In a bid to help employers cope with the current economic crisis, ACAS and the CIPD have recently published a guidance note ‘How to manage your workforce in a recession’.

The document gives a lot of advice, including the need to think about the future. Although we don’t know when the markets will recover, we do know that they will eventually. Where does that leave employers that have made mass redundancies? Making people redundant and recruiting again later when the market picks up is expensive. And if you have to recruit, you also have to train, which will take up valuable time that you can ill-afford to lose.

We talked the other day about adopting a shorter working week as an alternative to redundancies. Another alternative is to take this time to retrain existing employees. If their skills are no longer in demand, provide training and redeploy them to other parts of the organisation where their skills will be in demand. This approach makes a lot of sense because when the market picks up again, you’ll have a ready trained workforce all set to go.

Surviving the recession and still coming out smiling at the end will require a lot of forward thinking. Companies that have had the foresight to prepare for the future are likely to have a head start when the crisis is over.

What advantages, or disadvantages, can you foresee for companies adopting this approach? Would you consider training for a different role within your current company if it meant you remained in employment?

The four-day week has now spread from the factory floor to the heart of the City, freezing pay among white-collar workers and forcing top-earning executives into the slow lane.

The prospect of a reduced working week, in exchange for a pay cut, has been greeted by accountants, lawyers and graduate professionals with dismay, but not necessarily despair. Some - the self-confessed lucky ones - were even quietly welcoming it.

KPMG has become the first of the “big four” accountancy firms to offer a voluntary four-day working week and sabbatical of up to three months, as it prepares to weather the recession. By the beginning of February, almost 70 per cent of KPMG's 11,000 UK staff had signed up to the scheme designed to avoid redundancies.

This week, around 12,000 employees at Jaguar Land Rover are set to vote on whether to accept a one-year pay freeze and a four-day week in return for no compulsory job losses for two years.

Richard Nicolle, employment partner at the City law firm Denton Wilde Sapte, said: “In more prosperous times, employees would be very reluctant to take a pay cut to safeguard a colleague's job. Employees are now very willing to consider anything that ultimately might save their own job, at a time when other jobs are very difficult to find. So, the whole negotiating position has changed. The ground rules have shifted significantly. That is partly out of a feeling that everyone is in danger.”

It’s not just UK companies that are considering a 4 day week. Many government offices worldwide are imposing it, and in Japan, Nissan Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn recently told reporters in Tokyo that he was interested in changing to a four-day week from a five-day week, while reducing compensation per worker, because it was better than cutting jobs.

Looking to the future, will this current reduction in hours impact favourably on the perception that a “five day working week” is the best? Or will employers adopt it as the ‘norm’ if they see an increase in productivity when people get a three day weekend or a day off in the week?

How do you feel about a 3 day weekend? Would you be prepared to accept a 4 day working week in return for guaranteed job security? Do you think the current trend for a reduction in working hours is here to stay for the foreseeable future?

Are we becoming a nation of gamblers? We may be in a recession, but it seems that gambling is on the increase. Ladbrokes definitely seem to be coping very well. In fact it may be because we ARE in a recession that they’re thriving.

The average betting stake is £8.40 and as well as providing some light relief it affords the chance to win a few bob. The economic downturn has made the prospect of a modest windfall even more attractive.

Chris Bell, the chief executive, does not pretend that Ladbrokes is recession-proof but a 0.9 per cent increase in operating profits on the back of an 11.1 per cent jump in the gross win – the amount left behind by the punter – is solid enough. Its UK retail division turned in a gross win increase of 4.7 per cent, helped by a 15.2 per cent increase from its controversial high-stakes gaming machines.

It does appear that the wealthy telephone pundits have curbed back on their spending, however. These are the guys who win or lose tens of thousands of pounds in the space of a few minutes. Profits from this handful of wealthy punters more than halved. On the other hand, the Internet gaming division recorded a creditable 20 per cent gain.

Last year we heard from Camelot, the lottery operator, that ticket sales had increased by 7.6% in the six months leading up to October. That equates to Britons spending £181million more in the hope of scooping a jackpot on the main draw or through scratch cards. About 70% of the UK adult population now plays regularly, with players spending £3 a week on average.

This year’s Grand National at Aintree will be run on 4th April. It’s the largest event in the UK horse racing calendar, companies run sweepstakes and the race attracts the attention of a lot of people who wouldn’t normal consider placing a bet. A lot of people go for a horse with a nice name. So should we expect to see the odds tumbling on runners like ‘Offshore Account’ (antepost price 66-1) or the 50-1 shot, ‘Afistfulofdollars’ as people choose financial names over form?

People need escapism, to be taken away from the perils of the real world. Spending a few pounds a week on the lottery or in the betting shop seems to be providing a welcome relief at the moment.
Do you enjoy a flutter on the horses or dogs, or is the lottery your thing? How about casinos and Internet gaming? Does a little gamble lighten up your week or do you think of gambling as a peril to be avoided at all costs?

We’d love to hear your views on this increasingly popular hobby…

The answer is yes, at least according to Mary Wakefield, The Spectator’s deputy editor.

The latest official employment statistics show that the number of women in full-time work fell by 53,000 in the last quarter, compared with a fall of 36,000 for men. It means women are losing full-time jobs at twice the rate of men, because men significantly outnumber women in the workplace.

So why does the press continually feature pictures of despondent males? Mary reckons it’s because us women don’t fall into despair the way our male counterparts do. We all know that the media thrives on drama and it’s getting more than its fair share at the moment.

And what’s making the boys act like this? It’s all due to the differences in brain design. The male asymmetrical brain believes that professional success is vital to their self esteem whereas the female empathetic brain is able to put things into perspective by considering not only work but family and friendship issues.

The pride factor tends to prohibit men from seeking help and discussing their problems. And yet if we are to believe the old adage, a trouble shared is a trouble halved. What do you think employers can do to soften the blow? Should companies be offering more counselling to men to help them cope with redundancy?

We’d love to hear your views…

Linked In, Facebook, all this rampant blogging etc – it seems that BLT are everywhere these days. Whilst my colleagues on our Management Consultancy go all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at the mere mention of ‘Twitter’ (prime example of recruiters matching the personalities of those whom they recruit!), those of us in tax appear to be a little slow off the mark in embracing these different ways of connecting with people.

We can readily quash the myth that tax people don’t do ‘social’ (let alone ‘social networking’) – the bleary eyes following on from the annual Tax Awards, for example, put paid to that. And at any BLT event, it’s always our tax contacts that are last to leave!

I get the impression that your archetypal tax professional still likes the telephone as a method of connecting with their contacts - after all, it won’t surprise many tax readers to hear that Friday afternoon is our busiest time for phone calls, when tax people wander back from lunchtime drinks after religiously poring over the back pages of their freshly printed copy of Taxation magazine…

Perhaps it’s fear of everything being too automated? As tax as a subject becomes ever more process driven, are we afraid of turning into robots? Do we think it’s just a fad? Remember Friends Reunited after all – so 2005. Displacement activity whilst the market is a little quieter? Or are tax professionals simply being left behind when it comes to utilising these new social networking sites to maximise their business contacts? After all many of our funkier commercial clients are fully embracing these new developments – could it be that tax people need to wise up in order to work in these environments?

Do let me know your thoughts. Blog away, connect with me on Linked In, or if these concepts are really alien…there’s always the phone 0207 405 3404.

P.S. Note to self – hide under the desk if I see Don, the Director of our MC team approaching with a camcorder and a glint in his eye…YouTube videos for us on tax may be a step too far, too soon!

Cosec departments currently seem to be faring better than most with fewer redundancies. We’ve even heard of a few cases where the headcount has actually increased, probably in anticipation of a greater burden to come as the government introduces more stringent compliance regulations.

But what about the future? Although a lot of Cosecs are feeling secure in their present positions there are still opportunities out there for people considering a change. The public sector in particular is doing well whilst a move to another private sector firm might offer greater job security.

The overall feeling from the company secretaries we’ve spoken to recently is one of robustness tempered with caution and realism.

Where do you fit into this picture? Do you feel that your role is safe or are you thinking of moving to another company for greater job security? Would you be prepared to take a salary cut if it meant you could stay in your present role?

Has the recession made you put on hold your idea to undertake an MBA? If so, maybe you should reconsider. Yes these courses are expensive but MBA graduates can command an average 60% increase in salary quickly after returning to the workplace. Time wise, the duration of an MBA course can vary from as little as 12 months up to a part-time option taking 3 years.

Straight MBA courses include accounting, finance, economics and marketing and are designed to prepare graduates for careers in finance and consulting. Most Business Schools also allow students to customise their MBAs to suit a particular business area.

If you have already decided which sector you want to work in, make sure you select a school that provides the opportunity to undertake work placements locally and has a solid reputation for supplying graduates to your chosen industry.

Flexible learning options are available that combine week-long residential seminars with blended learning thus allowing you to remain in the workplace for the duration of your studies.

If you’re still unsure whether an MBA is for you, why not try a mini MBA programme such as the one offered by Birkbeck College, London. This crash course introduces you to the major skills and knowledge required to master management. You will have the opportunity to satisfy your curiousity, learn something new and perhaps decide if you wish to pursue a full-blown MBA degree or other management award. This four week part-time course consists of 4 Saturday workshops that cover People and Performance; Marketing in Action; Strategic Change; and Finance for Managers. The next course starts on 18 April and costs £285. You can find out more about it by visiting their website.

BMW laid off 850 workers on Monday giving them just one hours notice. The carmaker said the job losses at its factory in Cowley, near Oxford, would affect agency workers on the weekend shift. And these aren’t workers who’ve just been doing the job for a couple of months; several had been there for years. Many were especially angry because they had previously been told they would be put on permanent contracts if they worked hard.

The temporary workers received one final blow when each of them was handed a letter asking them to return their uniforms and ID cards or have £35 docked off their pay.

"Sacking an entire shift like this, and targeting agency workers who have no rights to redundancy pay, is blatant opportunism on BMW’s part and nothing short of scandalous," said Tony Woodley, joint leader of the Unite union.

Although the government has signed up to the European Agency Workers Directive it has yet to set a date for its implementation. The directive ensures that temporary workers are entitled to the same rights as full-time staff after 12 weeks in a job and if it was already in force it would have offered some form of protection to these BMW agency workers.

A spokesman for the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform said it intended "to launch a consultation in the near future about how the UK will implement the Agency Workers Directive". The deadline for implementation is December 2011 but how many other instances like the BMW one will we see before then?

Agency workers used to be taken on to meet short-term demand but as the BMW story shows this is not always the case. Yes, we do live in troubled times, but morale amongst temps must now be at an all time low. Do you feel BMW mishandled the situation and what are the implications for the rest of the UK’s temporary workforce?

The financial sector is back in the spotlight again with the news that President Obama is aiming to water down Democratic proposals on pay caps for banking executives because he fears a “brain drain” on Wall Street.

Timothy Geithner, Mr Obama's Treasury Secretary, fears that many banks will not take part in the $2 trillion scheme to rescue the financial sector because the limits will put them off - and that some of the most talented people on Wall Street will leave for high-paying salaries elsewhere.

Meanwhile closer to home, David Cameron, the Tory leader, suggested that ministers should be prepared to take City executives to court to break employment contracts promising them bigger financial rewards.

And we’ve also heard that the UK government is now being urged to ensure that in future the chief executives of Britain's banks have a "recognised banking qualification". The call has come in a Commons motion, tabled by the Labour MPs Gordon Prentice and Paul Flynn.

It follows the admission in a select committee hearing from former bosses of the RBS and HBOS that they did not have any banking qualifications. Both banks were "bailed out" with £37bn of taxpayers’ money.

Executive banker’s salaries have already got out of hand. Eric Daniels, the Lloyds chief executive, is currently paid a basic salary of £1.03m. The bank's other five executive directors before the takeover was announced had a basic salary of between £590,000 and £680,000.

There are many questions that need to be answered and the debates are guaranteed to rage on for many months to come. But which way should the British government go? Should they curb executive pay and run the risk of the executives jumping ship or should they follow Obama’s thinking? And how about the question of banking qualifications, do you feel they should be an essential requirement for executive positions?

Beament Leslie Thomas (CSS) recently gave me a great opportunity to obtain my REC Certificate in Recruitment Practice.

For those of you that don’t know, this qualification enables me to join the growing, yet elite group of Qualified Recruiters and demonstrate my professionalism to both my clients and candidates. This nationally recognised recruitment qualification developed jointly by the REC and key employers is a must-have for anyone working as a recruitment consultant.

I received my study notes by post just before the Christmas holidays which landed up being a really good read on my trip to South Africa. The support I received during the study period was great, not only do you get your own personal tutor but I also had the encouragement of my colleagues around me who had already qualified and knew what I was going through!.

On my return to London in January I felt prepared but the pressure was on; after a one-day intensive revision session and a study leave day, I sat the exam with around 70 others on the 14th February. That’s right, it was Valentines Day, but it was just one more reason to celebrate in the evening!

All that is left now is to play the waiting game, for THE RESULTS!!

Watch this space; everyone at BLT has passed so far so I hope this is a good omen and that I’ll be able to add my name to the list!

Wish my luck, Michelle

Well it certainly made great TV….. the posh boys in the suits from RBS and HBOS using all their media training to fend off the grilling from John McFall, the Chairman of The Treasury Select Committee, looking every inch like a Glaswegian shop steward; the former Head of Risk at HBOS coming out of the woodwork to say “I told you so” and then finally the resignation of Sir James Crosby, deputy chairman of the Financial Services Authority. However, this wasn’t some glossy American TV drama …but the reality of life today of our Financial Services sector.

It makes for quite compulsive viewing …..all that money, power, greed and ambition being brought back to earth with a bump…..and we all watched ….probably quietly thinking it’s no bad thing they got their comeuppance. However, let’s be careful not to bite the hand that feeds us. We all know the FS sector is one of the most sophisticated and profitable areas of consulting……..healthy profits means money to spend on consulting.

What implications does all of this have for consulting in the Financial Services sector? Well, it looks like Regulation and Risk will be hot topics in the months and years to come, consolidation in the sector will bring continuing post merger integration work and who knows, perhaps the large teams of in house consultants will be scaled back creating more opportunity for external providers.

So, it’s not all doom and gloom in Financial Services and as an indication of this, I am currently looking to recruit a Head of Financial Services for a small boutique consulting firm. This is a firm with a foundation in the FS sector, looking to build for the future and offering a genuine opportunity for a businessman (or woman) who happens to be a management consultant to build (and share) in their plans for expansion. Please see the video below and click on the link to find out more:

Financial Services, Practice Leader, London

While many sectors of consulting are merely flickering at the moment, the Energy sector continues to burn reasonably brightly. This is a sector which interests many candidates although most opportunities at the moment are requiring individuals with previous energy sector experience.

Again, the smaller boutique consultancies are doing well with opportunities in business change and transformation, IT enabled change, performance improvement, implementation of energy trading systems, smart metering in the retail energy sector as well as research and analysis roles.

If you are interested in discussing roles in this sector or if you would like to discuss how we can assist you with recruitment in this area, I would would like to hear from you. An example of one of our open roles:

Consultants and Senior Consultants

On a lighter note in these challenging economic times, I've found some inspiration from a Peruvian dung beetle !!!!

Scientists in Peru have discovered a fascinating species of dung beetle in Peru – the Deltochilum valgum. Instead of trundling balls of dung around, the D.valgum likes attacking millipedes several times its size - decapitating them and devouring their insides! Competition for dung is apparently tough in the rainforests of Peru and this beetle has taken advantage of its slightly pointier head, ideal for sticking into millipedes and found tastier prey.

“What’s the relevance to me?” you might ask. Well, I’m not suggesting that in difficult times you should decapitate your competitors and eat their insides!…..but there comes a time for all of us when we just get tired of dung-ball rolling, or a time when the economic climate changes and all of a sudden we are all fighting for the same scraps of dung.

So follow the example of the dung beetle - take a look at what makes you different and apply it (hopefully not a pointy head!!). These turbulent times bring opportunities to make change - recognise your strengths individually and as a business - and spot the opportunity to apply them in the context which makes the greatest impact.

Look forward to hearing from you,

Catriona

As promised in this previous post on how BLT embraces social media, BLT has now launched its very own recruitment channel on YouTube.

• BLTrecruitment Channel on YouTube.

We plan on regularly

• updating our clients and candidates on the state of the management consultancy recruitment market in general,
• giving deeper insights on recruiting into specific consulting areas and
• providing you with video job descriptions of our featured consulting jobs.

Don just vlogged (video blogged) his first update on the current state of the management consultancy recruitment market and we plan on doing lots more soon.

So read, listen, watch - and write (comments are always welcome),
Wolfgang

Every day we see in the news stories about well-known brands falling into administration. Redundancy figures are constantly on the rise. Employers are feeling the pinch stronger than ever as headcounts dwindle and those who have been made redundant are faced with a very difficult job market.

But as the headcount shrinks, what happens during peak times when there’s an increased workload? Can employers benefit from the use of Temporary staff? Outlined below are some of the many ways that temporary staff can help you through this difficult period…

Temps as Substitutes

*A temp can act as a ‘substitute’ or ‘reserve’ employee; they can step in during times that you are understaffed or at times of unusually heavy workloads. Temporary workers can cover sick leave, holidays or longer-term periods such as maternity leave. Temps can work for 1 day or they can work for 1 year.
*If you cannot justify the costs of a new permanent employee or if your headcount doesn’t permit it; you can consider temporary workers to help lighten the load.

Temps with Specialist Skills

*Perhaps you have an immediate need, which requires a specialist; by hiring a temp you can forget the training and administration cost implications of taking on a permanent member of staff.

Using Temps to Reduce Costs

*The time spent referencing can be carried out by the agency, and training costs are naturally reduced by the fact that temporary workers will usually be ready-skilled.
*Temporary workers will usually not be offered the same benefits that permanent employees will be offered
*There are all sorts of cost implications linked to permanent members of staff, as well as the recruitment costs you must also consider reward, benefits and training expenses.

Tried and Tested

*Temp to perm contracts are a tried and tested way of sampling how well a candidate works before committing to a permanent contract. The cost of a short-term tenure is often a concern for employers and by bringing your permanent member of staff in on a ‘trial’ basis will eradicate those concerns when you come to drawing up that permanent contract.
*You can also use temps who are not interested in finding permanent employment to take on the role until you do find a permanent employee; this way you are not administrating the costs of bringing on a permanent employee, but you are ensuring that certain duties do not get neglected whilst you source for your ideal candidate.

Find out ‘what Senior HR professionals think of the interim industry’.

Do you make use of temporary workers? Do you believe they are a good solution to your staffing problems?

Hi, as per Wolfgang's previous post, we're going to start experimenting with YouTube.

Here I am talking about the Management Consultancy recruitment marketplace as of now ( Feb, 2009 ) from the perspective of employers and candidates.

Any questions, please get in touch - I hope you find it interesting.

Hi I am currently recruiting for the following positions - please click the links below to apply online - or don't hesitate to get in contact with any questions you may have ( 0207 405 3404 )

Look forward to hearing from you.

HR Officer, Kent £25,000

Our client, a leading and rapidly expanding successful retailer, is looking for an enthusiastic and motivated HR Officer to join a new team to be based in Kent.

This role will offer the successful candidate the possibility of assisting in setting up a new HR function; and therefore this is a fantastic opportunity for a HR professional looking to add to their repertoire of experience. You will be a point of contact for employees and candidates, offering comprehensive HR support to the business. Your role will include coaching line managers on best practice and consulting employees with a flexible and open minded approach. You will ideally have experience in either a retail or distribution environment and will love a challenge in a fast-paced workplace.

If you see yourself as a problem solver with great communication skills, and a wide knowledge of HR issues, then this could be the opportunity you have been looking for.

To apply, please click here

Training Officer, Kent £25,000

Are you a motivated and inspired Training professional, looking for a role in a successful retail organisation?

Our client is looking for a delivery focussed individual to help build and support training needs across the business, at a new distribution site in Kent. You will responsible for ensuring that all training and development solutions match the needs of the employees and you will consistently look for ways of improving the skills and knowledge of those you support. You will ideally hold the CTP qualification or equivalent and will have experience of delivering training in a busy retail or logistics environment.

To apply, please click here

What do you think of when you see the letters MBA on a CV?

Most recruiters dismiss MBAs as wannabe masters of the universe, and look no further. But they’re missing a trick.

When times are tough, the tough go back to School. Business Schools report increased interest in postgraduate courses when the economy takes a dip. For some students, it’s the chance to sit out a period of higher unemployment. For others, it’s the need to up-skill. Whatever the reason, Schools also report an increase in the quality of students. Scores on the standard admission test, GMAT, are higher, and research shows that post-Business School salaries are higher for the ‘recession’ cohort.

We visit around 25 Schools in the UK and Europe. This year, interest in management consultancy is higher than ever before – fuelled, no doubt, by the collapse in City opportunities. And students are targeting not just the well-known names in the consulting industry, but are also keen to learn about the boutique firms and niche specialists.

We promote entry level opportunities in a number of below-the-radar consultancies to our Business School audiences. Many of these students have relevant pre-MBA work experience which aligns to a market sector or service line in management consultancy. And they are not expecting ridiculously high salaries.

If you are a consulting firm which is looking for a new source of talent, contact Don Leslie dfl@blt.co.uk to find out how BLT can support you.

Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube - all of us have probably heard of these social media networks. In fact, most of us will actually be using at least one of them to connect & stay in touch, discuss the burning issues of the day, share events, and let people know what we have been up to.

And that's exactly what we from BLT had in mind when we decided to embrace these new networks. This is where we feel the industry is going to move and we want to be right up there with you!
We want to:

• stay in touch with both our candidates and our clients,
• discuss the burning issues in the recruitment industry and our areas of specialism,
• keep you up to speed on the events we are running or participating in,
• provide a forum for questions and answers online and finally,
• share a bit of office life at BLT (don't worry, just the funny bits).

And the best thing is that we'll be doing this in text, sound and (moving) pictures. And since we know how hard it is to type Beament Leslie Thomas correctly, we've created BLTrecruitment, our web 2.0 personality. So whether you'd like to watch our featured jobs, tweet with us, ask that burning question that's been on your mind, or simply become our fan - BLTrecruitment will be there for you!

BLT on web 2.0:

• BL(T)og - The BLT Blog
  Read, comment, engage!
• LinkedIn Group: BLT (Beament Leslie Thomas) Recruitment Network
  Check out our client and job helpdesks or ask any other question on your mind!
• BLT company profile on LinkedIn
  Connect with our consultants on LinkedIn!
• BLTrecruitment on Twitter
  Follow us and tweet with us!
• BLT on Facebook
  Become a fan!

And soon, we're going to launch our very own:

• BLTrecruitment channel on YouTube
  We've already done the filming, we'll keep you posted!

So whichever one you fancy, check out our profile, connect and interact with us and watch the BLTrecruitment network grow!

Let's interact!
Your team at BLT

PS: If you think we've missed that one site we absolutely have to be on, let us know and we'll check it out!

The current economic downturn and accompanying headlines have highlighted a lack of employment opportunities for UK citizens and more importantly UK graduates, so you might think that recruiting foreign talent is not something we should be worrying about at the moment. But of course it works both ways, and if we’d like UK nationals to have the opportunity to work abroad we need to open our doors to foreign nationals seeking work here.

However, we seem to be making it increasingly difficult for foreign nationals from outside the EC to secure employment in the UK; not only are the hurdles for the overseas employees themselves considerable, but UK employers are facing a torrent of new legislation which will add significantly to the administrative burden facing UK businesses and - if they fail to address it - will leave them exposed to increasingly severe penalties.

I am one of a number of foreign nationals employed by BLT (a South African) and I would like to share my views and experiences:

The first stage in the process is to obtain a visa:

When the working holiday visa for foreign nationals was discontinued for more than 80% of the countries previously within this system the HSMP and now the new Tier1 Visa became the entry route of choice for foreign professionals wanting to live and work in the UK. However, to be accepted on this visa you must accumulate the correct number of points. Points are awarded for competence in English language, age, education, salary band and the most difficult of all, (particularly if you originate from a developing country) the requirement to have £2,800 in a bank account for a period of 3 months prior to your application.

I have a Tier 1 Visa (I was lucky enough to be amongst the 40% of applicants each year to be awarded one) but I’m still worried about whether or not I will be able to build a successful career in the UK because I don’t have an immediate option to apply for British citizenship and to achieve this I now have to complete a further 8 year process. I feel strongly that anyone who has proved their commitment and value to the UK by securing a Tier 1 Visa should be deemed to be of sufficient ‘worth’ to UK business, to allow him/her eligibility for a more simple and swift process to British citizenship. Both sides should benefit from such mutual investment.

By contrast, an illegal immigrant to the UK who has avoided detection for 14 years is automatically eligible for British citizenship. I would like to think that my contribution to Britain’s prosperity is the greater…

How about you?

Has anybody been reading The Guardian Tax Gap series? The Guardian are examining the extent of tax avoidance by big business, day by day over the next 2 weeks. They are naming more than 20 major British companies and analysing their tax strategies to ask if they are paying their fair share. What do you think of this? Are they playing a vital role in highlighting the nature of business today or as a tax advisor, do you feel this is a bit of a witch hunt? Have a look and see what you think: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/series/tax-gap.
It is a really accessible series and worth a look.

Job candidates may be allowed to see other applicants' details, including interview notes, following a decision by the Information Commissioner (IC) against Leicester City Council.

The IC ruled that a council employee, who had applied for two internal vacancies, had the right, under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act, to see various details of other candidates as long as their identities were kept secret. The complainant had his request for information about the recruitment process and other candidates turned down by the council.

But the IC decided that the exemption applied to some of the details in a job application, but not to all of it and Leicester City Council was told to provide the information requested "either by redacting (editing) the application forms so that all information from which a candidate could be identified was removed, or by supplying brief summaries of applicants' experience and qualifications."

What effect will this ruling have on the interview process? Employers need to ensure that any notes made in interviews are suitable to be shown to the unsuccessful applicants after the event. Comments about the applicant's suitability for a position due to their age, sex, race, religion or any disability could lead to the employer facing a claim for discrimination. If the criteria for assessing applicants is fair and non-discriminatory this should not pose any problems.

Will the ruling dissuade employers from taking notes? It shouldn’t. It’s now more important than ever to take detailed notes in case an unsuccessful applicant challenges an appointment.

But is this all as straight forward as it appears? What about grey areas that are open to different interpretations? And worse still, what happens if you think a candidate is lying about his abilities? Would you risk noting that down? Recent research from Monster.co.uk revealed that 28% of us have lied in a job interview with a further 14% admitting to embellishing the truth. That’s a whopping 42% of people who are not 100% honest in an interview! Would someone who’s lied have the gall to challenge your final decisions? In some cases they might, landing you with a law suit that you would more than likely win, but the publicity of being considered an untrusting employer could cost you dear.

With some many factors to take into consideration, maybe we’d be better off drawing up a standard set of questions and simply ticking yes or no next to each.

What are your views? Do you think this ruling is taking the Freedom of Information Act to far? As always we’d love to hear them…

Take a quick look around you. How many guys do you see sporting beards? The new hairy look isn’t just a fashion statement, or even a way to keep the face warm in the cold winter weather. It’s all due to the recession!

Unemployed men who no longer need to keep up appearances in the office are taking the opportunity to feel liberated. The sheer joy of abandoning the morning shaving routine seems to give them a kind of personal freedom. But it’s not only the out-of-work guys who’re growing beards. Male employees who feel stressed by the recession are growing beards to appear more manly and hopefully stave off the threat of redundancy.

But will it work? Isn’t it just an excuse to allow the standard of physical appearance to drop? Surely if an employer is planning to make people redundant, he’s going to base his decision on work-related matters, not facial hair.

And where does that leave us girls? If the men believe that decisions are going to be made based on appearance, should we be adopting the same attitude and arriving at work dressed to the nines in the hope of keeping our job if we look more alluring?

As kids we used to love it and as adults we’ve grown to dread it! Yes, it’s that time of year again when Britain grinds to a halt with the annual snowfall.

The capital almost came to halt as public transport buses were suspended during London’s rush hour, and most of London's Tube lines suffered heavy disruptions or cancellations.

Personnel Today reported on Monday that ‘Businesses already struggling with the credit crunch are set to lose millions of pounds in lost operations as snow falls deeper today and tomorrow.’

Ok, so this is the heaviest and most widespread snowfall to hit the south east of England for 18 years but why does everything stop when we get snow? It’s not as of it’s an unusual phenomena. The UK’s had snow for centuries. Why aren’t we better prepared?

Unfortunately there isn’t a simple solution for the companies that rely heavily on the road and rail networks for the transportation of goods. Banks, retail outlets and employment agencies that open to the public also require at least some workers to enable them to open. These institutions can probably function with a skeleton staff because the bad weather will also deter all but the most determined customers.

The situation should however be very different for office workers. This is the perfect time for the proponents of flexible working schemes to outshine the rest. Rebecca Clake, organisation and resourcing adviser at the CIPD, said: “This is the most wired ‘big freeze’ we’ve ever had. With advances in technology, more and more people are able to work from home – at least to some degree.

"Companies that have put in place the technology and management practices to allow their people to work flexibly in normal times can reap the rewards today, as thousands of people log on from their living rooms and bedrooms to keep the knowledge economy ticking over."

And if people can stay at home and work successfully when there’s a heavy snowfall, why not throughout the rest of the year? Will this winter weather cause employers who have so far shunned the work-from-home mentality to rethink their ideas.

Were you part of the workforce who struggled to work on Monday or does your employer have the foresight to let you work from home? As always we’d love to hear your experiences…

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that employees on long-term sick leave accrue annual leave as if they were working.

The decision means that those returning to work after a long period of sickness are entitled to claim leave they have accrued during their absence. If the ill employee leaves the company or is sacked during the period of their illness they are also entitled to holiday pay equivalent to their accrued leave.

Additionally, the court stated that sick pay must be annually rolled over if necessary, and employees are allowed to take annual leave during their period of illness if they so wish.

THE CBI Absence and labour turnover report, May 2008 records that 5 per cent of absence spells became long-term (20 days or more), accounting for 40 per cent of all time lost. Stress is still cited as one of the main reasons why employees take long-term sickness leave.

This new ECJ ruling is set to add additional stress to companies struggling to stay afloat during the recession and must come as a major blow.

Protecting the rights of employees is important but during these turbulent times, shouldn’t government and the courts be focusing on ways to make life easier for employers rather than burdening them with additional financial problems?

What are your views on this subject? Should employees who have returned from a long-term sickness be allowed to claim holiday entitlement or should the entitlement be based on days ‘worked’?

As always we welcome your opinions…

I came across an interesting article about motivation last week in CityAm Newspaper.

Written by Julie Meyer, the CEO of Ariadne Capital, who tells us that

‘One very positive thing about market downturns is that laziness gets weeded out in a very Darwinian way. But where does one get motivation if it’s not been drilled into you from breath five as it is in some families? Well, actually think of it as a game – a mind game.

Whenever I’m confronted with something I don’t want to do, I trick myself into thinking it is precisely what I want to do. I tell myself it’s an opportunity to prove to myself that I can do something that I hadn’t already done, or to shine in some situation.’

The day before his inauguration Barack Obama said,

"Don't underestimate the power for people to pull together and to accomplish amazing things."

"These young people have huge potential that right now is not being tapped, and given the crisis that we're in and the hardships that so many people are going through, we can't allow any idle hands," he said. "Everybody's got to be involved. Everybody's going to have to pitch in, and I think the American people are ready for that."

Julie and Barack are right. As we go through life, we’ll always face things that we don’t necessarily want to do. But nobody said that life would be easy. We have to find the best way to jump these hurdles. Why should we allow some people to get away with having everything handed to them on a silver platter when the rest of us have to get stuck in and contribute their best efforts? To survive this current crisis we need to adopt a ‘back to basics’ attitude where everybody pulls together for the common good of the country.

What role should HR be playing in weeding out laziness? Should we be adopting the role of behavioural psychologists and counselling the guilty in the hope that they’ll change their ways? Or should we simply put their name at the top of the redundancy list?