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Friday 29 November 2013

ZERO HOURS CONTRACTS – OUR VIEW


You may have noticed we stayed rather quiet when the subject of zero hours contracts first crept into the media spotlight back in August. It was a purposeful silence, as at that time, we simply felt the matter had been exacerbated and had unfortunately fallen victim to ‘band-wagon’ mentality from the majority of the public.

That isn’t to say that the arguments for and against weren’t valid of course – far from it – there just hadn’t yet been enough research behind it to present a balanced and measured argument…until now.

A new report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has revived the topic using meaningful results from a survey of more than 2,500 workers, dismissing previous statements that vilified this type of employment and called for restrictive regulation. Instead, its focus was on the overall understanding and implementation of these contracts, highlighting any areas for improvement for employers.

REC Director of Policy, Tom Hadley, rightly summed this sentiment up with a comment of his own: “Rather than seeking to add further layers of regulation and getting bogged down in a debate over different types of contracts, the focus for government must be to ensure that workers have the right skills and awareness to progress within the jobs market – whatever the type of contract they are on.”

The rules and regulation surrounding the flexible work environment can be a minefield for both employer and employee. Last month marked the two year anniversary of the introduction of Agency Worker Regulations (AWR) - which were also initially met with scepticism. Yet while recent reports show that the legislation incurred significant cost for recruiters, demand for temporary staff is still strong, with 96% of employers planning to increase or maintain their temporary workforce over the coming year.


Couple this with 60% job satisfaction of zero-hours workers (comparable to the average UK employee) and we can begin to understand the real benefits behind a contractually diverse workforce. It certainly gets the ACR seal of approval!

Monday 11 November 2013

Industry infographic reveals record turnover

The latest trends update from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) has piqued the interest of many consultants and agencies across the country, with its market forecast findings presented as a dynamic infographic.

The results presented show a comparison between permanent and temp/contract recruitment, with some encouraging stats reflecting a sense of growing optimism within the sector that is stronger than ever.

Over the past 12 months, total industry turnover has grown by 3.1 per cent to £26.5 billion, of which the temporary and contract market contributed 91 per cent for 2012/3 with record gross revenue of £24.1 billion reported.

According to REC chief executive Kevin Green, whose comments can be read here , the robust nature and attitude of the industry as a whole has significantly contributed to its continuous improvement and year on year over achievement in terms of exceeding predicted revenue growth.

Confidence in the post-recession recovery made so far has resulted in a much more positive forecast for the next three years, with realistic growth figures of 7.3, 8.3 and 9.6 per cent respectively set to increase total industry turnover to an even bigger record high of £33.5 billion by 2016.

While the numbers are very impressive, it is the increased volume of people that are now in work following a period of crippling unemployment that is the real success story here. Demonstrating the unrelenting stability and dedication of recruiters are the 617,000 people who got permanent jobs, and those 1.1 million people in temp/contract assignments on any given day.

The job security and satisfaction of placed candidates and the growing investment made by employers into their recruitment processes have been the nurturing forces aiding the industry’s recuperation; setting the scene for a welcome and increasingly pacy return to the golden pre-recession years.


Take a look for yourself. You can see the infographic here and the accompanying presentation here. 
 

Anne Corder Recruitment 2008-2012. All Rights Reserved.