Talented Team Celebrate Success!

In the current recession, it's hard to find many local companies who are celebrating a great financial year. But that's exactly what THE Agency (Recruitment) Limited are doing. Having been established in Cleckheaton since November 2006, THE Agency has gone from strength to strength, defying the recession with their professional and dedicated attitude towards recruitment. With over 20 years in the industry, Kim Barnes-Evans FIRP, the Managing Director of THE Agency has previously established and subsequently sold a hugely profitable business, before setting up her current agency. With a huge passion for people, Kim is well renowned for her strong commitment to the industry. She has worked with many major employers both locally and nationally and feels more than qualified to justify her talent spotting ability!

Kim is confident she has hand picked a like-minded team to work alongside her. Recruitment Consultant Lisa Faulkner has more than 10 years of management and recruitment behind her and looks after all the temporary workers at THE Agency. Business P.A. Catherine Smith ensures all company administration runs smoothly on a daily basis.

To help THE Agency celebrate their 3rd Birthday, Kim and the girls are taking a group of their loyal clients out to dinner at Prego in Brighouse on Friday 20 November. "It's an opportunity for us at THE Agency to say a huge thank you for the consistent loyalty and commitment shown by our clients and for us to celebrate a fantastic year and the fact that we are going strong despite the financial climate being as it is"

Kim continues to say "A number of our clients are local to the area such as The Lewis Group Ltd who are also Cleckheaton based, and I think it's great that we as businesses work together within the community."

As well as the birthday celebrations for the clients, Kim and her team are also treating their team of temporary workers to a Christmas party at Aldo's in Cleckheaton.

Having recently been awarded ISO9001 accreditation, it looks like THE Agency are a force to be reckoned with in the cut throat field of recruitment and 2010 looks like it's going to be another great year for Kim and her team.

For further information about THE Agency or to get help with your recruitment needs, contact 01274 869100.

National Temporary Workers Week

Every week 1.2 million temporary workers are keeping businesses in the UK moving - This represents about 4.5% of the total workforce.

National Temporary Workers Week is the REC's annual campaign to promote the contribution of the temporary workforce and demonstrate the broad range of professions and industries that "temps" work in. THE Agency is very keen to partake in this initiative each year in order to support its ongoing appreciation of the fabulous work that its temporary team offers to its valuable and loyal client base.

During National Temporary Workers Week, THE Agency is celebrating by delivering "thank you" goody bags and balloons to over 80 people who represent their business in the West Yorkshire area.

With attitudes to work changing and variety and flexibility increasingly seen as key indicators of job satisfaction 'temping' is becoming the choice of more and more workers. Also businesses are taking advantage of a flexible workforce especially during the current economic climate and candidates are enjoying the experience of new companies and the chance to enhance their skill set and exposure to different companies and cultures whilst searching for permanent positions.

Kim Barnes - Evans FREC
Managing Director
10th June 2009

Increase to Temporaries Holiday Entitlement

Further changes under the Working Time (Amendment) Regulations 2007 are due to come into effect on 1st April 2009.

From that date temporary workers will be entitled to 28 days paid holiday each year. This is to make sure that they are paid for Bank Holidays (provided they have accrued enough leave) so that they receive comparable leave with permanent workers.

The amount that we will have to put aside to fund holiday pay will increase from 10.17% to 12.07% and inevitably this increase will have to be reflected in the charges made for Temporaries. Whilst any increases in costs will be unwelcome in the current climate it should be remembered what a benefit the flexibility of our workforce is and it is only fair that they receive similar benefits to the people that they work alongside.

No action is required by either clients or candidates. Any increases in charges will be notified and agreed personally prior to implementation and holiday funds for candidates will automatically accrue the increased benefit from the 1st April 2009.

Market Overview

We are all acutely aware that the job market is really tough at the moment. Every sector has been affected; redundancies are widespread as are recruitment freezes and this means fewer vacancies and much greater candidate availability and therefore increased competition.

In 12 months the market has completely shifted and candidates that aren't adapting to these new conditions are being left behind in favour of those who are more flexible and better skilled. The changes have resulted in a whole new group of jobseekers that weren't previously part of the available talent and their CV's can look a lot more attractive with a more stable work history behind them.

If you are a client now is a great time to recruit as there are plenty of high calibre candidates available who will be flexible as well as realistic with their demands. If you are looking for work you need to complete within this pool and make sure that you use this time to upgrade your skills and make sure that your CV is bang up to date and makes you really stand out.

It is hard to anticipate when conditions will improve. However, recruitment tends to be one of the first things to increase when business starts to pick up. Current wisdom in the financial press doesn't anticipate any noticeable improvement until at least 2010 - for most of us the recovery can't come soon enough.

Kim Barnes - Evans FREC
Managing Director
6th March 2009

Employment Legislation Update

Aside from all the challenging economic climate facing businesses at the moment 2009 is also due to be a busy period getting ready for new legislation.

Holiday Page Firstly we have the last change under the Working Time (Amendment) Regulations 2007 coming into effect on 1st April 2009. From that date temporary workers will be entitled to 28 days paid holiday each year. This is to make sure that they are paid for Bank Holidays (provided they have accrued enough leave) so that they receive comparable leave with permanent workers.

Equal Opportunity Further changes are also on their way with the Agency Workers Directive having been approved at the European Parliament is to be adopted within the UK. These latest regulations will entitle Temporaries to receive the same level of remuneration as if they were a permanent employee after completing 12 weeks of service. It is important to note that this relates only to pay and does not mean equal employment rights after 12 weeks. Because the availability of a strong temporary labour pool will be an important element of any economic recovery the government is being lobbied to delay the implementation of this until any recover is well under way.

VAT Concession Similarly the government is also being lobbied to delay its abolition of the VAT concession that is currently available for organisations that are not VAT registered. Under this concession an employment agency only need charge VAT on their margin i.e. the wages element is VAT exempt. Among the types of organisation benefitting from this are registered charities and this can have significant cost implications for them. With donations being affected by the current economic situation anything that helps avoid increases to their costs will be most welcome.

Kim Barnes - Evans FREC
Managing Director
6th March 2009

Happy New Year to all our Clients and Candidates!!

2008 was an extremely exciting and successful year for THE Agency and we are delighted to report that we experienced huge growth in business levels during this period, having placed a record amount of candidates in both temporary and permanent positions with our much valued and loyal client base.

We saw some momentous occasions during 2008 including our highest ever number of temps out working, our highest number of permanent placements and our highest client base growth. All in all, a very memorable year, much of which has overflowed into 2009 giving us a head start with permanent placements and temporary staff out working.

As we move into 2009, we are faced with a tough economic climate, but naturally we are prepared as a business to face the New Year with the same vigour and passion that we always do, ensuring that quality standards are maintained and candidates and clients continue to receive our best attention at all times. Thankfully we are blessed with having a diverse client base that has remained very loyal, in many instances clients whom we have shared business relationships for over 15 years.

Additionally, we are working with new clients who are taking advantage of candidates who are available for flexible working patterns to cover sickness, holidays and peak periods; our experience tells us that it is a sign of the current climate and probably a trend that will continue for some time.

Over the past 20 years we have seen many changes in the recruitment industry along with it a long stream of legislation which has radically altered the way that employment agencies conduct their business.

Further changes are on their way with the latest Agency Workers Directive working its way through Parliament. Details are still being finalised and it is possible that implementation will be delayed until the economic situation improves. This is because the availability of a flexible workforce will be a critical part of any recovery so it is important that this is not compromised by early implementation.

The latest regulations will entitle Temporaries to receive the same level of remuneration as if they were a permanent employee after completing 12 weeks of service. It is important to note that this relates only to pay and does not mean equal employment rights after 12 weeks. As ever we are keeping abreast of these developments so that we can keep everyone informed and ensure that we are ready to implement the changes as soon as they become Law. The earliest the directive could be implemented by is April 2010 but the REC (The recruitment industry's governing body) is pushing to delay it until the EU deadline of 5 December 2011.

Meanwhile, we would like to wish you all a successful and healthy 2009 and look forward to helping you with your recruitment needs throughout the year.

Kim Barnes - Evans FREC
Managing Director
5th January 2009