The power of women

I am proud to have been a member of the WRAC (Womens Royal Army Corp).   The Corp no longer exists as it was disbanded on 6th April 1992 and women soldiers now serve directly with the regiments within the modern day army.

I have many friends from my army days (even though I left in March 1984!) and have regular contact with them via WRAC groups that are set up on facebook.   Through these groups I have met old friends and new friends .. and friends online who I have yet to meet in real life.

During a recent holiday to Fort William I met up with Janette, a woman who had also served in the army, but we had never met. A casual conversation led to the beginning of an idea to have a celebration of the memories of the WRAC on 6th April 2013 in Fort William.   The reason we chose Fort William is that there is a “Fairy Forest” where there are various trees dedicated to a multitude of things .. we thought it would be a nice idea to have a WRAC tree.

The idea bubbled around and then last weekend, when I was back in Fort William meeting a group of friends who had just completed the West Highland Way walk, I met Janette again for a drink (or ten!) and the plan began to come together.    I spoke to the hotel I was staying at in Fort William to find out if they could host a party of women totally around 30 (or so I thought), Yes, they said and at that time of year it would be likely that we would have the hotel to ourselves.   

I came back, created an event on Facebook and shared it with my friends on the WRAC sites, asking them to pass it on to their friends.   The response has been overwhelming … so much so that I have had to set up a separate group that has now 334 members, and this has been in 2 days.

They say that from small acorns trees are borne .. and this is certainly the case here.    The excitement this has caused has been wonderful and women from as far apart as Belfast, Cornwall and France are all planning to come.

Logistically it will be a nightmare .. Janette will be organising transport from Inverness airport and there is the possibility we will have to do the same from Edinburgh.   It looks like all 96 bedrooms of the hotel will be filled to the gunnels with women (and a few hubbies!) aged between 38 and 80!  It will be a fantastic weekend and we will hopefully raise money from a raffle for the WRAC Assocation that helps ex WRAC members in times of crisis.

I never realised all those years ago, as I arrived in Guildford for basic training just what an effect the WRAC and the women within it would have on my future life.  Without the WRAC and these women I wouldn’t be where I am today.

I salute you ladies and love how we all continue to march together, and no doubt will till our final HALT!

P.S .. if you would like to find out more or donate the WRAC Association you can find the link here http://www.wracassociation.org.uk/benevolence

The biggest two lies in recruitment.

Recruitment, like most business sectors, is a highly competitive market.    Phonecalls from agencies can be a huge distraction and each one promising “better service and better candidates” .. the truth is that all recruitment agencies fish from the same pool… check out any of the major job sites and you will see the same job posted numerous times from agencies all hoping to attract the one applicant who may just “stick”… 

…and then of course fees …  ahh .. the good old line that all recruiters are taught when we took our first tentative steps into recruitment “you only get what you pay for”  (to justify higher fees) … I read often about how a high fee level justifies the professionalism of recruitment and how recruiters should demand an upfront fee or sign clients up on an exclusivity deal.   Why?   … it ties a client up to an agreement that may not be the best financially (or servicewise!) for them .. and why should anyone pay for something that they have not received.   Would we expect to hand over money to a supermarket just for entering their shop before we decide if we want to buy or not .. I don’t think so!

I shake my head at recruitment at times .. after 25 years in the business I have seen many changes .. I have watched it move away from a service industry where customer service was the focus to a new type of industry where sales rather than quality take the lead.  Where consultants are treated as work horses, given high targets, put under huge amounts of pressure to perform and achieve (at whatever service cost) as long as they hit financial targets week in and week out.    

Of course not all agencies are monsters .. there are some really great agencies out there .. who still value the customer, understand the importance of service and most importantly do not charge a fortune for this privilege.

Clients do need to look closely at what they are “buying” .. the best salesperson may not be the best consultant for their business.

 

Brae branches out!

Brae ‘branches out’

We are pleased to announce a new Glasgow location for Brae Scotland. While we currently work with companies in the West, we are looking to strengthen our presence in the area and have secured a new office at Merchantile Chambers in the city centre.

Our Glasgow location will allow us to develop additional business in the area to compliment our existing Client base. Recent contract wins for Brae suggest significant growth within manufacturing and engineering and making our fixed fee business model more readily available to businesses in the West is a natural step for us.

We welcome any enquiries on 0141 447 0151 and would be delighted to arrange an appointment at our new location:

Merchantile Chambers (2nd Floor)

53 Bothwell Street

Glasgow

G2 6TS

 

Reed vs HMRC – A wake up call for ‘temp’ agencies…?

Brae has been watching with interest the developments in the recent case of Reed vs HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). A 92 page judgement was released on 6th January 2012 covering all operational aspects of a travel scheme, the application of a dispensation and importantly disclosure of the scheme to HMRC.

Many recruitment agencies operate such a scheme, often via ‘umbrella’ payroll companies, which can offer a competitive edge in terms of pricing. Brae Scotland has never operated such a scheme; all our temporary workers are paid directly, on a traditional PAYE (Pay As You Earn) basis.

As consequence of the judgement, Reed now face a bill of £158m. A judicial review of the case is now likely to proceed. In terms of risk assessment, it may be a wise time for businesses to talk to their temporary labour providers and if a travel and subsistence scheme is operated, consider the following:

· Is the salary sacrifice legally effective?

· Is the dispensation appropriate to the operation of the scheme?

· Are audit procedures sufficiently robust surrounding the eligibility of tax free expenses?

This is a clear wake-up call for businesses who operate travel and subsistence schemes under salary sacrifice arrangements as HMRC is likely to announce a wide-scale review in an attempt to identify schemes which do not meet the requirements of employment law, the taxes acts and Social Security Regulations.

The full judgement can be found here:   http://www.financeandtaxtribunals.gov.uk/judgmentfiles/j6100/TC01727.pdf

 

Need to recruit NOW for your business?

We have people available NOW for temporary assignments. YOU set the pay rate, but we have provided some examples below:

Production Operators (manufacturing/food production) Seeking £6.08 per hour (£8.36 per hour charge rate)

Assemblers and Fitters – Scotland East Seeking £8.00+ per hour (£11.01 per hour charge rate)

Welders (MIG, TIG, Stick) – central belt Seeking £8.00+ per hour (£11.01 per hour charge rate)

Machine Operators, Forklift Drivers – Scotland-wide Willing to work from £6.50 per hour (£8.94 charge rate)

Team Leaders, Quality Control, Production Supervisors Looking minimum £8.00 per hour (11.01 charge rate)

Administration, Finance (Accounts Payable, Credit Control, Payroll), Receptionists – for between £6.50 (£8.94 charge) and £9.00 (£12.38 charge) per hour

Project Management, IT Contractors, Senior Procurement – professional level temp/contract available for immediate assignment

Facilities Managers (Soft Services, M&E, HVAC) available for work throughout Scotland

Brae Scotland welcomes any enquiries relating to your staffing needs, whether they be for permanent or temporary staff. There is no such thing as a stupid question and our expert team offers honest advice and solutions for your business.

Permanent requirements?

We operate to a fixed fee basis from £250 plus vat!    Contact us for more information.

You can speak to us now on 01592 862 309 or 0141 447 0151.

Why the Agency Workers Regulations are a bit of a joke…

The great gods of wisdom are sometimes on vacation when regulations are drawn up.   The recent introduction of the AWR is a classic example of how a genuinely good idea can be twisted out of all recognition and end up being a bit of joke … well it would be a joke if it wasn’t so damn serious!

The whole point of the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) was to ensure that Temporary Staff would not be taken advantage of.  Great, I agree with that.

However, it only applies to Temporary Staff who work for a Recruitment Business… Temps who work directly for companies are NOT covered by these regulations.

Do you see the problem here …

Not only are Recruitment Businesses being put at a disadvantage BUT the very people the regulations were aimed at (i.e. Temporary Staff) are not being covered, simply because they temp directly for a company).

Huge discrepancy here … HUGE hole in common sense …

I hear a review is imminent .. I certainly hope that ALL Temporary Workers are afforded the same rights otherwise we will end up with a two tier playing field for temps and businesses alike.

 

Is Swedish Derogation a ticking time bomb?

For months now companies and agencies have been working to comply with the new AWR (Agency Worker Regulations), for some the answer has been to introduce Swedish Derogation contracts for staff, which basically means that the temp is an employee of the agency, subcontracted to the employer on a minimum hours contract (mostly ranging from 0 to 4 hours).

The danger for companies and temporary staff is that this Swedish Derogation does not allow for pay parity or equal rights under the AWR and temporary staff can be “paid off” with 4 weeks pay.    The minimum hours contracts remain untested and agencies may find a host of employment tribunal cases hitting their desks shortly after the 26th of December.

Employment tribunals will have to look at whether these “minimum hours” are justified or whether the 4 weeks “notice period” should be paid on an average hours over the previous 12 weeks.

My personal view is that many agencies may find the Swedish Derogation rules will come back to haunt them in the not so distant future and they will have to bear the brunt of additional costs themselves.

The rumour is that trade unions and legal experts are already looking into this – it could be the case that employers who knowingly accept Swedish Derogation temporary staff from agencies may have to contribute too … it is a very grey area.

Sadly some of the largest employers are knowingly accepting temporary staff under the Swedish Derogation rules, it seems the AWR may be seen as toothless monster at the moment, until of course the first tribunals take place.

Further information that is well worth a read can be found in the HR Magazine.