The subject of expense claims is the hottest topic in UK news at the moment. Moat clearing, ginger biscuits and pay-per-view movies are just some of the claims that have been listed on expense claims by MPs in the last few years, but what is the real cost to British businesses?
As the recession takes hold, salaries can either be frozen, or for the lucky few who do have their pay increased, it’s often below the rate of inflation, and this becomes a fertile breeding ground for employees to find bumping up their expense claims tempting, or in some cases, justifiable.
In recent research (based on a representative sample of almost 2,000 adults) conducted by GlobalExpense, an expense management provider, it has been estimated that the average amount added to recent claims has been just under £14. While this doesn’t seem much money, if the estimated 3.7m people in the UK who claim expenses added £14 to a claim just once a year, the additional cost to British businesses is a staggering £52m.
In these times when every single penny counts and companies are battling with banks regarding loans and overdrafts, these claims can do much more damage than you might think, and somewhat worryingly, 95% of employees say that their employer has never queried or rejected a claim for being too high. Now may be the time to start!
The research findings are as follows –
30% of adults see exaggerating expenses as acceptable, especially if
a) Mileage rates don’t actually cover car and fuel costs (76%)
b) Pay hasn’t risen in line with inflation (40%)
c) The employer is slow at paying expenses back (29%)
d) The employee feels he or she is underpaid (28%)
13% of expense claiming employees say it’s likely or very likely they will exaggerate their expense claims if they find themselves in economic difficulty due to the recession and think they can get away with it.
38% of those who exaggerate each claim add £5 or less, while 2% added over £100.
60% of those researched said that business mileage was the most likely expense to be exaggerated.
Subsistence costs, such as food while away on business accounts for 32% of exaggerated claims.
42% of 18-34 year-olds agree that exaggerating claims is an acceptable practice.
In 2007, UK businesses paid out approximately £5.8bn in employee expenses, with as much as £1.02bn being either false, or out-of-policy expense claims. Corporate expense policies are being systematically and routinely ignored, and with profits across all sectors and industries expected to be lower in 2009, making sure your expenses policy is strictly followed can have a serious impact on your bottom line.
For more information and advice on these issues and for your upcoming summer recruitment needs, please call the specialists at Forties People on 020 7329 4044, or visit us online at www.fortiespeople.com .
Does your business comply? IF IT DOESN’T, YOUR BUSINESS WILL SUFFER.
As an employer, you have a legal responsibility to ensure the health and safety of both your staff and everyone connected with your businesses’ activities, be it customers, suppliers, casual visitors or tradesmen. A failure to do so can result is fines or even a prison sentence and in more extreme circumstances, your business could be closed down.
Health and safety at work is a vital yet complex aspect of your business, and there is far more information you will need to know than is available here, but this will give you an overview of what you need to do.
From the 6th April 2009, most new businesses no longer need to register with the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), although if you work with hazardous substances, or in industries such as construction or diving, you may need to apply for a license.
Generally speaking, an employer must –
Ensure the workplace is safe, and eliminate or control risks to people’s health
Ensure plant and machinery is safe, and that safe systems are set and followed
Ensure articles and substances are moved, used and stored safely
Provide adequate welfare facilities
Give workers the information, instruction, training and supervision necessary for their health and safety
Consult workers on health and safety matters and issues
Effective health and safety measures go a long way to enhance your reputation with staff, customers and regulators.
Stage 1 – Most employers need up-to-date Employers’ Liability Compulsory Insurance, and the certificate should be displayed where it can be seen. This insurance essentially covers you for compensation claims made against you or your company by staff that may have been injured or fallen ill because of their work for you.
Stage 2 – You need to appoint a competent person to help you fulfil your health and safety obligations. It can be you, one or more of your staff, or even someone from outside the business.
Stage 3 – A written health and safety policy (legal if you have five or more employees) outlines your objectives and the measures you’ve taken to ensure the health and safety of those involved with your business. It demonstrates your commitment and should describe how your policies are implemented. It must be reviewed on a regular basis.
Stage 4 – The assessment and management of your businesses’ health and safety risks are a legal requirement. A risk assessment will uncover what could potentially cause harm to people in your place of work and will highlight if you have taken the necessary precautions or whether you need to do more to prevent injury, or worse.
Stage 5 – You need to take into account the welfare and environmental facilities required by your employees, including facilities for the disabled, toilets and washing, drinking water, lighting and heating.
Stage 6 – Your workforce need to be trained to work safely and without risk. All training seminars should be during working hours and free to all staff, including the self-employed. Training records must be kept and regular consultations with employees or their representatives should take place to ensure training is effective and relevant, and to allow them to raise issues and concerns.
Stage 7 – You need to display the HSEs health and safety law poster in a visible place and in a readable condition.
Stage 8 – If an accident or unforeseen incident happens, you need to report it. RIDDOR, or The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1955 says that you have a legal duty to report accidents and illness at work to the HSE.
Stage 9 – By keeping up-to-date with news, events and regulations in your industry, your health and safety policies and risk assessments will be accurate, relevant and effective.
For more information and advice on these issues and for your upcoming summer recruitment needs, please call the specialists at Forties People on 020 7329 4044, or visit us online at www.fortiespeople.com.
Was it really the ‘Budget for jobs’ as some corners of the press have suggested? We’ll take you through the key points of how the April 2009 Budget affects business and employment.
When Chancellor Alistair Darling gave his Budget speech last month, it painted a pretty gloomy picture of the financial state of the country. The economy is expected to shrink by 3.5% in 2009, public borrowing will increase to a staggering £175bn this year and the Retail Price Index will get as low as –3% by September. We think you’ll agree that overall, this isn’t great news.
However, as we’ve mentioned, there are some small yet potentially highly significant signs that there is some light at the end of the fiscally turbulent tunnel we find ourselves in.
With bank bailouts, multinational collapses and massive pension payments dominating the headlines over the past six months, the real future of business in this country is the small to medium sized company who, while may be finding things harder than they did 18 months ago, can weather the storm with sensible practises across all aspects of the organisational structure and only making cutbacks where absolutely necessary.
The headline facts from the April 2009 Budget that affect businesses are as follows –
From a date yet to be announced, believed at the time of writing to be February 2010, the limit on a week's pay for the purposes of making statutory redundancy payments will rise from £350 to £380.
The HMRC Business Payment Support Service, which helps businesses spread their tax payments over a more convenient timeframe, will be expanded. Businesses expecting to make losses in accounting period or tax year 2009-10 will be allowed to offset them against corporation and income tax bills due on profits from the previous period or year. Businesses may now be able to reduce their upcoming tax payments.
The three-line account limit is being increased from £30,000 for trading or self-employment income and £15,000 for property income to permanently align it with the VAT registration threshold of £68,000 from the tax year 2009-10. Smaller businesses may now be able to restrict the information they provide in their tax return to just turnover, total allowable business expenses and net profit or loss.
From 1 May 2009, the VAT registration and de-registration thresholds will increase to £68,000 and £66,000 respectively.
From 2010-11, an additional 50% rate of income tax will be introduced for those earning over £150,000 a year.
From 6 April 2011, tax relief on pension contributions will be restricted for those with incomes of £150,000 and over, and tapered down until it is 20 per cent.
Changes will be made to the company car tax regime from 2011-12. In particular, the lower threshold for carbon dioxide emissions will decrease from 130 grams per kilometre (g/km) to 125g/km and the £80,000 price cap that applies when working out the cash equivalent of the car benefit will be abolished.
These direct facts relating to your business notwithstanding, the government’s short-term focus is on supporting employment and jobs through the downturn, while doing more to prepare Britain for the economic recovery.
Some of the measures introduced include –
Government support to protect 500,000 jobs
Extra funding to the tune of £1.7bn for the Job Centre network
Extra support for people who have been out of work for 12 months
From January 2010, all under-25s out of work for a year will be offered a job or training place, with extra money on top of benefits for those in training
£250m funding to help people get work experience in growth industries
For more information and advice on these issues and for your upcoming summer recruitment needs, please call the specialists at Forties People on 020 7329 4044, or visit us online at www.fortiespeople.com.
If an employee falls ill, do they qualify for Statutory Sick Pay? How long do you have to pay it for? How is it calculated? For the answers to these questions and more.
It’s a simple fact of life that sometimes, your employees won’t be able to work for a period of time because they are ill. For the purposes of this article, we’re not referring to a day in bed with a cold, but rather to an illness that keeps an employee off work for a sustained amount of time.
Essentially, Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is an earnings replacement for employees who are off work due to an illness, and it’s the responsibility of employers to pay SSP to said employees providing they meet certain qualifying criteria, and it’s up to you to decide if SSP is payable or not. Again, providing they meet the qualifying criteria, this also applies to part-time, temporary, agency and casual employees.
In order to qualify, employees must fulfil ALL the following conditions –
The employee must have notified you of their sickness within your own time limits or, if you haven't informed them in advance of any time limits, no later than seven days after the first day of sickness
The employee be employed by you and have done some work for you under their contract
The employee must be sick for four or more days in a row, including weekends and bank holidays - this is known as the period of incapacity for work (PIW)
The employee must have average weekly earnings equal to or more than the lower earnings limit for National Insurance contribution (NIC) purposes - £95 a week in 2009-10 - regardless of whether or not they are required to pay NICs.
The employee must have earnings on which you are liable to pay employer's Class 1 NICs, or would be liable to pay but for their age or level of earnings
It’s important to note that in any one PIW, Statutory Sick Pay is payable to an employee for a maximum of 28 weeks.
When to start and when to stop paying SSP can potentially get quite confusing, so it’s always beneficial to speak to an expert regarding the legal and HR implications, but there are a few pointers we can give you to get yourself familiar with what to do should this eventuality present itself.
Firstly, and within reasonable limits, you can set your own rules about how employees inform you that they’re sick. Initially, the employee should call before a certain time of the day, but then moving forward, they will usually be able to self-certify for a week, and beyond that, a doctor’s note will be needed.
Linking – If a PIW starts within eight weeks of the end of a previous PIW, the periods are linked and count as one period of sickness.
Waiting Days – The first three qualifying days in a PIW are called waiting days (WDs). SSP is not payable for WDs. Where PIWs are linked, and all three WDs have been served in the first PIW, there will be no WDs in any later linked spells of sickness.
Qualifying Days – These are the employee's contractual or normal working days, unless other days have been agreed with the workforce. SSP is paid for each qualifying day after the waiting days.
Stopping Payment – SSP usually stops once an employee returns to work. Calculate if any SSP is still owing to them for previous days of sickness - pay any outstanding money on their next normal pay day.
It goes without saying that as an employer, you’ll need to keep detailed records of sickness absence and amounts paid so that the HMRC can ensure your employees are receiving their full entitlement and there are a variety of forms and guides issued by HMRC that will help you.
For more information and advice on Statutory Sick Pay and for your upcoming summer recruitment needs, please call the specialists at Forties People on 020 7329 4044, or visit us online at www.fortiespeople.com.
Whilst this is great news for employees, there are a number
of steps the employer - and recruiter - has to put into place in order to make
the changes as seamless as possible.
The headline facts are as follows -
Statutory
minimum holiday entitlement has increased from 4.8 weeks per year to 5.6
weeks per year
A
typical five-day-week employee has his or her entitlement raised from 24
to 28 days per year
Employees
with irregular working patterns and those who work less than five days a
week are entitled to 28 days pro rata
Those
working more than five days a week will have their entitlement capped at
28 days per year
As always, it's not as simple as giving everyone four extra
holiday days. Due to the fact that it is a beneficial alteration to their terms
and conditions, you don't have to reissue contracts to your staff. You do
however need to let everyone know what his or her increased entitlement will be
in written form, i.e. a staff letter.
Staying with the same theme, a common area of confusion
surrounding employment regulations is that of public and bank holidays. As has
always been the case, the minimum statutory holiday entitlement can be
inclusive of public and bank holidays but employees do not have an automatic
right to take these days as paid leave.
Although most forward-thinking companies will usually not
make their employees use up holiday entitlement for public and bank holidays,
technically speaking, should an employee not wish to work on the aforementioned
days, they will need to make a request to take them from their entitlement,
providing they have accrued enough during the course of the year.
If you are unsure as to where you stand regarding the new
legislation, or you need some further information and advice about how to
inform your employees, click here to contact the specialists
at Forties People.
With the Internet, newspapers and associated media full of
adverts for cheap flights and holiday packages, you and your staff will start
to make summer holiday plans in the next few weeks and it's vital that you
nagging doubts about being able to continue as normal with a skeleton staff
remain unfounded.
With Forties People recruiting your summer temp staff, we
will make sure that the smooth continuation of your business during the ‘quiet'
summer months is hassle-free and straight forward, but read the following hints
to make sure you're on top of what you need to be doing.
Make
sure you've planned well in advance - Robust forward planning is vital
to the running of any business, but none more so that the preparation and
training of temp staff. If your secretarial and administration staff are
taking staggered breaks, we can arrange for one temp to cover all
positions, thereby offering you continuity and familiarity with your
product or service, making them more effective.
What
exactly do you need cover for? - Making sure the phones are answered
and directed, the post is sorted and delivered and your emails are
responded to in a timely fashion is one thing, but tying up deals and
talking to strategic partners and clients is something very different. You
can't expect a temp to have the business acumen and product or service
knowledge to do the latter, so you need to prioritise what's important in
the immediate term, and what can wait until you get back.
Good communication with your colleagues, business partners and clients is
vital to ensure that the deals you put into place before you leave are
still there on your return.
Make
sure your employees are aware of their duties - With a smaller
workforce, it may be that you have to ask certain employees to cover
certain tasks they wouldn't normally be asked to perform, such as filing,
ordering stock, sending out deliveries etc. If you make sure they are
trained and proficient on any mechanical or computerised systems they may
need to use, you can go away safe in the knowledge that your business will
remain operating at its optimum level.
Have
back-up you can trust - Regardless of the size of your business or
that you're used to making all the key decisions that affect the business
yourself, make sure you have a trusted and reliable second-in-command whom
you can, if necessary, delegate responsibility to.
Use
your recruitment company properly - With summer traditionally being
one of the busiest times of the year for the recruitment industry, we
believe wholeheartedly in the development of close and long-term relationships
with our clients. This gives us the ability to foresee potential staffing
requirements for certain companies we have previously worked closely with
and prioritise accordingly. In addition to this, we are not just there to
fulfil your staffing needs; we are an invaluable source of advice and
information on all aspects of employment. If there's something you need to
know, or a piece of new legislation you don't understand, just ask.
Learn
from your temporary staff - While it's easy to think that temporary
reception, admin or secretarial staff will quietly get on with the work
asked of them, it's entirely likely that they will have some good ideas
about the business and may even offer suggestions on how to makes certain
aspects of the company more efficient. An additional benefit of using
temporary staff is that you have the ability to ‘trial' them with a view
to growing your workforce in the future.
Get
the candidates you want, not the ones you don't - If you plan
sufficiently far ahead, you will get the candidates who have the
attributes and personality you are looking for. Panic recruitment at the
last minute may well get you someone who can do the job, but may not be
perfectly matched in terms of their overall skill-set or personality.
For further information, and to plan for your
summer recruitment, please call the specialists at Forties People on 020 7329
4044, or visit us online at www.fortiespeople.com.
Employee retention is vital to both the short and long-term
success of your company. Most managers will attest to the fact that keeping
hold of the best employees will ensure customer continuity and satisfaction,
increased productivity, content reporting staff and the retention of key
organisational knowledge and learning.
In any economic climate, the most talented will always find
employment, so if you don't make that extra effort to do all you can to keep
the best you've got, your business will suffer, and not just financially. Think
of the time and investment you'll need to make to train new staff, the price of
lost company knowledge, staff ‘mourning', insecure employees and costly search
fees. Those factors notwithstanding, it has been estimated that losing a middle
manager can cost an organisation up to 100% of his or her salary. Replacing a
senior executive costs even more, so follow these tips on how to keep your best
employees.
A
contented employee will know what is expected of him or her on a daily or
weekly basis - If you suddenly change expectations or job
specifications, it robs the employee of their internal security and
creates unhealthy stress.
Make
sure supervision or management of the employee is of a high standard -
Oftentimes, people leave companies or organisations because of their
managers and supervisors, rather than because of the company itself.
Give
your staff the freedom to express their thoughts and ideas in an open
forum - Providing an environment where employees are comfortable
giving feedback will prevent the most creative from constantly ‘biting
their tongues' and subsequently leaving.
Use
the skills and talent on offer to your advantage - How many of your
employees could contribute much more to the company than they already do?
Motivated employees will want to do more than simply what it says on their
job spec.
Make
certain every employee is treated fairly and equally - Staff morale
can very quickly go downhill if it is thought or perceived that certain
employees are being singled out for special treatment, financially or
otherwise.
Every
employee needs the tools provided to do his or her job properly -
Whether it's training, relaxed time constraints or employer temperament,
make sure they are properly equipped to fulfil his or her role to the
fullest.
Take
the time to get to know your staff on a professional level - Learn
about their skills, talents and interests. A common reason for leaving a
company is that the employee feels their bosses didn't know they existed.
Make
sure you never make threats to an employee's income or job security -
Even if you know redundancies are a possibility, never put a voice to
those thoughts because if you do, morale will sink very quickly and
everyone will start to update their CVs.
Make
your staff feel like they are the most important part of the business -
Because they are. Say ‘thank you', give them financial rewards, bonuses
and gifts. They raise motivation and give the staff a sense that their
employer is thinking about them.
Communicate
with your staff - Open, informal and consistent communication can be
the difference between a successful, productive and forward-thinking
company and a culture of fear and uncertainty which will inevitably lead
to lost productivity, decreased motivation and empty desks.
You're looking for the right person, and once you've found
them, what are they expected to do? For anyone applying for a new job, the
scope of the tasks they are expected to perform is vital to how they perceive
the company and it's management.
You can't successfully fill a vacancy unless you've
accurately defined the role in the first place. This is as helpful for the
employer as it is for the employee, because it clarifies what the applicant has
to do on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, and it helps the employer determine
performance and any potential training needs that might be required.
Don't get bogged down with intricate details - those are for
the operational manual - and the general rule of thumb is to include between
10-15 short sentences or points that cover the main responsibilities of the
role, not the detailed processes.
To create a perfect job description, answer these five
questions -
What
is the main purpose of the job and what is its contribution to the
individual department or the company as a whole?
What
are the essential skills the candidate needs to fulfil the role? Are there
specific technical or IT-based skills? What software or hardware
(including versions) do you expect the candidate to be able to use
proficiently?
What
are the main responsibilities and duties the candidate is expected to
carry out, regardless of whether they are daily, weekly, monthly, annually
or on an infrequent or irregular basis?
Does
the job have a supervisory role? How many subordinates will be reporting
to the candidate? Who is the candidate subordinate to?
Ideally,
what experience and education is needed in order to successfully fulfil
the responsibilities and duties of this job?
For more information
and advice, click
here to contact the specialists at Forties People.
Hiring the wrong candidate can be one of the most expensive mistakes you as an employer can make. During what is being dubbed the ‘credit crunch’, you can’t afford additional, unforeseen and unnecessary costs, so it’s vital that your interview techniques give you the best possible chance of hiring the right person, first time.
A good employment agency will take you through the entire recruitment process in order to circumvent the traditional pitfalls employers suffer when opting not to use an agency. They will select the right candidates; pre-interview them on your behalf in full consultation with your HR department or senior management, and help you develop your interview approach and technique. They will also assist you with the actual selection process once the interview stage is complete to determine whether your choices can integrate successfully into your company.
This is simply a guide. Interview techniques vary from person to person and from company to company, and they can be structured and altered to suit any position. In fact, we encourage you to develop your own interviewing style; it will benefit in the long run.
In addition, this is based around the traditional one-on-one, office environment interview. If you need advice on panel/board interviews, telephone interviews, group, second or follow-up interviews, please contact us and we’ll be glad to help.
Before…
Have your questions, or at least the basis of what you want to ask, prepared in advance
• Have an informal, relaxed seating arrangement
Be aware of what you can and cannot legally ask an interviewee
Don’t start the ‘interview’ right away. Identify some common ground from the CV or pre-interview phone call and chat informally on your way to the interview location.
During…
Outline the role on a micro level and the company on a macro level and explain where the job fits in the corporate structure.
Ask open-ended questions, which allow the candidate to express themselves e.g. “I’m interested in hearing about…”, rather than close-ended questions that can be answered with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ – “Can you work under pressure?” for example.
Re-evaluate your ‘first impression’ after 20-30 minutes and compare them with your original thoughts.
Make notes of things that stand out as the candidate is talking. It helps with the evaluation process.
Try and use the 80-20 principle – listen for 80% of the time and talk for 20%.
Talk about real-time work scenarios and not just hypothetical issues. Accuracy will increase and you will get a much better understanding of the candidate’s decision-making ability.
As the interview draws to a close, invite questions from the candidate. They can reveal a lot about a person’s character and can help good candidates demonstrate their worth.
After…
Inform the candidate of the next stage in the process e.g. if and when the second round of interviews is likely to take place, if any testing is required, when you hope to have the position filled etc.
Based on your evaluations of each of the candidates you’ve seen, you’ll be in a position to make the right choice.
Speak to the specialists at Forties People for further information. Click here to contact us.
Businesses should take advantage of the increasing pool of highly skilled, technically literate talent from within the disabled community.
Currently in the UK, there are 1.2 million disabled people who are available for, and want to work*. However unfortunately, there are still some businesses that continue to discriminate on the grounds of sex, race, marital status, religion, national origin and disability, and the number of claims has risen by 15% year-on-year**.
Close to 60% of businesses that employ from a diverse range of talent and skill-sets believe that it has contributed positively to their bottom line. In these turbulent times, if people are buying goods and services from anyone, you want to give them as many good reasons as possible to buy from you.
Business reasons for employing disabled people
Ultimately, you employ people who are going to help your business grow to where you want it to be, and there are sound business reasons for employing disabled people –
It opens up the pool of available talent by many tens of thousands of people giving you the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job.
A more diverse workforce means a more diverse customer base.
To become known as an inclusive, caring employer will enhance your reputation both in your industry and the wider community.
You will improve both staff morale and loyalty, therefore improving productivity. Employees are far more likely to put in the extra effort for an employer who puts their needs first.
Funding and support for employers recruiting disabled people
Forties People can help and advise employers to take advantage of the support and funding provided by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in relation to employment, policy and retention of disabled workers.
Have a chat with a Disability Employment Adviser (DEA). They will give you the basics of what you need to know going forward.
The DWP’s Employ ability initiative will give you practical advice on the employment of disabled people and those with long-term health issues.
The Job Introduction Scheme (JIS) can offer a weekly grant to put towards the employment or training costs for the first six weeks of employing a disabled person.
Access to Work (AtW) contributes towards the additional costs you’re likely to incur when employing a disabled person. In addition, the scheme may give you a grant of up to 100% of the approved costs of someone starting with you.
WORKSTEP is a tailored package designed to help employers whose disabled employees needs are more complex.
Speak to Forties People for further information. Click here to contact us.
*Source: Office for National Statistics Labour Force Survey, Oct - Dec 2007
**Source: Employment Tribunal Service, annual employment tribunal statistics for 2006/07 (1st April to 31st March).
This month we find out more about Spencer Jacobs, MD.
“What’s the best thing about your work?”
Finding someone a job and fulfilling client needs. I get a massive buzz out of getting people into the right work.
“Can you give an example of how you’ve fulfilled client needs?”
A Financial Director was looking for an accountant. He’d already been to three or four accountancy recruitment agencies, with no luck. He asked me if I was an accountant. When I said “No”, he asked, “How are you able to interview accountants then?” I explained how we listen to the needs of both sides and find a candidate that doesn’t just suit the role but suits the company as well. He trusted us to proceed and we found him a choice of two ideal people who were both so perfect he had trouble choosing between them.
“And what’s the worst thing about your work?”
It’s frustrating when I know a candidate is perfect but the client says they don’t want to meet them because they don’t look suitable on paper. We may not get it right every time, but we do all the groundwork so I wish all clients would listen to us! That way they would get best value for their money.
“How did you get into recruitment?”
My mother Jacqy started Forties People in 1992. I was working in sales at BMW, and could see a downturn in the motor industry so decided on a change of career. I joined as Operations Manager in 2000, and bought the business when she retired in 2003.
“What changes have you seen since you started?”
Things were tough when I started and they are tough again now. There is never a constant flow of jobs and candidates; it’s always tilted one way or the other.
“So how should New Recruit readers get the best from their recruitment agency?”
Choose Forties People! Make sure your recruitment agency understands your business and the role that you’re recruiting for. I know what it’s like to be an employer. I had a fairly poor experience of recruitment agencies who would send hundreds of CVs and people who weren’t suitable. I found that most recruitment consultants didn’t know enough about the candidates, let alone the company they were recruiting for. We do it differently here. We spend time getting to know you, checking CVs and pre-interviewing candidates on your behalf. You then get a really good shortlist of quality candidates, which saves you a lot of time and hassle.
“So, are you married?”
“And are you planning a family?”
“What is your personal situation?”
You must be extra careful you are not being prejudiced when interviewing. By law, you have to ask everyone the same questions but the above 3 questions are ones that you definitely mustn’t ask!
Closed questions invite a one-word answer so won’t tell you a lot. We recommend you ask open questions – they often start with who, what, when, where, why and how, and can gather much more information.
Here are some classic questions that candidates are often prepared for:
“Where do you want to be in five year’s time?”
“What do you consider to be your greatest strengths and weaknesses?”
“Which accomplishments have given you the greatest satisfaction and why?”
“Why do you want to work here?”
“Give me an example of …” is a good way to uncover transferable skills. For example: “Tell me about a time when you solved a problem”. Or “How have you dealt with a difficult customer?” While “What did you do at work yesterday?” can prompt a specific story from someone who is being vague.
It’s not just about knowing which questions to ask, the real skill is in how you ask them. The best questioning style helps the candidate relax and reveal more about themselves, so you find out whether they have the right skill set and will be a good fit with your organisation.
Remember, it’s OK to probe more deeply into candidates’ CVs. Statistics claim that many people lie to make themselves look good. If you interview our candidates, we will have checked out their CVs before we send them to you. Contact us to find out how we can help with your interviewing process.
Here’s a few stories we’ve heard about interviews by companies that hadn’t used us to screen their candidates…
One candidate told the interviewer he was fired for beating up his last boss.
A candidate for an accounting position said she was a "people person" and not a "numbers person."
Another candidate applied for a technical position repairing computers. Even though he’d clearly had no experience in electronics or computers, he’d made it to interview stage. He was asked if he’d ever taken apart a computer and actually seen inside one. His response was "Are you kidding? It's dangerous!" Needless to say, he did not get the position!
A candidate got a job as the PA to a Chief Executive. On 'handover' day , she discovered that he had changed to a three-day week and was about to take three months off to write a book! She also found she was expected to look after the diary of the Managing Director. The job wasn't as described, she wondered if the role would actually exist long-term, and she turned it down. If the employers had written the job description correctly, this situation would never have arisen.
Our top 10 tips on writing job descriptions
Be clear about what you want the employee to do
List the main responsibilities of the role, without going into too much detail
Think ahead, to make sure there are no nasty surprises
Keep it relevant; don' t ask for things you'd like but don't need
Make sure the specification is within the law. For example, you can't say ' Must be a graduate' or 'Must have A levels' unless it's a specialist role that actually demands those qualifications
Take care when specifying previous experience, as you must be able to justify it. For example, you can say 'Must have experience of working at CEO level' , but you can't say 'Must have five years experience' unless you can prove why
Include the hours and benefits, because if you need someone to start at 8am, that eliminates anyone who has to take their children to school before they can start work
Prepare the job description in advance of briefing us, or invite us to help, we're more than happy to talk through what you are looking for and why, and help you write it
Use the job description to measure applicants against at interview
Get the job description right, and you have a good chance of finding the right candidate. Get it wrong, and you risk wasting everybody's time!
As you know, we're great supporters of diversity in the workplace, and there is a whole raft of legislation governing this area. But it's not just about following the law, it is genuinely in your best interests to recruit and develop people from a wide and diverse pool of talent. It seems obvious to us that diversity should be encouraged and valued, with equal opportunity for all. Your clients probably include a range of age groups doesn't it make sense to employ a wide range of staff too?
Key things to remember about Equality and Diversity
Employers should have a written policy covering equality and diversity, aiming to ensure no discrimination occurs regardless of age, marital status, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, gender, religion or belief, sexual orientation, disability, domestic circumstances, social and employment status, HIV status, gender reassignment, political affiliation or trade union membership.
So what is discrimination? Any unfair action against an individual or group e.g. through exclusion, verbal comment, denigration, harassment, victimisation, failure to appreciate needs, or assumption of needs without consultation.
Employers should aim to create a culture that positively values and respects differences, promotes dignity, fairness, equality and diversity, and encourages individuals to develop and maximise their potential. This applies to all job applicants and employees, whether full-time, part-time, fixed-term, temporary or voluntary.
Plan ahead
The more notice you can give us, the better job we can do for you. If you have several secretaries all booking holiday at different times, we may be able to find one temp to cover for all of them, which will provide some continuity for you.
Be clear about what you want
We’ll work with you to identify exactly what tasks the temp will be expected to do, and what mindset will fit your organisation. We can then find you the best match of skills and personality.
Prioritise
A temp may take on the main responsibilities of your permanent member of staff, but is unlikely to have the same deep understanding of your business. If the workload is pre-planned properly, the temp can cover essential duties and other work can wait until the staff member returns.
Handover period
It can be useful for the temp to start in advance of the planned absence, so they can become familiar with the role and responsibilities, meet key people and make a seamless transition.
Work as a team
Let colleagues and managers know what service levels they can expect from the temp, to ensure all critical functions are covered and your customers won’t notice any delays.
Relax!
Good temps are responsible, reactive and accountable. With the right preparation in place, you can be confident to delegate full-time responsibilities to them.
Don’t forget to let us know your expected requirements for holiday temps and we’ll give you a shortlist of suitable candidates!
A recent highlight was when Pamela found the perfect job for a great candidate who was difficult to place. “The lady was in her late 50s. She was multi-lingual and had a great amount of skills. She’d covered a variety of jobs but didn’t particularly fit any job specification. Other agencies wouldn’t even interview her. I knew she was of great value and certainly would be of benefit to a busy company. I could see her potential and asked certain local employers to trust my judgement and offer her 10 minutes of their time. I felt confident that they would like her, and even risked them not using me again if I had got it wrong! She was snapped up and actually sobbed with joy. The employer thinks she’s amazing – they told me they never would have picked her CV had it not been for my phone call.”
Pamela is against any form of discrimination, but thinks: “there will always be people who judge a book by its cover and candidates still feel discriminated against because of their age.” At Forties People, we value what’s on the CV and whether candidates can do the job. “We still get a few phone calls saying our company name discriminates against young people, but we’ve never discriminated against people of any age,” Pamela concludes.
Let Pamela help you to find the perfect candidate for your vacancy, by calling her on 020 7329 4044.
As recruitment experts, we have to keep on top of the latest legislation that affects employers.
NEW: Employees’ right to request time off for training
The Government plans to introduce a new ‘right to request time off for training’, modelled on the current ‘right to request flexible working’. Employers will be obliged to consider requests, but will be able to refuse a request where there is a good business reason. There is to be a consultation about the details of the proposal.
EXTENDED: Employees’ right to request flexible working
The Government intends to extend the ‘right to request flexible working’ to parents of children up to age 16. Employees currently able to make flexible working requests include: parents of children under 6 or disabled children under 18; or those with adult dependents. A consultation is due on how to implement the proposals.
NEW: Guidance for employers dealing with the transfer of employee information during a transfer of undertaking
When employees are transferring to another employer under the TUPE rules, the transferor is required to provide certain information about the employees to the transferee. The Information Commissioner’s Office has published new guidance to help both employers comply with their obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998.
AMENDED: Sex Discrimination Act – AML
For women with an expected week of childbirth after 4 October 2008, non-pay terms and conditions will apply during Additional Maternity Leave as already apply to Ordinary Maternity Leave.
AMENDED: Sex Discrimination Act – sexual harassment
The definition is widened to cover harassment ‘related to the claimant’s sex or that of another person’ rather than harassment ‘on the grounds of the claimant’s sex’. This means that if A witnesses B sexually harassing C, A could potentially bring a claim for sexual harassment, even if C doesn’t.
AMENDED: Sex Discrimination Act – third parties
Employers will now be liable for sexual harassment by third parties, such as customers, if they fail to take ‘reasonably practical steps’ to prevent it. There must have been at least two previous occasions when the employee was subjected to harassment, although not necessarily by the same person.
INCREASED: National Minimum Wage
With effect from 1 October 2008, the adult rate will rise to £5.73, the rate for 18-21s will rise to £4.77, and the rate for 16-17s will rise to £3.53.
THE HOTTEST TOPIC IN THE UK TODAY!
Does your business comply? 
Was it really the ‘Budget for jobs’ as some corners of the press have suggested? We’ll take you through the key points of how the April 2009 Budget affects business and employment.
If an employee falls ill, do they qualify for Statutory Sick Pay? How long do you have to pay it for? How is it calculated? For the answers to these questions and more.
Whilst this is great news for employees, there are a number
of steps the employer - and recruiter - has to put into place in order to make
the changes as seamless as possible.
With the Internet, newspapers and associated media full of
adverts for cheap flights and holiday packages, you and your staff will start
to make summer holiday plans in the next few weeks and it's vital that you
nagging doubts about being able to continue as normal with a skeleton staff
remain unfounded.
You're looking for the right person, and once you've found
them, what are they expected to do? For anyone applying for a new job, the
scope of the tasks they are expected to perform is vital to how they perceive
the company and it's management.
Hiring the wrong candidate can be one of the most expensive mistakes you as an employer can make. During what is being dubbed the ‘credit crunch’, you can’t afford additional, unforeseen and unnecessary costs, so it’s vital that your interview techniques give you the best possible chance of hiring the right person, first time.
This month we find out more about Spencer Jacobs, MD.
“So, are you married?”
A candidate got a job as the PA to a Chief Executive. On 'handover' day , she discovered that he had changed to a three-day week and was about to take three months off to write a book! She also found she was expected to look after the diary of the Managing Director. The job wasn't as described, she wondered if the role would actually exist long-term, and she turned it down. If the employers had written the job description correctly, this situation would never have arisen.
As you know, we're great supporters of diversity in the workplace, and there is a whole raft of legislation governing this area. But it's not just about following the law, it is genuinely in your best interests to recruit and develop people from a wide and diverse pool of talent. It seems obvious to us that diversity should be encouraged and valued, with equal opportunity for all. Your clients probably include a range of age groups doesn't it make sense to employ a wide range of staff too?
6 top tips on planning your holiday cover.
Here are some of the things you can do to help the interview process go smoothly.
A recent highlight was when Pamela found the perfect job for a great candidate who was difficult to place. “The lady was in her late 50s. She was multi-lingual and had a great amount of skills. She’d covered a variety of jobs but didn’t particularly fit any job specification. Other agencies wouldn’t even interview her. I knew she was of great value and certainly would be of benefit to a busy company. I could see her potential and asked certain local employers to trust my judgement and offer her 10 minutes of their time. I felt confident that they would like her, and even risked them not using me again if I had got it wrong! She was snapped up and actually sobbed with joy. The employer thinks she’s amazing – they told me they never would have picked her CV had it not been for my phone call.”
© 2009 BBC