Jun 21, 2016 | IT
The UK has its highest ever employment rate of 74%, with a record 31.4 million people in work.
Over the past year, the number of people in work has risen 588,000, with nearly 75% of the rise in employment in the past year being full-time.
Today’s official figures show that over the last year more than half-a-million more people are now in work, bringing employment to a new record high of 31.4 million. This growth has been driven by a rise in full-time jobs and the number of vacancies has reached more than 750,000.
Unemployment now stands at 5.1% – the lowest since early 2006 – and long-term unemployment has fallen by 25% over the year to 488,000, the lowest in six years.
Wages have grown slowly, however, rising 2% over the last year.
“Average earnings growth has also fallen to 2%, which is close to the underlying rate of pay growth that we’ve seen over the last few years. This is not surprising because the fundamental conditions required for a step change in pay growth are simply not there. Most employers still believe there are enough competent applicants out there to fill their vacancies, and, furthermore, productivity growth remains relatively weak. Conditions remain good for firms to invest in training and development and upgrading the skill content of jobs.”
“The UK jobs landscape is changing. Strong sterling is already severely dampening our ability to manufacture and sell goods overseas. Scotland’s oil industry has been hit hard by falling prices. Meanwhile, the IT and Technology sectors are booming with new vacancies opening faster than we can fill them. As the number of jobseekers still available to fill new openings decreases, upskilling workers will become a crucial component of fixing the skills shortage.
“Improving wages are a bright spot on the horizon for workers and this means employers will have to start increasing salary packages. If you are unsure of what salary you need to budget for an IT support, Development or Senior Manager role give us a call to talk through your vacancy at Langley James 0207 788 6600 or visit www.langleyjames.com
Jun 21, 2016 | IT
Following the attacks at an Orlando nightclub the question is where is this behaviour allowed to breed? As an employer or manager we need to be aware that homophobic comments by employees or third parties can get employers into hot water: the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that Romanian football club FC Steaua was engaging in discriminatory hiring practices after one of its well-known shareholders said that he would rather close the club than hire a gay player.
While it was established that the shareholder in question was not responsible for recruitment, he was perceived by the public as somebody who played a leading role in the club. The failure of the club to condemn and distance itself from his remarks was very damaging and the ECJ found that a case of discrimination could be inferred against the club from his comments.
In contrast to the US, where it is still legal in 29 states for an employer to discriminate against and fire workers for being gay, UK workers are protected against discrimination, victimisation and harassment because of sexual orientation by the Equality Act 2010. The Act doesn’t just protect the rights of gay workers: tribunals have also found in favour of heterosexual employees, such as in the case of a female employee who was made redundant from a gay bar and immediately replaced with a gay male employee.
Employers can be liable for the conduct of their employees and third parties, unless they can show that they have taken sufficient steps to prevent the discrimination, victimisation or harassment from taking place. Such steps would include: properly investigating complaints of unlawful behaviour, taking disciplinary action against any employee found to be discriminating against or harassing another, and implementing and adhering to rigorous equal opportunities and anti-harassment policies.
Employers should be aware that homophobic workplace ‘banter’ can amount to sexual orientation harassment even when the victim is neither gay nor perceived to be gay (for example one case, in which the heterosexual claimant was repeatedly called a “faggot” by colleagues). In a 2011 case, a tribunal found that an employer had harassed a (heterosexual) employee because of sexual orientation, when two of its employees used his iPhone without his permission and changed his status update on Facebook to read “finally came out of the closet, I am gay and proud”. The employee was not gay and did not believe that his colleagues thought he was.
This high-profile tweet is a reminder of the prevalence of social media and of the speed with which discriminatory comments can capture the public’s attention. In light of the huge increase in popularity and use of social media, employers should consider adopting a social media policy that sets clear standards for employee use of social media, and reminds employees that inappropriate online conduct can constitute a disciplinary offence.
Such a policy should provide example of inappropriate conduct, include prohibitions on negative, defamatory or discriminatory comments about the company and its employees, and should cross refer to the employer’s bullying and harassment and equal opportunities policies and as a best practice should be presented to all employees at induction stage.
If due to such conduct your organisation has to recruit Langley James can assist you in finding high calibre IT support and Development professionals please call 0207 788 6600 or go to www.langleyjames.com to see how we can help you.
Jun 6, 2016 | IT
With UEFA Euro 2016 Cup just around the corner, employers need to keep an eye out for staff absences caused by these sporting events. Find out what you can do to encourage employees to enjoy the celebrations, without disrupting your business.
The country set to be gripped by football mania (to be closely followed by The Olympics 2016) employers need to keep an eye out for staff absences prompted by the beautiful game.
England’s Group B fixtures for the most part will be taking place initially at weekends, the third game is Thursday June 16 th 2pm however not all your employees will be following England! It may be useful for employers to make a note of the following dates to help you plan in advance and to look out for an increase in absences:
GROUP A
Friday, June 10: France v Romania (20:00, Stade de France, Paris)
Saturday, June 11: Albania v Switzerland (14:00, Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens)
Wednesday, June 15: Romania v Switzerland (17:00, Parc des Princes, Paris)
Wednesday, June 15: France v Albania (20:00, Stade Velodrome, Marseille)
Sunday, June 19: Romania v Albania (20:00, Stade de Lyon)
Sunday, June 19: Switzerland v France (20:00, Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille)
GROUP B
Saturday, June 11: Wales v Slovakia (17:00, Stade de Bordeaux)
Saturday, June 11: England v Russia (20:00, Stade Velodrome, Marseille)
Wednesday, June 15: Russia v Slovakia (14:00, Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille)
Thursday, June 16: England v Wales (14:00, Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens)
Monday, June 20: Russia v Wales (20:00, Stadium de Toulouse)
Monday, June 20: Slovakia v England (20:00, Stade Geoffroy Guichard, St Etienne)
GROUP C
Sunday, June 12: Poland v Northern Ireland (17:00, Stade de Nice)
Sunday, June 12: Germany v Ukraine (20:00, Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille)
Thursday, June 16: Ukraine v Northern Ireland (17:00, Stade de Lyon)
Thursday, June 16: Germany v Poland (20:00, Stade de France, Paris)
Tuesday, June 21: Ukraine v Poland (17:00, Stade Velodrome, Marseille)
Tuesday, June 21: Northern Ireland v Germany (17:00, Parc des Princes, Paris)
GROUP D
Sunday, June 12: Turkey v Croatia (14:00, Parc des Princes, Paris)
Monday, June 13: Spain v Czech Republic (14:00, Stadium de Toulouse)
Friday, June 17: Czech Republic v Croatia (17:00, Stade Geoffroy Guichard, St
Etienne)
Friday, June 17: Spain v Turkey (20:00, Stade de Nice)
Tuesday, June 21: Czech Republic v Turkey (20:00, Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens)
Tuesday, June 21: Croatia v Spain (20:00, Stade de Bordeaux)
GROUP E
Monday, June 13: Republic of Ireland v Sweden (17:00, Stade de France, Paris)
Monday, June 13: Belgium v Italy (20:00, Stade de Lyon)
Friday, June 17: Italy v Sweden (14:00, Stadium de Toulouse)
Saturday, June 18: Belgium v Republic of Ireland (14:00, Stade de Bordeaux)
Wednesday, June 22: Italy v Republic of Ireland (20:00, Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille)
Wednesday, June 22: Sweden v Belgium (20:00, Stade de Nice)
GROUP F
Tuesday, June 14: Austria v Hungary (17:00, Stade de Bordeaux)
Tuesday, June 14: Portugal v Iceland (20:00, Stade Geoffroy Guichard, St Etienne)
Saturday, June 18: Iceland v Hungary (17:00, Stade Velodrome, Marseille)
Saturday, June 18: Portugal v Austria (20:00, Parc des Princes, Paris)
Wednesday, June 22: Iceland v Austria (17:00, Stade de France)
Wednesday, June 22: Hungary v Portugal (17:00, Stade de Lyon)
LAST 16
Match 1: Runner-up Group A v Runner-up C (14:00, June 25, St-Etienne)
Match 2: Winner B v Third-place A/C/D (17:00, June 25, Paris)
Match 3: Winner D v Third-place B/E/F (20:00, June 25, Lens)
Match 4: Winner A v Third-place C/D/E (14:00, June 26, Lyon)
Match 5: Winner C v Third-place A/B/F (17:00, June 26, Lille)
Match 6: Winner F v Runner-up E (20:00, June 26, Toulouse)
Match 7: Winner E v Runner-up D (17:00, June 27, St-Denis)
Match 8: Runner-up B v Runner-up F (20:00, June 27, Nice)
QUARTER-FINALS
Match 1: Winner Match 1 v Winner Match 3 (20:00, June 30, Marseille)
Match 2: Winner Match 2 v Winner Match 6 (2000, July 1, Lille)
Match 3: Winner Match 5 v Winner Match 7 (20:00, July 2, Bordeaux)
Match 4: Winner Match 4 v Winner Match 8 (2000, July 3, St-Denis)
SEMI-FINALS
Winner QF1 v Winner QF2 (20:00, July 6, Lyon)
Winner QF3 v Winner QF4 (20:00, July 7, Marseille)
FINAL
Winner SF1 v Winner SF2 (20:00, July 10, St-Denis)
As an employer you have a number of options open to you:
Use annual leave
Invite staff to book annual leave if they wish to watch sporting fixtures that occur during work time. Encourage staff to book holidays with sufficient notice if they are going to need time off. This will help you to plan ahead for any staff shortages. You could also offer unpaid leave if you have enough staff to cover absences.
Allow flexible working
Let employees leave early to watch sporting fixtures, but ask them to either start earlier, finish later or a combination of both on the same or another day during that week to make up the missing time. Other flexible approaches include allowing staff to swap shifts, if feasible.
Do nothing
You could take the view that any unauthorised absence is just that and, if staff choose to be absent on that day without taking a holiday, they leave themselves open to disciplinary action.
Watching sporting events at work
Install a TV screen or projector screen so that employees can watch a game and use the occasion as a team-building event, so no one has to take days off. Or, if you don’t have a TV, let them listen to it on the radio. However, you should be aware with either of these options that you will need either a TV licence or a licence from the Performing Rights Society for radio use. And remember, not everyone will enjoy watching sports, so be mindful of others when making arrangements.
Use it as a perk
While you have no obligation to cater for your employees; sporting interests, you could aid motivation by using an hour or two's time off to watch a sporting event as an incentive, perhaps based upon individual or group performance.
Review your internet policy
Employees may try to watch sporting events online or follow instant updates on news and social media sites, so you should remind them of your internet use and monitoring policies. It is up to you to decide whether you’re happy for your employees to keep track of events online; this might cause less disruption than people taking time off, but it is worth bearing in mind that if staff are streaming live sporting fixtures on a company-owned computer, you should have a TV licence to do so.
Remember that not all employees will be supporting the England team. So, to avoid any discrimination, it will be important that, whatever you decide to do, you offer the same concessions to all employees who wish to watch fixtures involving their chosen country.
Jun 6, 2016 | IT
Problem – “Some Employees are minimal and you can’t get any improvement”
Solution – rebuild your business one employee at a time
Minimal employees have become the bane of business. These employees do just enough to get by and no more. A business with good market share and potential, a good strategy but with poor results then it almost always points to minimal employees. Sometimes owners/management see this but often it takes an outsider to point it out. Once this is understood to be the problem the question is – How to be rid of these bottom-feeders and get some good people in their place? The answer is to build it employee by employee. The following are some key concepts when considering a personnel ‘upgrade’:
1. Understand that minimal employees cause discontentment with productive employees. Good employees often leave because of minimal employees. Having a minimal employee can hurt the entire operation. Realising this is important when difficult decisions need to be made.
2. Understand that most businesses cannot shut down as they reorganize or redesign. Using the analogy of a flying plane: you cannot stop the plane to fix it – you have to fix it while it is flying. The rule here is ‘don’t shoot yourself in the foot’. Usually this means don’t fire or lay-off until you have replacements.
3. View employees as resources and profit centres – not just expenses. Minimal employees are usually cheaper but deliver much less value.
4. Review your staffing at least once a week. (depending on the circumstances this may be necessary more often.) Go through each employee and determine his or her appropriateness for the business. Use a spreadsheet, keep notes and strategies current so they can be constantly reviewed. Highlight those employees that are ‘on the bubble’ or are delivering questionable value.
5. Do evaluations and reviews every three months. Once or twice a year is simply not enough.
6. Measure and evaluate your people weekly. Producers welcome the attention and ‘bottomfeeders’ will do all they can to avoid the scrutiny. Find some criteria for even those hard to measure job classifications – like service rep.
7. Find out if the poor producers have potential. Time and time management want to let someone go but not looking at potential. Sometimes they are amazed when they see a minimal employee blossom. It is usually better to give the minimal employee a chance or opportunity – if they do not want it they will often quit.
8. Understand that accountability is the employee’s responsibility – not management’s. It is management’s responsibility to do something about the lack of accountability if it is not there. This makes it much easier to deal with those tough decisions when the time comes.
9. Have a training and career plan for each employee.
10. Recruit right. The key to building a successful staffing is to make sure each new recruit is worth recruitig and is better than what you have. Here at Langley James we will go to extraordinary lengths to assist you in Recruit Someone Worth Recruiting. Consider work ethic, values, maturity, drive, creativity, etc. Truly amazing things happen when you replace a ‘bad apple’ with a good employee.
11. Look for ‘breakthrough’ employees that can bring high value quickly. This is usually a factor of skill, experience and work ethic. This can bring a corresponding sharp spike in performance.
12. Set up a system where employees can train or mentor each other. This tends to raise the standard throughout the business.
13. Constantly evaluate what your market and customers demand. Make sure you are hiring to meet this demand.
14. Make the processes automatic – daily if possible. If you stay focused the results will come. Focus on the process!
15. Be persistent.
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