Report on Jobs Demonstrates Need for Employer Caution

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation and KPMG have recently published their Report on Jobs showing that the UK labour market is coming to life again.  Employment specialist, Darryll Thomas, Solicitor at The Wilkes Partnership, discusses the key findings and what it means for employers across the region.

Recent figures suggest that recruitment companies placed more people into both permanent and temporary roles during July.  This was buoyed by strengthened demand from employers with job vacancies continuing to rise with growth in the Midlands being considerably faster than in other regions.

There was also a noticeable drop in the availability of both permanent and temporary candidates  – which appears to have resulted in a rise in starting salaries for those people placed in permanent roles.

Darryll comments: “Obviously increased recruitment is a great indication that the economy is on the rise – which is good news generally and for the Midlands particularly. However, as the recruitment market warms up, employers need to be careful that they do not lose sight of usual good practice in the rush to recruit quickly and in numbers.”.

Where the recruitment market becomes an employee’s market, employers often find themselves under pressure from recruitment agents to make quick decisions to get the people they want. In doing so employers often bypass standard selection checks and tests.

“The risk with this is that it increases the likelihood of making poor decisions and recruiting the wrong people. Without the right documentation in place, that can be both difficult and (if recruitment fees are unrecoverable) expensive to untangle. Employers are advised to ensure that all standard recruitment procedures continue to be followed and that all new starters are issued with contracts, handbooks and other such material. Where employers are under pressure from recruitment agents, they should insist on a claw back of fees if things do not work out. Also we would recommend that employers ensure that a probationary period is included as a standard term of their employment agreements.”

It is, of course, important that all employers ensure that their employment documentation, practices and procedures are fit for purpose and up to date with the current law. If at some point further down the line there are problems, then with clear, up to date contractual documentation in place, they become far easier to resolve.

If you would like to ensure that your recruitment processes and documentation are fit for purpose, or if you have an employee dispute which you need help with, please contact Darryll Thomas on 0121 733 8000 or [email protected].

Sign up for our newsletter

Scroll to Top