Latest news from policy and research

Full steam ahead

Despite it traditionally being the quietest time of the year for many, we have been ploughing on with our campaigning programme. At the centre of our work is our ongoing partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions. We have a meeting next week with the Employment Minister Mims Davies to discuss the details of a scheme for recruiters to help recently unemployed people get back to work. If you would like to know more, please contact policy@rec.uk.com

Have your say

We want to know the potential impact a new trade deal with the EU will have on recruitment businesses and the labour market. Findings will help us inform the debate and influence policy, including the Government's Trade Technical Group of which the REC are members. This survey is closing in a few days and will take only a few minutes to complete.

The Covid-19 crisis has included a change in the way Right to Work checks take place. We know from members that this change has been welcome, and so we have lobbied BEIS and the Home Office to keep the change. Now is your opportunity to have your say to the APPG. Responses should be sent to andrew.henderson@wychwoodconsultingltd.co.uk 

New look Good Recruitment Collective

Earlier this month we launched the re-branded Good Recruitment Collective, which has now grown to over 500 businesses that are united behind one common goal of attaining recruitment best practice. Upon joining the GRC, employers receive access to free tools and resources for reviewing current hiring procedures and exchanging practical recruitment solutions.

One of the main aims of this is to educate your clients and encourage better working partnerships between employers and recruiters. As more businesses get involved in this initiative, REC members are given an additional channel of content and insights coming directly from employers. We encourage you to get all your clients involved!

REC unpacks the myths surrounding the recruitment of ex-offenders 

More than 10.5 million people in the UK have a criminal record, that is almost one in every six people. Despite this, three-quarters of employers admit to discriminating against applicants with a criminal conviction. The REC has been working with government and several social enterprises to unpack the myths surrounding the recruitment of ex-offenders. We sat down with Ian Smith from DWP and Jacob Hill, founder of OffPloy, to record this webinar.

Research Corner

As we start to come out of lockdown, our latest research shows that hiring confidence is improving but the wider outlook remains gloomy. This month’s JobsOutlook survey of 601 UK employers showed that temporary staff are becoming increasingly important to businesses as they try to recover from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. But, business confidence in the wider economy remains historically low, rising from net: -57 in April–June to net: -49 in May–July.

Meanwhile, our latest Jobs Recovery Tracker revealed that job adverts reached a new post-lockdown high in first week of August.

• Total job postings in the UK up to 1.10 million in the first week of August
• Almost 126,000 were new job postings, the highest since the crisis began
• Four of the top ten hiring hotspots in the UK were in Northern Ireland
• Strong rise in job adverts for gardeners, debt collectors, construction workers, LGV drivers and childminders.

In other news

• The government have updated their Conduct Regulations 2003: guidance for employment agencies and employment businesses to reflect changes in the 2019 amendments to the regulations.
• Join us for our next Blue Collar sector webinar on 15 September, aimed at supporting recruitment professionals working in the Construction, Industrial, Drivers, Hospitality and Sales & Retail sectors.
• James Rook, CEO of Sanctuary Personnel and Chair of the REC Health & Social Care group has recorded an REC Talking Recruitment podcast on the future of the health & social care sector.