS offers the Chancellor three Interim IR35 options

Suspending IR35 The first option, suspending IR35 altogether, has so far been widely criticised by many within the contracting community as it is believed that there would be a huge surge in the number of incorporations (by contractors currently using umbrella structures) and a significant loss of revenue to the exchequer. The OTS has suggested […]

58% surge in Insurance Firm Recruitment

Speaking on the figures the Managing Director of Powerchex, Alexandra Kelly, said that \”We are also seeing some stabilisation in the number of confirmed appointments made to IT contractors working within Financial Services, after an 80% drop in January. While this is good news for those looking for contracting opportunities, things have a way to […]

Worker Registration Scheme will close on the 30th April 2011

Until the 30th April this year nationals from A8 countries will still have to register for the scheme in the normal way, however beyond that date the Government cannot apply transitional restrictions on A8 nationals therefore they will enjoy the same entitlements as other European Union nationals. Nationals from the ‘A2’ (Romanians and Bulgarians) will […]

REC says UK now has a two speed labour market

The Chief Executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, Kevin Green, said that “The UK now has a two-speed labour market. The private sector continues to hire in increasing numbers while the public sector is shedding jobs. We anticipate that unemployment will increase over the spring, summer and autumn before very slowly starting to decline […]

OTS expected to advise that Income Tax & NI should be merged

Following the General Election the Coalition Government set up the OTS to, among other things, overhaul the highly unpopular IR35 legislation, which requires contractors to prove that they are no de facto employees of their clients. However, it is understood the OTS will highlight in the interim report the difficulty of finding a workable alternative […]

REC members discuss AWR Implementation

The Head of Randstad UK, Brian Wilkinson, said that \”It is a concern that such a high proportion of organisations are so unprepared. We urge all users of agency workers to conduct a thorough assessment of their human capital resources and the impact of the Regulations. Doing this properly will enable organisations to optimise the […]

Monster Employment Index jumps 11 points in February

Isabelle Ratinaud, Monster UK & Ireland spokesperson said that \”Many sectors that were said to be struggling, such as construction, have shown a strong recovery this month, while others – particularly those relating to manufacturing – have performed well, partly due to growing trade in the export sector. The figures are positive for job-seekers, who […]