Jane Stevens of Jenrick IT is closely monitoring the EU led legislation known as the Agency Workers Directive. This Directive was implemented via the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) and is due to impact UK businesses hiring temporary workers at the beginning of October 2011.

Jane has been following proceedings as guidance unfolds from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) – this guidance is still being assessed and deliberated. Whilst this is happening, Jane is liaising with various umbrella companies, accountants and legal entities to assess their interpretation of how both clients and contractors could be impacted going forward.

Below is a summary from Marc Morris of 1st Option (APSCo accredited Accountants) regarding developments as they stand at the moment, 27 April 2011.

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Communications giant Orange have scored an ‘own goal’ with regard to PR for attracting talent to their organisation with a news story reported via a number of sources, including a national newspaper.

The story reports that 120 workers at the organisation’s Darlington call centre have been given the option of relocation…. To the Philippines.

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Jenrick congratulates Bonita after reaching the North Pole from 89* by skiing and pulling a pulk with all her stuff in, all in aid of The Forces Children’s Trust.

In the extract below, Bonita explains her reasons for choosing to raise money for this charity.

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Jenrick supports James Cracknell in his fund rasing for Headway, the Brain Injury Association.

In the extract below, James Cracknell explains his reasons for choosing to run for this charity.

Hi there,

Thanks so much for taking the time to visit my fund raising page for Headway in the London Marathon.  Having spent a significant percentage of the last eight months in hospital I won’t be troubling the scorers but wanted to raise funds as a way of thanking those people who looked after me.

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Which email would you rather open first ‘More Bad News’ or ‘Quick Update on XYZ for You’?  What about ‘Tax Time Again’ or ‘Ways to Save You Money’?

Emailing.  It’s such a key piece in our day-to-day lives. We fire a quick email response off or “shoot from the fingertip” and it’s so easy to forget that we’re not top of the list for the person receiving it.  They, like us, have loads of things clamouring for their attention.  So how do we stay on their radar – how do we help them to help us by opening our messages and acting on them? (more…)

It would appear BIS accepts there are many grey areas and ambiguities within the recently published draft guidance notes for the AWR following an ARC meeting in London yesterday.

The Association of Recruitment Consultancies’ meeting, held at the BIS Conference Centre in Westminster, was a chance for ARC members to help BIS clarify details in the draft guidance before the final article is released in a few weeks. (more…)

We’re pleased to announce that another motivating interview has been added to the Maximise Potential Podcast with a very inspirational individual, Matthew Syed.

Matthew Syed has been an achiever all of his life.

A triple Commonwealth Champion and two-time Olympian, Graduating with a first from Oxford, A writer for The Times since 1999 and to top it all off, he’s also a winner of Sports Journalist of the Year.

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Internet business networking service LinkedIn allowed users to connect with Ernest Hemingway. Coupon hawker Living Social offered salami-based spa treatment. Photography giant Eastman Kodak offered pain-free permanent photo tattoos.

Has the world gone mad?

No. It was just another April Fool’s Day, the international day of tomfoolery when pranks, hoaxes, and practical jokes remind us not to take ourselves too seriously.

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