‘Deja vous’ in the Water Industry as companies, under pressure to commence the latest upgrade phase (AMP 5), experience an increasing number of problems in recruiting engineering staff, due to the fact that the AMP 4 phase of upgrades are still being completed.

This is swiftly becoming a repeat of the issues faced within the water industry several years ago when the AMP 2 upgrades flowed into the start of AMP 3 – again causing quite severe recruitment issues. (more…)

Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families Ed Balls, this week called on individual employers to promote their own family friendly working practices, especially flexible hours for dads. [Source: APSCo]

The call to action to employers is part of the Think Fathers campaign, launched last year by the DCSF to kickstart a national debate on the importance of dads. (more…)

Figures have been released showing that the IR35 tax regulations are producing an average of just £1.5 million a year in tax revenues.

The disclosure came after the Professional Contractors Group (PCG) used the Freedom of Information rules to request exact sums on the amount of tax raised for the exchequer by IR35. [Source: PlanIT Chartered Accountants]

Between the tax years 2002/03 and 2007/08, IR35 managed £9.2 million in government income, the equivalent to £1.5 million annually. (more…)

Jenrick CPI has noticed a steady stream of activity within the HM Revenue department during the downturn that seems to indicate that there will be a series of initiatives to ‘capture’ contractors who might consider themselves safe.

ContractorUK has been discussing some of these with an account’s expert, Paul Spindler, who points out some very interesting facts and raises some questions.

Like many of us in these ‘credit crunched’ times, the Government needs cash and appears to be targeting the HM Revenue to bring in badly needed feed for the ‘coffers’. (more…)

Job seekers are resorting to some unconventional methods to stand out from the crowd to combat the increasingly competitive job market, a new survey of the US job market reports. (Source: CNN)

One candidate sent a hiring manager a shoe with a resume to “get my foot in the door.” (more…)

Jenrick CPI is advising clients, candidates and contractors that the worst of the recession may be behind us. The specialist IT recruiter has noticed a sharp ‘spike’ in activity in early may which has been sustained into June. (more…)

CUK forum members have uncovered an apparent Conservative policy to refuse to back a parliamentary motion calling for the repeal of the controversial IR35 tax rule. (Source: Contractor UK)

Two posters – DiscoStu and Ardesco – have reported receiving the same stock email in response to a request for their MP to sign the motion. DiscoStu’s reply was written on the MP’s behalf by his researcher, whilst Ardesco’s was written in the first person. The message discusses IR35 in some detail, but explains why the MP “feels unable” to back the motion to repeal the rule. (more…)

After launching our Catering Jobs Division at the beginning of the 2009,  Jenrick Commercial has seen the number of jobs develop exceptionally well for the Weybridge, Walton on Thames and Surrey area. (more…)

Whilst there is no doubt that the contracting market is extremely tight, even worse than after the bursting of the dotcom bubble, the market appears to hold much promise for those contractors who can exploit it. This, according to online publisher James Leckie, is because the contracting market is significantly more developed nearly ten years on. (more…)