Recruitment tips in a changing environment
The UK employment rate was estimated at 75.8% in December 2022 to February 2023, 0.2 percentage points higher than September to November 2022. The increase in employment over the latest three-month period was driven by part-time employees and self-employed workers.
Growth in average total pay (including bonuses) was 5.9% and growth in regular pay (excluding bonuses) was 6.6% among employees in December 2022 to February 2023. In the same quarter, average regular pay growth for the private sector was 6.9%.
In January to March 2023, the estimated number of vacancies fell by 47,000 on the quarter to 1,105,000. Vacancies fell on the quarter for the ninth consecutive period and reflect uncertainty across industries, as survey respondents continue to cite economic pressures as a factor in holding back on recruitment.
If you are looking to recruit just now there are a number of actions you can take to make your business attractive to new staff. In addition to reviewing your pay and conditions to be as competitive as possible, these include:
- Tasking recruitment as a permanent process;
- Regularly asking existing staff, customers, and suppliers for introductions;
- Offering incentives for referrals;
- Making sure you are running constant online social media and local advertisements;
- Embracing flexibility in hours and location in your business;
- Introducing a “Golden Hello” and loyalty bonusses for length of service (typically one to three years);
- Advertising testimonials from existing staff;
- Using government initiatives for apprentices;
- Making your company and the job sound as attractive as possible by outlining the position to sound prestigious and challenging. These two factors are big incentives for bright potential candidates;
- Knowing that job satisfaction comes from feeling respected and having the opportunity to learn new things and excel in the face of obstacles when advertising the role; and
- Conveying your business’s personality so potential employees get a feel for what it would be like to work for you;
Recruiting new employees is a lengthy process, so to stand out, “be different”! For example, some employers are now offering “Wellbeing leave” in addition to the usual holiday package.
Useful guidance on the procedures for recruitment can be seen in the ACAS guide “Recruiting staff” which can be seen here: Recruiting staff (acas.org.uk)
See: Labour market overview, UK – Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)
The British Business Awards 2023
Nominations are open for the SmallBusiness.co.uk 2023 British Business Awards. Celebrating its sixth year, these prestigious awards recognise, honour, and celebrate the outstanding and innovative achievements of small and medium-sized British businesses across all industries. In the wake of the pandemic, British small businesses have faced new and unprecedented challenges. That’s why this year’s awards are all about celebrating the resilience, creativity, and success of these businesses. The closing date to apply is 26 May 2023.
See: British Small Business Awards | Celebrating the leaders in the small business community
Employers’ Liability Insurance
Your employees may be injured at work or they, or your former employees, may become ill as a result of their work while in your employment. They might try to claim compensation from you if they believe you are responsible. The Employers’ Liability (EL) (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 ensures that you have at least a minimum level of insurance cover against any such claims.
You may not need EL insurance if you only employ a family member or someone who is based abroad.
You can be fined £2,500 every day you are not properly insured. You can also be fined £1,000 if you do not display your EL certificate or refuse to make it available to inspectors when they ask.
See: Employers’ liability insurance – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Self-Assessment: Be alert to potential scams
Self-Assessment customers, who are starting to think about their annual tax returns for the 2022 to 2023 tax year, should guard against being targeted by fraudsters, warns HMRC.
Fraudsters target customers when they know they are more likely to be in contact with HMRC, which is why Self-Assessment customers should be extra vigilant to this activity. There is a risk they could be taken in by scam texts, emails or calls either offering a refund or demanding unpaid tax, thinking that they are genuine HMRC communications referring to their Self-Assessment return.
Some customers who have not done a Self-Assessment return previously might be tricked into clicking on links in these emails or texts and revealing personal or financial information to criminals.
Criminals claiming to be from HMRC have targeted individuals by email, text and phone with their communications ranging from offering bogus tax rebates to threatening arrest for tax evasion. Contacts like these should sound alarm bells – HMRC would never call threatening arrest.
Anyone contacted by someone claiming to be from HMRC in a way that arouses suspicion is advised to take their time and check the scams advice from HMRC.
Customers can report any suspicious activity to HMRC. They can forward suspicious texts claiming to be from HMRC to 60599 and emails to [email protected]. Any tax scam phone calls can be reported to HMRC using their online form.
