And it will no longer be free to bring a claim. Ministers hope the cost will discourage “vexatious” claims.

The measures, first revealed by the Daily Telegraph this month, include a new Employer’s Charter will also be introduced to try and make it clearer to companies what their responsibilities are, but with a view to dispelling myths about how much power the employee now has.

Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, will say: “Disputes in the workplace cost time and money, can affect morale, reduce productivity and hold back businesses. We often hear that knife-edge decisions about whether to hire new staff can be swung by concerns about ending up in an employment tribunal if things don’t work out.

“In the business world there is also a common misconception that employment protections are all one-way – towards the employee. The Charter we are publishing today tackles this myth by setting out clearly some of the most important rights that employers already have in the workplace.”

David Cameron will hope that the package of measures goes some way to appease businesses and help boost competitiveness and productivity. This week the Coalition was stunned by new data which showed that the economy had shrunk by 0.5 per cent in the last quarter of this year.

In the last year employment tribunal claims rose to a record 56 per cent to 236,000 claims. Business spends on average £4,000 on average to defend itself against a claim.

A review of employment law will look at employment legislation across Government and report later this year.

But the attempt to rebalance the relationship between employees and employers will spark fury among the trade unions and employee organisations.

The rate was the highest since July 1998, said EU agency Eurostat.

The number of people without a job rose by 80,000 in October to 15.95 million people, and by 84,000 people to 23.15 million in the 27-state European Union.

Separate figures showed that inflation in the 16-nation eurozone remained unchanged at 1.9% in November.

In the medium term, the European Central Bank wants to keep inflation below, but close to, 2%.

With inflation close to this target figure, analysts expect the bank to keep its main interest rate at 1%.

Although this is the highest level for two years, it is bang in line with the ECB’s target level and there continues to be little evidence of any significant pick up in underlying price pressures.”

The rise in the eurozone unemployment rate was mainly due to an increase in the jobless rate in Italy, the bloc’s third-biggest economy, to 8.6% from 8.3%.

The second biggest economy, France, saw its jobless rate edge down to 9.8% from 9.9%.

Spain’s unemployment rate, where the global economic crisis has taken a big toll on jobs, remained unchanged at 20.7%.

Earlier, Germany had published separate figures showing its unemployment data for November.

It said the jobless total had fallen by 14,000 to 2.931 million, from 2.945 million in October – which was the first time the total had been below three million for two years.

Highest eurozone jobless rates

• Spain: 20.7%
• Slovakia: 14.7%
• Ireland: 14.1%

Source: Eurostat, November 2010

Germany suffered its worst post-war recession in 2009, with output contracting almost 5%.

However, Europe’s biggest economy has seen a strong recovery this year thanks to strong demand for its exports.

“The labour market is profiting from good economic conditions,” said German labour office head Frank-Juergen Weise in a statement

Lowest euro zone jobless rates

• Netherlands: 4.4%
• Austria: 4.8%
• Luxembourg: 5%

Source: Eurostat, November 2010

“Unemployment is falling, employment… is rising and demand for workers is increasing.”

A government scheme that encouraged firms to shift employees to part-time work rather than lay them off has helped to keep unemployment down.

Under the new regulations, which were laid before Parliament in January, contractors and temps will receive the same employment rights as permanent workers after completing twelve weeks work.

The AWD has been met with widespread criticism from all sectors of business, the finer details have yet to be agreed but this legislation will come into place in October 2011.

Industria’s campaign will focus on AWD compliance and in particular the impact this legislation will have on our clients.

It is imperative that our clients understand the impact both financially and practically over the coming months. We want to address the common misconceptions about the AWR but also begin to prepare for implementation of this legislation.

Industria are holding a free Breakfast Seminar appropriately titled Preparing for the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 on Thursday 17th June 2010. Spaces are limited.  Don’t miss out! To book your place please email confirmation to Michael-walker@industria-jobs.co.uk or call 0870 0666001

The Communication Workers Union said its members backed a proposed agreement including a three year wage rise worth 6.9 per cent, job security and improved industrial relations, by two to one.

Postal workers staged a series of strikes last October, delaying mail deliveries, in a bitter row over job losses and working conditions.

The union said that over the next three years, modern machinery and new operational methods will be introduced into the company and a ”culture of co-operation” will see the CWU fully involved with the phasing in of each stage.

Job security guarantees include full-time staff making up at least three quarters of the workforce while wages will improve year-on-year, along with further lump sums as transformation is rolled out, as well an hour off the working week.

Dave Ward, the CWU’s deputy general secretary, said: ”This is a strong ballot result for a strong deal and we’re delighted that our members have fully supported this hard fought for agreement. The deal recognizes the importance of staff in successfully implementing change and rewarding people for the work.

”Job security was a major issue for us given the changes ahead. The deal commits Royal Mail to retaining full-time staff, improved flexibility and a voluntary approach to any redundancies.

”It was obvious to everyone involved that the old them and us mentality simply had to go. Industrial relations have to improve and we’re all committed to that.

”Now the challenge is on for us all to prove in practice that we can all work together to build a positive future for our industry, our members and the public whom we serve.”

The Royal Mail warmly welcomed the vote, saying the three-year agreement paved the way for the letters business to continue with its “much-needed” £2 billion modernisation, including the introduction of new automated machinery and delivery equipment.

Mark Higson, managing director of Royal Mail Letters, said: “This is a great outcome for Royal Mail, its customers and its people.

“We’re already more than halfway through our £2 billion modernisation plan and we’re all now focused on getting on with the changes that will give Royal Mail a strong and successful future, and will protect the future of the universal service.”

Time to Train will give workers in businesses which employ more than 250 people the legal right to request time off to take up relevant training. The right will be made available to all employees from April 2011. This phased approach will give smaller organisations and businesses more time to prepare for the introduction of the new right.

Skills Minister Kevin Brennan said:

“We need to empower people to speak about training opportunities and the benefits they can bring to a business’ success.

“Many companies and organisations are very good at training their staff, but we need to make sure that all businesses are advising employees on what is on offer.

“This is where a regulation like Time to Train will be able to help people. It will give them the confidence to ask about training and skills, allowing them to take control of their own careers.”

The legal right will allow employees to request time to undertake relevant study or training that employers are required to consider seriously. The training should improve the employee’s effectiveness in their job and contribute to improved business performance and productivity. Employers are not obliged to approve every request – they can be turned down if there is a good business reason to do so.

The legislation was included in the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act, which received Royal Assent in November 2009.

Guidance for employers on the new right was published in January and is available through Business Link. Guidance for employees has been made available on the DirectGov website.

Additional information:

1. The guidance for employers on the right to time to train is available on the Business Link website: www.businesslink.gov.uk/timetotrain.
2. The guidance for employees on the right to time to train is available on the DirectGov website: www.direct.gov.uk/timetotrain.
3. The right to time to train was brought in when the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act received Royal Assent on 12 November 2009. Press notice available to read here: http://nds.coi.gov.uk/clientmicrosite/content/Detail.aspx?ReleaseID=408558&NewsAreaID=2&ClientID=431
4. The right to time to train will apply across Great Britain – England, Wales and Scotland.

Chief executive Peter Clayton stated that while ten years ago people were “horrified” at the idea of offering recruitment via the internet, nowadays “it’s not one of those things that could happen; it does happen a lot”.

A recent survey from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development showed that in 2006, 71 per cent of respondents said that they used e-recruitment to reduce costs, 60 per cent did so to broaden the selection pool and 47 per cent to increase the speed of hiring.

Mr Clayton spoke on the advantages of the process: “Now a good candidate can get an interview [more quickly]. You can put your CV on at ten o’clock that night before you go to bed and have an interview by lunchtime the following day.”

However, Mr Clayton also added that the selection process needed to be a lot stricter, as the internet had made it so that there tended to be more applicants for a position: “Where you might have 50 CVs to go through ten years ago, you might have four times that amount or five times that amount [now].

The accommodation offset will rise from £4.51 per day to £4.61.

At present there are no further details as the Low Pay Commission report has not been published ]]> http://www.industria-jobs.co.uk/blog/new-5-93-minimum-wage-rate/feed/ 0 http://www.industria-jobs.co.uk/blog/welcome-to-our-new-blog-page/ http://www.industria-jobs.co.uk/blog/welcome-to-our-new-blog-page/#comments Fri, 09 Apr 2010 08:12:08 +0000 Industria http://industria-jobs.citedev.co.uk/blog/?p=16 Midlands recruitment business Industria personnel services have introduced a jobs board on their website. All the latest temporary and permanent jobs will now be displayed on the home page.