RAFFINGERS STUART RECRUITMENT NEWSLETTER AUTUMN 2015
READ. REVIEW.
RECRUIT. *Toot Hill Golf Club - Annual Charity Golf Day 2015
Death of Umbrella Companies
Top Ten Tips: Gaining New Clients
NHS in Recruitment Crisis
HMRC propose to remove home-to-work travel and subsistence tax relief for workers who are employed through Umbrella Companies or Personal Service Companies.
With 19,000 businesses currently active in the UK recruitment sector, competition is strong. Here are our Top Ten Tips to help you stand out from the crowd.
It seems that the NHS cannot go a month without being threatened by pay cuts or organisational change.
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Contents
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PP YOUR BUSINESS OUR PASSION
Welcome and Partners
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Special Feature Death of Umbrella Companies
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UK Unemployment Rising: Are Skill Shortages to Blame?
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Raffingers Stuart Shortlisted for APSCo’s Awards for Excellence
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Top Ten Tips: Gaining New Clients
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UK SMEs Expect to Recruit in the Next Year
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Employee Spotlight
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Client’s Story A Xero Case Study
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Events 2015
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NHS in Recruitment Crisis
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Partner Perspective Are Athletes the Key to Your Success?
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Welcome to our RECRUITMENT AUTUMN Newsletter With the summer coming to an unfortunate end, we welcome the fifth edition of our Recruitment Newsletter. The last three months have been extremely exciting for the Raffingers Stuart team. Firstly, we would like to thank everyone that attended our Golf Day in September for The Lauren Page Trust, helping us to raise over £1,100. Secondly, we are pleased to announce that we have been shortlisted for The British Accountancy Awards, APSCo’s Awards for Excellence and the 2020 Innovation Awards, topping off a brilliant year. Being shortlisted for APSCo’s affiliate member of the year award is something we are particularly proud of as it validates the work we are doing for the recruitment sector. As always to expand our support to the sector, our Autumn newsletter is packed full of the latest advice, including a look into the rise of unemployment, significant changes affecting Umbrella Companies and whether athletes are the key to your success. If you would like to submit an article for our next edition, please contact lauren.aston@raffingers-stuart. co.uk.
Raffingers Stuart Partners
Gary Inglis Managing Partner gary.inglis@raffingers-stuart.co.uk
Andrew Coney Partner andrew.coney@raffingers-stuart.co.uk
Lee Manning Partner lee.manning@raffingers-stuart.co.uk 2 Adam Moody Partner adam.moody@raffingers-stuart.co.uk
Suda Ratnam Partner suda.ratnam@raffingers-stuart.co.uk
The Partners at Raffingers Stuart Barry Soraff Partner barry.soraff@raffingers-stuart.co.uk
Paul Dell Partner paul.dell@raffingers-stuart.co.uk
RAFFINGERS STUART RECRUITMENT NEWSLETTER AUTUMN 2015
Death of Umbrella Companies HMRC’s consultation, which ran from 8 July to 30 September 2015, outlined proposals to tackle tax avoidance in the sector by removing home-to-work travel and subsistence tax relief for workers, who are employed through Umbrella Companies or Personal Service Companies (PSCs), and are working under the supervision, direction or control of any person. SPECIAL FEATURE
Background Currently, those employed through an intermediary are able to access tax relief on their home-to-work travel and subsistence expenses, whilst those employed permanently, directly by the end employer are not. Because of this ‘unfair’ benefit, and with an increase in the use of employment intermediaries in recent years, the Budget 2015 saw the government announce that they will be putting a stop to employment intermediaries exploiting the tax system. 3
Following the announcement HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) began a consultation, outlining their proposals to make the tax system fairer. Consequently, they have proposed to remove tax relief for home-to-work travel and subsistence expenses for workers who are: ● Supplying personal services ● Engaged through an employment intermediary (umbrella company or PSC) ● Subject to the supervision, direction or control of any person Furthermore, in order to ensure the above is enforced, HMRC have proposed: ‘Transfer of Liability’. This will mean that the end employer will be responsible for applying the appropriate tax relief and will be liable for any discrepancies in tax paid.
So, if these changes are to be implemented, what will the effect be on... ...Umbrella Companies With umbrella employees no longer able to receive NI relief on their expenses and having to wait a period of time before they can claim any tax relief, it is expected that the changes will significantly reduce the viability of umbrella companies. It will no longer be tax advantageous to use or indeed work for an umbrella company. ...Recruitment Agencies It is expected that umbrella companies will become obsolete. Therefore, the main concern is for agencies that receive referral fees from employment intermediaries. Potentially, this revenue stream is going to be stopped; therefore agencies must be aware of how this will impact their business and take steps to mitigate the change as soon as possible. Furthermore, for agencies that act for a large number of umbrella employees, it is recommended they consider how they can support their workers if the changes are implemented. Ideally, agencies need to keep these workers up-to-date with the potential changes, letting them know how it will affect them and what their options are. There is a lot for recruitment agencies to think about as they have a responsibility to their workers and their clients, and need to make the transition to the new changes as seamless as possible for all.
For further information, please contact Andrew Coney at: andrew.coney@raffingers-stuart.co.uk
YOUR BUSINESS OUR PASSION
UK Unemployment Rising: Are Skill Shortages to Blame? The stability of the employment market was questioned this summer after the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that unemployment levels have increased for the second consecutive month. The ONS findings were based on figures for the last quarter, April to June 2015. When these were compared to Quarter one, January to March 2015, it was discovered that unemployment levels have increased by 25,000 and the number of those employed has decreased by 63,000. There are now 1.85 million people in the UK unemployed, fuelling concerns that the job boom has ended. However, these figures need to be looked at in context… There are now 31.03 million people in work, 354,000 more than a year earlier and the employee rate for those aged 16 to 24 has increased by 0.6% to 73.4%. Furthermore, despite unemployment increasing for the last quarter, there are still 221,000 fewer people unemployed than there was a year earlier. Alongside these impressive results, wages have increased
by 2.8% in the last year, showing that the economic recovery is still continuing, albeit at a slower pace. Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, puts the latest data from ONS down to skill shortages, declaring that, “Some of the weakening in the employment trend is simply due to companies being unable to find suitable staff as skill shortages become increasingly prevalent.” Stephen Timms, Labour’s Acting Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, said, “The rise in unemployment for a second month in a row is worrying and shows we cannot afford to be complacent about the recovery. “With productivity stagnating, David Cameron and George Osborne must take bolder action to raise jobseekers’ skill levels to get more back into work and help build the highskilled workforce Britain needs.” It is too soon to say whether the job market is levelling off or simply suffering a seasonal blip. The good news for recruitment professionals is that there were 735,000 job vacancies in the May to July period, 69,000 more than a year earlier. However, with the skill shortages becoming ever prevalent, it is an issue that needs to be addressed before it begins to severely impact upon the labour market.
Raffingers Stuart Shortlisted for APSCo’s Awards for Excellence We are pleased to announce that we have been shortlisted for ‘The Affiliate Member of the Year Award’ at APSCO’s Awards for Excellence 2015. APSCo’s Awards for Excellence were introduced as part of their commitment to help “identify, promote and celebrate best practice in the recruitment industry”, and the Affiliate Member of the Year award was established for members who have ‘consistently demonstrated the professional values, exceptional performance and support of fellow
members.’ Through specialising in the recruitment sector, we have worked closely with APSCo in the past year on recruitment - specific events and market insights, and are honoured to be shortlisted. The winners will be announced at APSCo’s awards lunch on Wednesday14 October 2015.
RAFFINGERS STUART RECRUITMENT NEWSLETTER AUTUMN 2015
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Top Ten Tips:
Gaining New Clients 1
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Go Niche Is it clear who your market is? Consider transforming your agency into a specialist recruitment firm that focuses on a specific sector, employee level or niche market.
LinkedIn Be clear on how you use LinkedIn. Are you using LinkedIn to find candidates, clients or to be seen as a leader in your field?
International If you are looking to grow and reach a new client base, now is the time to go international.
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Videos
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Articles, Blogs and Whitepapers
The majority of potential clients will look at your website to learn more about you. Videos are a great way for you to win people over through showing the people behind your firm on a more personal level.
Creating quality content that is of value to your market reinforces the fact that you are an expert in your field.
YOUR BUSINESS OUR PASSION
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Exhibitions and Trade Shows Research events relating to your target market and encourage a few members of your team to attend.
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Make Your Website User Friendly Smartphones are used by pretty much every professional. Make sure your website is compatible for all.
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Check out Your Competitors Keep track of what your competitors are up to and do not get complacent.
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Twitter Keep up-to-date by using free Twitter software, such as Tweetdeck, to see in real-time how people are reacting to your content or reacting to a topic of interest in your target market.
Do not Lose Sight of Old Marketing Methods Many agencies now focus on emails, apps, social media etc. and ignore the more traditional marketing tools, such as direct mail.
UK SMEs Expect to Recruit in the Next Year According to a new HSBC survey, more than half of UK Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) will hire new employees in the next year. The report, which saw HSBC team up with Ipsos MORI, surveyed more than 1,000 SMEs and found that those in the sector are extremely optimistic about their future growth. 60% of those surveyed expect to see their turnover significantly increase in the next 12 months, with 20% expecting their business to grow by 6%. The sectors that expect to see the most growth are manufacturing, 63% of which expect turnover growth, closely followed by the consumer and retail sector. For this growth to be achieved, and for SMEs to keep up with their increased activity, 54% expect to recruit in the next year. Furthermore, not only do they expect to recruit, but they expect to recruit full-time skilled and permanent employees with 54% favouring permanent over contract employees. These results are extremely encouraging for the recruitment sector. However, once again the need for skilled workers is highlighted, a concern that is being raised time and time again. Ian Stuart, HSBC UK Head of Commercial Banking, said: “This survey shows that small and medium-sized businesses across Britain are not only positive about growth, they want to hire full-time staff to help them grow. Hiring and training skilled staff takes investment – which is why HSBC has committed £8 billion to lend to SMEs this year and why we are running more than 300 ‘Strategies for Growth’ workshops to help businesses realise their ambitions.”
To read the full report visit http://www.about.hsbc.co.uk/news-and-media
Employee Spotlight In this slot we introduce you to a valued member of our team, allowing you to put a face to a name. This quarter we speak to our Marketing Manager, Lauren Aston. Name: Lauren Aston Nicknames: Lol DOB: 12 August 1988 Career history: After graduating, I was in a position of uncertainty; not entirely sure what I wanted to do. I had an English degree and so Publishing seemed the obvious choice. As they say, everything happens for a reason, and after carrying out work experience in the Editorial department at Pearson, I was given the opportunity to join the marketing team. Since then, I have never looked back. Five years later, having worked at Pearson and then Avanti (both of which have two very different approaches to marketing), I find myself at Raffingers Stuart. Raffingers Stuart has been a refreshing place to work, welcoming new ideas and being very open to try new things. So much has been achieved in the 18 months I have been here; I now look forward to seeing what the next 18 months will bring. Interests: Much to my boyfriend’s delight I can get into almost any sport and I am currently an avid fan of Moto GP. I also have a love/ hate relationship with running. In that, I love running races (half marathons and 10ks), but hate training! Partners Report: Lauren has become an integral part of the Raffingers Stuart team since she joined us 18 months ago and her enthusiasm is infectious amongst her team members. It is a pleasure to see her smile every day even after a gruelling half marathon the night before!
RAFFINGERS STUART RECRUITMENT NEWSLETTER AUTUMN 2015
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A Xero Case Study Rob Grant, Director at Dragonfly discusses his experiences with Xero and why choosing Xero was one of the best decisions he has ever made.
“I had been looking for accounting software for a while as I was desperate to get real-time information on my company’s financial position. My old accountant suggested Sage, which I tried and spectacularly failed to get to grips with – in fact I still have a drawer full of unopened Sage training manuals if anyone wants them? I guess that tells its own story! Having quickly realised that Sage was far too complex for a man of my meagre accounting prowess, I asked my old accountant to research other alternatives. Alas he could not find a suitable solution and so I resigned myself to receiving my management accounts every six months. 7
However, the accounts would invariably take a few months to complete by which time the information would be outdated. Again, I approached my accountant for a solution but none was forthcoming. It was then I made the decision to seek alternatives and a broker put me in contact with Lee at Raffingers Stuart. On our first call Lee mentioned Xero; how the firm were big advocates of the software and that if we went with them we could move all of our financial data on to the Xero platform.
Dragonfly is an award winning recruitment consultancy specialising in the media sector. T: 08456 182 750 E: info@dragonflyrecruitment.com
YOUR BUSINESS OUR PASSION
I politely explained to Lee that I had struggled with Sage and he assured me that Xero was a lot more user friendly and that I would be able to cope. He was right, and quite honestly we have not looked back. Using Xero has fundamentally changed how we operate as a business and has given me the real-time information I had been after for so long. I now have access to the daily balance sheet, P&L and cash position of the business at the touch of a button, allowing us to make business critical decisions far more clearly and quickly than ever before. Xero is easy to use and when I do struggle with something the software allows almost instantaneous communication with the team at Raffingers Stuart, who are happy to talk through any problems. Additionally, with CrunchBoards we can produce realtime reports and evaluate the business’s financial data on a granular level, bringing a real clarity to our financial planning. Put simply Xero is probably one of the best decisions we have ever made.”
Events 2015 Over
£1,100 raised
further the work of Consultant Obstetric Physicians who deal with women who have serious health problems during pregnancy, often resulting in premature births. It was great to see so many people turn out for this great cause. To find out more about The Lauren Page Trust visit www.laurenpage.org.uk. We would also like to again congratulate the winners on the day...
Annual Charity Golf Day 2015
Nearest the Pin - Mark Roye Longest Yard - Tony Ash
Thank you to everyone that attended our ninth Golf Day in aid of The Lauren Page Trust. Despite the non-stop rain, our hard core golfers helped us to raise over £1,100 (and still counting) for our chosen charity. It was great to see so many people turn out for this great cause - we hope you are now all dried out.
Overall Winner, Handicap 1-16 - Frank O’Donnell Overall Winner, Handicap 17-28 Joolz Overall Team Winners - Baber Nisar, Naeem Arif and Khalid Mustaq
The Lauren Page Trust is a charity set up to raise money to
An Introduction to Alternative Finance Date: Thursday 19 November 2015 Time: 5pm, for a 5:30pm start Venue: APEX Hotel
With over 56% of UK SMEs unaware of Alternative Finance, we hosted a unique event on how businesses can access and benefit from a range of funding and
sponsorship alternatives, outside of the bank. The event featured, Market Invoice, who guided attendees through their funding options, Chaser who showed attendees how they can reduce their debtor days and gain a financial boost through simply revising the process in which they chase outstanding invoices, and Growth Accelerator on their business growth service. To see the presentations from the event please contact lauren.aston@raffingers-stuart.co.uk.
RAFFINGERS STUART RECRUITMENT NEWSLETTER AUTUMN 2015
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NHS in Recruitment Crisis It seems that the NHS cannot go a month without being threatened by pay cuts or organisational change. Just last month, Westminster proposed a new contract for junior doctors that could potentially reduce their pay by 40%. With a number of my largest clients being responsible for medical recruitment, I am only too aware of the difficulties these ‘pay squeezes’ are having on the recruitment and retention of NHS employees. Yet, I was not aware of how great the crisis was until I read the Smith Institute and UNISON report…
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The report, aptly named ‘from pay squeeze to a staffing crisis’, surveyed 43 HR directors and managers from NHS Trusts and local authorities. The report clearly showed that the NHS is severely suffering from a lack of government support. 63% of respondents were ‘unsure’ whether they have enough employees to meet demand and the vast majority (85%) are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit. In an attempt to address the recruitment crisis, 56% of respondents said they are planning to recruit employees from overseas and 89% stated they are using agency staff to meet employee shortages. However, the severity of the situation is seen most noticeably by the fact that 19% of respondents said they have to recruit people with less skills and experience than required. Surely this is putting patients at risk? The NHS is on the brink of a HR crisis, yet instead of taking positive action, the government has pledged to restrain public sector pay increases to 1% until 2020. The government’s lack of investment in the NHS, especially in regards to training and workforce planning, means that skilled employees are being lost to the private sector and the trust is having to rely more and more on temporary workers, which is extremely costly - last year the NHS spent nearly £3.3billion on agency staff bills*. This solution is just not sustainable, yet it appears that agency workers are critical to the future of the NHS unless a solution to the ‘pay squeeze’ is found.
How NHS Trusts are dealing with the recruitment crisis: ● 56% planning to recruit employees from overseas ● 89% using agency staff to meet employee shortages ● 19% having to recruit people with less skills and experience than required So, what do recruiters need to know? Medical recruiters should be aware of how bad the NHS staffing crisis is and where the NHS is looking to recruit to overcome their staffing shortages. With little incentive to join the NHS, it is going to be increasingly difficult for agencies to find appropriate workers with the right skills. Some trusts are beginning to offer benefits and rewards to help retain and recruit employees; however we are yet to see how successful this will be as the lure of the private sector is always going to outweigh the attractiveness of the NHS whilst these ‘pay squeezes’ are in place. Furthermore, the reliance on agency workers is not sustainable, especially with the government announcing a ‘crack down’ on agency work. If this happens, I am not sure how the NHS will survive and I am sure it will fall on recruiters even more to help overcome these challenges and fill the void left by these workers. For further information, please contact Gary Inglis at: gary.inglis@raffingersstuart.co.uk Source: PA Wire
YOUR BUSINESS OUR PASSION
partner perspective
Are Athletes the Key to your Success?
Lee Manning, Partner lee.manning@raffingers-stuart.co.uk 020 8418 2662
If you take our firm, out of our seven partners, three are avid golfers and one a keen cyclist. In regards to the rest of our team, we boast long distance runners, footballers, gym fanatics, walkers and even a skateboarder.
addictive. This is reflected in their work, neither give up and both strive to exceed targets and complete tasks, no matter how difficult.
It is safe to say that at least half of our team (more if you focus on those in management positions) undertake sport of some kind. I do not think this is a coincidence, but rather, in our experience, we find those who undertake sport tend to be more driven, hardworking and determined to succeed.
All athletes set goals and targets for what they want to achieve in the next week, month or year. This transfers easily to the business environment. The majority of our employees that undertake sport are self-starters, always setting new goals for themselves and their team. They are also adept at prioritising and being able to reprioritise quickly to focus on new objectives whenever they appear.
As a consequence, we find ourselves asking more, and more, in interviews questions concerning an individual’s outside interests, and whether they do play or have played sport of any kind. So, why do we ask this? Well, we believe athletes bring the following core values to our business... Hard Work Ethic People who undertake sport tend to be more committed; they are able to set goals and work towards them, understanding that hard work and hours need to be put in, in order for goals to be achieved. Their hard work ethic also stems from their love of success. Take our two long distance runners; the thrill they get from completing a race in a time they have been training for is
Goal-Orientated
Team Players Even in individual sports, athletes understand the importance of teamwork. Nothing can be achieved unless the whole team is focussed and working collaboratively to achieve the same goal. Not only this, but athletes tend to read people better, knowing when to take charge, when to take a step back and when to encourage their colleagues, this leads to a great working environment where more can be achieved. From seeing the positive impact athletes have had on our firm, it is definitely a subject that needs to be considered when you are next interviewing, especially if you are a small or start-up company that needs self-starters who are as passionate about your business as you are. RAFFINGERS STUART RECRUITMENT NEWSLETTER AUTUMN 2015
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Head Office 19-20 Bourne Court, Southend Road, Woodford Green, Essex, IG8 8HD Tel: 020 8551 7200 Fax: 020 8551 0912 Email: info@raffingers-stuart.co.uk London Office 3rd Floor, 5-10 Bury Street, London, EC3A 5AT Tel: 020 7167 6880 www.raffingers-stuart.co.uk facebook.com/RaffStu
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