Lucy Bristow Blog

Jobs Figures for Bristol

I was really pleased to see the latest unemployment figures in the UK fall by 9,000 in the 3 months to September, leaving unemployment unchanged at 2.45 million.

 Even better news is that Bristol’s average unemployment rate is one of the lowest in the country at 3.5%.  The worst places to find a job at the moment are Birmingham with 10% unemployment and Middlesbrough with 8.5%.  The national average is 7.7% so Bristol is faring well.

I am under no illusion however, the recovery is very sluggish and the impact of public sector cuts will not be fully understood for some time yet.  However, we seem to be bucking the trend at Lucy Bristow Appointments as we have seen a marked increase in permanent vacancies in the last quarter.  This is across all sectors of commercial enterprises in Bristol, Gloucestershire & the South West.

9,000 public sector employees paid more than the Prime Minister!

Very interesting reading in today’s Independent, revealing that more than 9,000 employees working in the public sector are paid more than the Prime Minister!

An investigation by BBC1′s Panorama and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism suggested the numbers earning more than David Cameron’s £142,500-a-year are much higher than expected.

The programme will be screened tonight and will no doubt add fuel to the fire over the controversy already raging over comparative pay levels in the public and private sectors.  I’m certainly going to be watching this!

Based on the responses to more than 2,400 Freedom of Information requests to public bodies, they show that 38,000 were paid over £100,000 while 1,000 received over £200,000. These include GPs, teachers, police chiefs, council officers and senior civil servants, as well as BBC senior managers too.

The NHS sector had the highest number of staff earning over £100,000 – 26,000 – with almost 6,500 paid more than the Prime Minister! Those with salaries topping the PM’s included 1,465 GPs – 10 of whom received more than £300,000.

Creative Commons hat tip to ukhomeoffice

Good sign for the South West economy

I was pleased to read today that unemployment now stands at 2.4 per cent in the South West, down 0.5 per cent on the same time last year. This is a good sign for the South West economy and hopefully shows signs of a gradual improvement in the job scene.

Figures for August 2010 show that the fall in unemployment in the region is in keeping with the national trend, which saw the largest rise in employment since records began in the three months to July.

Nationwide figures today revealed 286,000 more people secured jobs, 16,166 of them in the South West.

Creative Commons hat tip to homesbythomas

Be prepared for the new Agency Workers Regulations

The new Agency Workers Regulations, published in January this year under the EU Agency Workers Directive (AWD), will come into force in the UK on 1^st October 2011.  The current draft regulations are subject to some amendments by the new coalition government but the main principle of equal treatment and parity of pay to agency workers will most likely remain.

In summary the current regulations provide that agency workers will be entitled to equal access to on-site facilities and information about permanent vacancies from the start of an assignment.  After 12 weeks working in the same role they will be entitled to  basic  employment and working conditions no less favourable than employees recruited directly by the hirer, and pregnant mothers will have increased rights.

My own thoughts on this are that, whilst the AWR should protect temporary workers it should not be at the cost of the business and the economy.  A recent survey of HR directors by the REC showed that 84% intended to increase their use of temporary workers as they look to expand their workforce and respond to market conditions whilst the economy remains unstable and permanent recruitment considerably depleted.  Many businesses have survived the recession by engaging workers on short term temporary contracts to increase flexibility and reduce costs which has been of benefit to all.

What hirers and agencies need to know are the final clarifications of the regulations so that we can plan ahead and adjust to the new framework.   What is clear to me is that agencies need to ensure close working relationships with their clients and work together to help interpret the legislation and implement AWR effectively to maintain economic growth and prosperity.

Please read a detailed press release in our news section for the full breakdown of implications for businesses and staff.