Attract the best Recruits with These Four Employee Benefits
For high-tech and digital industries, the modern workplace is becoming more and more competitive – for employers as well as candidates. For highly skilled, desirable candidates, there is often the luxury of being able to choose to apply for several suitable positions. Attracting the right candidates, and offering them a compelling reason to stay is therefore an important incentive for employers. (more…)
A Nation of Shopkeepers: What are the Growth Sectors in Recovery Britain?
In 1805, Britain was famously, and contemptuously, dismissed by Napoleon Bonaparte as a ‘nation of shopkeepers’. Like many other attempted historical putdowns, this label has been taken as a badge of honour by many Brits for the past 210 years, to describe the pride and self-sufficiency of the British workforce. But to what extent is this still true? There is no denying that the UK economy has changed enormously over the past 20 years, and that the ongoing economic recovery is making further changes to the way Brits do business and make a living. (more…)
The Budget – PAYE, Wages and More
The budget has finally put all agencies on the same playing field. First Base Employment have always taken the moral high ground on this. Workers cannot legally be paid travel and subsistence for walking to work – they cannot claim laundry expenses unless they are self employed and even then there are stipulations on making claims (as there are for any one of us). There has been a loophole to date which has meant people have opted (sometimes unknowingly) to be paid outside of PAYE – hence upping their wages and meaning bigger profits for agencies. (more…)
Are Temporary Employees Right For My Business?
Temps are common feature of workplaces up and down the country, ranging from small IT support firms to large call centres and warehouses. Many companies find fixed term contracts to be a convenient and affordable way of hiring staff, and it is the preferable option for many contractors as well. However, the question we are often asked is what are the comparative benefits of hiring temps versus having a permanent member of staff (and what are the costs involved). This question will very much depend on the nature of your business and the dynamic of your team – a lot of companies find a mixture of temporary and permanent employees to be the best formula. To help you make up your own mind, this article gives an outline of the pros and cons of hiring temporary employees. (more…)
How You Can Optimise Your Workplace To Entice New Recruits
As much as you may feel it is you primarily doing the interviewing when a potential new recruit arrives at your office, the process of evaluation is very much a two-way street. From the moment the recruit steps out of their car or bus makes and their way through your office doors, they are busy making semiconscious snap judgements about whether they want to work for you. (more…)
Facing Up to the UK’s Skills Shortage Challenge
The government are right to point to the continuing reduction in unemployment figures as evidence of a robust and growing economy in the UK. However, this optimism hides a growing number of unfilled specialist roles that point to a skills shortage that all employers and recruiters need to face up to. This year’s GDP estimates, that were published on 4th February, were interesting as they clearly show which parts of the economy are growing, and in which areas the skills market is failing to keep up with demand. (more…)
How Is The End Of Travel And Subsistence Allowance Going To Affect Recruiters?
For many years, so-called umbrella companies have featured heavily in the world of recruitment. This is soon to end, as from 6th April 2016 contractors will no longer be able to claim travel and subsistence allowances as tax rebates from HMRC. The impact on both contractors and on recruiters is likely to be dramatic, and underlines the reasons why at First Base we have never used umbrella companies. (more…)
How to Learn New Skills at Little to No Cost
Looking for a new job can be a full time role in itself.
If you already have work (that is paying the bills) and need to gain more skills for your next career move it can seem impossible. Don’t be too quick to throw in the towel. If you stop the work you’re doing (and stop earning) how can you then afford to gain the new skills? It’s a catch 22 situation and one that we find many of our candidates in at some point in their lives.
Whilst still in employment, there are things that you can do to add to your “toolbox” of skills and experience. (more…)
Here’s How to Help A Recruitment Agency Find You The Perfect Job in 2016
Your next career move is highly important to you. It may be that you are looking for your:
- next management role
- the ideal company to learn and develop your skills with
- the next four weeks work to get some cash together to go on holiday
- or the next role to give you the skills you need for your chosen career in customer service
Each job search is an individual as the person looking for it and it’s important that you do a bit of preparation to identify (realistically) the strengths you have. (more…)
How To Ask The Right Questions At An Interview
The interview is as much an opportunity for you to ask questions of a potential employer as it is for the potential employer to ask questions about you. The interview should be a two way street, as, when you are job hunting it really is as important that you understand if the job is right for you just as much as whether you are right for the job. (more…)