Time to limit the hysteria about one person limited companies
Government, civil servants and the media should tone down the hysteria being introduced into the debate surrounding the role of limited companies in the UK economy. “We must ensure we do not create an orchestrated witch-hunt against the nation’s smallest businesses that will damage public and private sector growth in the UK” says Chris Bryce, Chairman of PCG. “One-person businesses are a legitimate model and the labour market flexibility they provide is vital to the economic recovery of this country.”
Core contracting disciplines buck online recruitment trends
Engineering (up 24 percent) and IT (up 19 percent) remain the top two growth sectors by measure of annual growth, according to the January Monster Employment Index. “The economic uncertainties across Europe seem to be taking their toll on the British labour market, which is reflected in the UK Index this month,” says Michael Gentle, Monster UK & Ireland spokesperson. “While the Index still registers annual gains of one percent in January, the rate of growth has slowed down from the six percent pace in December. “Despite this, companies are still actively hiring, with opportunities for professionals in a number of sectors, like engineering and IT.” More...
Automotive manufacturing continues to blossom for contractors
Prospects for contractors working in the automotive sector continue to look up, with The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reporting that UK car manufacturing rose significantly by 15.6% in January to 127,382 – a 16-month record high. Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive, said: “UK car production continues to drive manufacturing growth and a rebalancing of the economy.” More...
Contract market set to benefit from labour market uncertainties
The first quarter of 2012 will be the most difficult for the jobs market since the recession, as the number of private sector firms surveyed planning to make redundancies increases. This is the main finding of the latest Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) quarterly Labour Market Outlook survey of more than 1,000 employers, conducted by YouGov. The survey results also point to a further widening of a north-south jobs market divide. However, the report also shows that the private sector is still generating new roles, particularly in management, IT and sales and marketing.
Twitter and LinkedIn used more by recruiters than Facebook
Confirming the importance of social media to the marketing mix for contractors, a new US-based study has highlighted the need for contractors to keep their LinkedIn profiles up to date, and to be active on LinkedIn groups. It has also shown the value of remaining active on Twitter. The 2012 Social Recruiting Activity Report by Bullhorn Reach, which pulled in data from over 35,000 recruiters, found that Twitter and LinkedIn are used more by recruiters than Facebook, although the latter is still widely used. More... [PDF]
Warning against accepting lower rates with promise of higher to come
ContractorCalculator has warned contractors against accepting lower rates from agencies or clients with the promise of higher rates to come in future. “Contractors are under no obligation to accept such deals, but if they do they should always have them written into the contract and ensure that there is a time limit and termination clause,” says ContractorCalculator CEO Dave Chaplin. More...
Specialisms likely to be most in demand by tech start-ups
SEO experts, data specialists, communications experts, and application development and systems administration specialists are among the specialisms highlighted by US entrepreneurs as likely to remain in most demand. Speaking to Mashable, other entrepreneurs highlighted additional in-demand skills, including: IT specialists who are used to working with project management, accounting and other business software; user-experience experts and those with cloud expertise. More...
HMRC extends its alternative dispute resolution trial
HMRC has extended its trial of alternative dispute resolution to several new regions. ADR will be available to small and medium-sized enterprises that have a tax-related dispute, but before an appealable tax decision or assessment has been made by HMRC. The process involves an independent person from HMRC, who has not been involved in the dispute before, who works with both the customer and the HMRC case owner to try to broker an agreement. ADR covers both VAT and direct taxes disputes, and entering into the ADR process will not affect the customer's existing review and appeal rights. More…