One of the main reasons that companies choose to manage their recruitment in-house and not use an agency falls to cost. The recruitment industry is huge and was born out of a need and that need has not gone away, though the cost of using an agency is often seen as prohibitive. But is it really? A recruitment process takes time, time we’re paid for which is commensurate with the effort put in. Margins in recruitment businesses are usually reasonable, we’re not charging onerously, far from it.

It's tough out there for job hunters, there is no doubting that...  

I recently attended the Dorset Chamber Business Leader event where the speaker was Lord Mark Price from Engaging Business. With over 30 years in the John Lewis Partnership as Deputy Chairman and a decade as MD of Waitrose, Mark Price created Engaging Business to help organisations improve their workplace happiness and employee engagement to drive greater commercial performance. I've included the report he shared with us during the presentation here.

Applicants are outweighing job vacancies, with increases as high as 1363% for certain roles in the four months from March to July, according to research from Search Consultancy.

By Tom Espiner Business reporter, BBC News Demand for workers started to pick up in the first week of August, according to recruiters, offering glimmers of hope for the UK economy. There were almost 126,000 new job adverts, the highest weekly number since the Covid crisis began, said the Recruitment & Employment Confederation. Jobs in strong demand included builders and debt collectors, REC said. Data from the Office for National Statistics also suggested more adverts were being posted.

From 1 January 2021, free movement will end and the UK will introduce a points-based immigration system. The new system will treat EU and non-EU citizens equally and transform the way in which all migrants come to the UK to work. Irish citizens will continue to be able to enter and live in the UK as they do now. Under a points-based immigration system, points are assigned for specific skills, qualifications, salaries and shortage occupations. Visas are then awarded to those who gain enough points. The points-based system will provide simple, effective and flexible arrangements for skilled workers from around the world to come to the UK through an employer-led system

Employment in the UK fell by the largest amount in over a decade between April and June, official figures show. The number of people in work decreased by 220,000 on the quarter, said the Office for National Statistics. This was the largest quarterly decrease since May to July 2009, the depths of the financial crisis.

So we've reached that point in the year when many of us would usually be looking forward to, or already experiencing, a great summer holiday. This year is very different as you're aware and instead of flicking through the latest Hello! magazine or settling into a best selling novel, many of you are pouring over local paper job adverts and searching online though job board after job board, looking for a new position.

New research from reed.co.uk, the UK’s largest online jobs portal

Key findings Notably softer falls in both permanent placements and temp billings Redundancies lead to near-record rise in candidates supply... ... resulting in further downward pressure on starting pay. Data collected 13-27 July.

Conciliation service Acas has experienced a marked increase in calls to its helpline on the subject of redundancy during the coronavirus pandemic. Acas said redundancy related calls shot up by 160% over the past two months when compared to the same period in 2019. It has issued updated advice for employers that may be considering making roles redundant, encouraging them to consider alternatives such as more flexible ways of working, compressed hours or job shares. Redunancy "should always be a last resort" after other options have been exhaused, Acas said By Jo Faragher on 5 Aug 2020 in Furlough, Collective redundancy, Acas, Coronavirus, Employee relations, Information & consultation, Latest News, Personnel Today, Redundancy

The number of workers on UK payrolls has fallen by 649,000 between March and June, official figures indicate. The number of people claiming work-related benefits - including the unemployed - was 2.6 million. However, the total was not as big as many feared, because large numbers of firms have put employees on the government-backed furlough scheme. Economists say the full effect on employment will not be felt until the scheme ends in October.