Latest news from policy and research

A busy start to the Autumn term

With Parliament resuming and schools reopening across the UK we have been busy as ever. Brexit has been a key discussion point in government this week – we will continue to press for a deal, even a so-called “skinny deal” provides a framework to build on – “no deal” does not. On that note, we need your input on the REC’s EU Trade survey - we want to know the potential impact future changes will have on recruitment businesses and the labour market.  Your responses to the survey will underpin our discussions with government, so please take a few minutes to complete it.

We have also participated in the Home Office Immigration Advisory Group ahead of the immigration changes, and the WEC Public Affairs Committee to share member experiences as economies start to reopen. The team also met with NHS Improvement to discuss new data on bank and agency spending, and the REC’s Employment Policy Committee (EPC) met this week, where we were joined by HMRC so members could feed into the government’s Disguised Remuneration tax avoidance consultation.

Kickstart youth employment          

The Government has launched its £2 billion Kickstart scheme aimed at supporting young people into work. The scheme recognises the benefit of temporary work, by giving employers the opportunity to offer young people on Universal Credit state-subsidised work placements for six months. Employers need to be able to have 30 job placements to participate. We are exploring whether the REC can act as an intermediary – if you cannot offer the minimum 30 vacancies but are keen to take part in the scheme please contact policy@rec.uk.com.

50 plus Employment Taskforce

The REC has joined forces with several other employment organisations including ACAS and ERSA on a taskforce to protect the economic position on older workers. The 50 Plus Taskforce, led by the Centre for Ageing Better, has been developed to improve the quality of support for 50 plus jobseekers. Stakeholder Engagement Manager Ornella Nsio joined the taskforce's first meeting to discuss interventions for over 50 job seekers.

Call to participate on A.I. in Recruitment research  

Researchers from Sussex University are running a research project on the use of A.I. and automated systems in recruitment. As part of the project, researchers will be conducting a series of expert/stakeholder interviews with those in the recruitment industry and the world of A.I. Findings from the project will be published in a series of journals. REC members keen to take part in the research should contact policy@rec.uk.com.

Research corner

The latest KPMG and REC, UK Report on Jobs survey signalled a renewed upturn in hiring activity in August as more parts of the economy reopened following the COVID-19 outbreak. Although permanent placements rose only slightly, temp billings expanded at the quickest rate for 20 months.  

Key findings

• Permanent placements and temp billings return to growth
• Substantial increase in candidate supply amid redundancies
• Starting salaries and wages continue to decline

Our latest Jobs Recovery Tracker revealed that the growth in job adverts continued in late August led by north-west England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

• Total job postings up to 1.12 million in last week of August
• Growth focused in north-west England, Northern Ireland and Wales
• Scotland lags furthest behind for growth in job adverts
• Increase in adverts for crane drivers, legal professionals and air conditioning engineers

In other news 

• Sarah Thewlis (Thewlis Graham Associates) has been elected as the new Chair of the REC, taking over from Chris Moore when his term ends on 8 October.

Dates for the diary:

• 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.
• UK GOV, MET Police and SAFERjobs will host an online event on Friday to launch the UK's first online recruitment job ad vetting network for online recruiters.

 ​​​