More than 80 per cent of students about to complete three-year degree courses feel they now have the skills that employers need, while two-thirds described themselves as optimistic about their careers. Over a third (36 per cent) said it would be ‘easy’ for them to find the job they wanted, although most were more realistic, with 41 per cent admitting that they did not feel confident about their immediate future.

The figures come from a project called Futuretrack, a longitudinal study by the Higher Education Careers Services Unit (HESCU), which is tracking the destinations and attitudes of 50,000 students from the time they apply for university until two years after graduating.

A sizeable minority felt dissatisfied with what they had gained from university, with 10 per cent saying the skills they had developed were not wanted in the job market. While three-quarters said the university experience had made them more employable, a quarter expressed some doubt that this was the case.

Jane Artess, research director at HECSU said: “Students were more likely to believe that they had skills employers were looking for than they were to believe the skills they developed on their course had made them more employable, reflecting a realistic evaluation of the current economic climate.

“There is a big question mark over how quickly new graduates will find work; the graduate labour market continues to be tough and it will not be easy, particularly for those who lack employability skills. We urge graduates to seek advice from their university careers services as soon as possible.”

Do agency workers have the right to be considered for vacancies in the same way as permanent employees?
No. They are only entitled to be informed of relevant job vacancies within the hirer’s organisation (although this will not apply when a hirer is restructuring or redeploying to prevent redundancies). This right only applies to the provision of information – the hirer has the freedom to choose how it will treat any applications.

Are agency workers entitled to enhanced payments, such as company sick pay or company maternity pay?
The AWR specifically exclude certain payments that a hirer might offer its own staff. Agency workers are not entitled to occupational sick pay, pensions, maternity, paternity or adoption pay, redundancy pay, pay for time off for trade union duties, guarantee payments, loans, expenses, payments or rewards linked to financial participation schemes (for example, share ownership schemes), benefits in kind offered as incentives or long service rewards, and bonuses that do not relate to the individual’s work.

Our productivity bonus scheme applies to our permanent employees after six months in the job. How will this affect our agency workers?
Agency workers will be entitled to join the scheme after six months because this is a payment which directly relates to the amount of work done by the individual. The six month time period will run from the first day the agency worker starts work with the hirer.

What additional rights do pregnant agency workers have?
After completing a 12-week qualifying period, pregnant agency workers are entitled to paid time off work for antenatal care.
The agency should also carry out a risk assessment in relation to a pregnant worker’s assignment. If the assignment is unsuitable for her, and reasonable adjustments cannot be made, the agency should seek suitable alternative work. If there is no alternative, the agency may need to pay her for the remainder of an assignment.

What rights do agency workers have if they were in an assignment before 1 October?
The regulations are not retrospective. These agency workers have ‘Day 1’ rights but they must complete a 12-week qualifying period starting from 1 October to be entitled to equal treatment with regard to other basic working and employment conditions.

Do the regulations mean that I will now employ agency workers?
No. The AWR are concerned with providing rights to equal treatment and do not change the legal status of an agency worker. That will depend on the actual relationship between the parties.

Can agency workers now claim unfair dismissal?
Ordinarily, this right only applies to employees who have one year qualifying service with an employer, so it may be possible if an agency worker is employed by the agency. A temporary worker who is an employee of the agency will be regarded as automatically unfairly dismissed if the reason for the dismissal is related to rights or proceedings under the AWR.

I use an employment agency to recruit temporary employees, whom I then pay directly. Do the regulations apply?
The AWR do not apply where you use an employment business to recruit your own staff directly.

Would the regulations apply to our own bank of temporary staff?
If you directly recruit your own staff, and are not supplying them to work under the supervision and direction of another hirer, then the regulations will not apply.

We use an external company to provide our cleaning service. They supply the cleaners and manage their work. Will the regulations apply?
This type of arrangement is often referred to as a ‘managed service contract’. If the contractor supplies workers, but is also responsible for supervising and directing those workers and determining how and when the work is done, then the regulations are unlikely to apply. If, however, the contractor supplies workers to work under your supervision and direction, then the AWR may apply.

Can I move agency workers around our various sites to avoid them acquiring a 12-week qualifying period of service?
Working in different locations for the same hirer will generally not break the qualifying period, unless the role that the agency worker does is also substantively different.

Do we need to allow temporary agency workers to attend our staff Christmas party?
No, this would be entirely at your discretion. An office party would not be considered to be a collective facility or amenity and would not be classed as a Day 1 right for agency workers

Around 7.6 million British workers now say they are willing to move overseas to improve their job prospects research has shown.

More than a quarter (27 per cent) of Brits in the study said they would consider moving country to find a better job, as they seek to escape the UK’s soaring cost of living and static wages.

Young, qualified employees are most likely to be looking to pastures new, with 36 per cent of workers aged 18-29 agreeing they would think about relocating. This was even higher (38 per cent) for those with postgraduate qualifications, but lower for those educated to secondary school level (23 per cent).

In news that further displays the levels of dissatisfaction felt by many UK workers, almost 6.5 million (23 per cent) are looking to change employer in the next year.

The report states “Our findings indicate Britain has a risk of ‘brain drain’ in the coming year, posing significant problems for companies looking to recover from the downturn. Both blue collar and white collar workers in the UK show a quarter of their number are willing to look overseas for work – and that figure rises for the higher educated workers. Even if only a fraction of these people actually make the move abroad, UK businesses will face a significant loss of talent, just at the time they most need it.”

The international survey also revealed the extent to which workers in developing countries are willing to move internationally to further their career. Employees from Mexico (57 per cent), Colombia (52 per cent) and Turkey (46 per cent) were the most likely to express a desire to work abroad, with the Philippines (44 per cent) and Brazil (41 per cent) also scoring highly. The UK was 9th out of the 17th countries studied, with the USA (21 per cent) and Canada (20 per cent) also having their fair share of workers with international ambitions. Austrians (12 per cent) and Czechs (9 per cent) were the most likely to want to stay in their home country.

The findings follow recent CIPD research that showed that employers are still experiencing a ‘War for Talent’ for the best qualified graduates, and employers have been warned they need to be ‘agile’ to compete, despite the condition of the labour market.

Paternity leave

There are new additional Paternity leave and pay arrangements, which give partners (not just fathers) the right to claim up to 6 months of the mothers maternity leave, provided the mother returns to work.  The leave must be for the purposes of providing care for the child. This is in addition to the current entitlement to 2 weeks paternity leave and pay.  This also applies for adoption leave.

Default retirement age

The default of 65 is abolished, employers will no longer be able to issue notifications for compulsory retirement, employers mostly have to employ capability procedures, however, care must be taken to guard against unfair dismissal or discrimination claims.

Both of these are complex areas and I would suggest you contact Headway if you are concerned about the implications for your business.

Time off for Training

Previously, only employees of companies in more than 250 employees were granted the statutory right to request time off for study or training related to their work. This right has been extended to companies with employees of less than 250 people.

Changes in Statutory Rates

Statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay to £128.73

Statutory sick pay to £81.60

In February, the statutory redundancy pay increased to a maximum of £400 weekly wage calculation

Now on hold…

Bribery at 2010

This was due to come into force in this April but has been delayed. There is no date for implementation.

Flexible Working

Right to request flexible working to parents of 17-year-olds was due to be introduced this April, this will no longer be introduced.

PA’s are often the company’s unsung heroes.  They run tirelessly around after your office colleagues organising the diary, booking the meeting room, stocking the stationery cupboard, making sure that the boss is in check.  This year PAs will be recognised at The Queens Yorkshire PA of the Year Awards.  All nominees and all things PA will be celebrated at a glittering awards ceremony to take place at The Queens in Leeds on Thursday 10^th February 2011, from 7.30pm.

Congratulations to Clare Frain of Leeds Chamber of Commerce on her shortlist nomination for the award.  Clare is also in her final year of studying for a BA Honours degree in Business.  It has been a whirlwind of activity since Headway Recruitment placed Clare in the role in April 2008.

Above Annabel Lewis (Headway Permanent Consultant) and Clare Frain.

Gary Williamson, Chief Executive at the Chamber nominated Clare for the award. The next stage was an interview and then onto the short list.  Clare said “It’s totally unexpected and a brilliant feeling to be nominated, it really makes you feel appreciated and valued. It really is a sign that Yorkshire rivals London in attracting and retaining the best talent ”

When asked the qualities of a good PA, top of the list came organisational skills, and trust, which Clare obviously has in abundance.  Headway Recruitment would like to wish Clare all the best for next Thursday.

By March 2011 Leeds Ahead will have found roles for 23 young people across Leeds who will receive a six month contract plus support with CV writing, job search and interviews. We would like to pass on our thanks to Headway Recruitment for their supportive work. Since March 2010 the number of unemployed young people in Leeds has reduced by 40%. Whilst the Future Jobs Fund can’t claim all the success for this, it has clearly played a very significant role.