AUGUST TEMP OF THE MONTH

Pictured is our August temp of the month Liz Pryor.
Liz was nominated by a Yeovil client for being very hardworking and reliable.
Liz is leaving us this week to head back to Uni but we thank her for all her hard work and dedication over the Summer.

JULY TEMP OF THE MONTH

Pictured is our July temp of the month Kelly Knott. Kelly was chosen after this glowing nomination from the client she is working for:-

“We would very much like to nominate Kelly Knott, who is proving a great help to us. Kelly is a delightful young woman who is very hardworking and is always willing to take on any task given to her. Kelly has fitted in well and is often asked to cover in other teams at short notice. Kelly will always look for work using her initiative and demonstrates a good understanding of our work. We have had many positive comments from her colleagues and senior managers about her general attitude and willingness, as well as the work she produces.”

Well done Kelly and thanks so much for your ongoing hard work.

NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE SET TO INCREASE IN OCTOBER

The minimum wage is to increase on 1st October as expected. The new rates have been confirmed as below:-

Rates from 1 October 2011
The NMW rates are reviewed each year by the Low Pay Commission and from 1 October 2011:

• the main rate for workers aged 21 and over will increase to £6.08 (currently £5.93)
• the 18-20 rate will increase to £4.98 (currently £4.92)
• the 16-17 rate for workers above school leaving age but under 18 will increase to £3.68 (currently £3.64)
• the apprentice rate, for apprentices under 19 or 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship will increase to £2.60 (currently £2.50)

AWR SEMINARS

We have now completed our AWR sessions for clients. Three very successful sessions were held in Bournemouth, Yeovil and Dorchester. A lot of clients came along and mostly have fed back how informative and bite sized the sessions were. We thank you all for your attendance.

If you missed the seminars then fear not as we are more than happy to come out to you and discuss your business individually and conduct an impact assessment for your specific organisation. To organise your visit please either email your branch contact or phone Rachel Blight on 07809 657587

WITHDRAWAL OF THE WORKER REGISTRATION SCHEME (WRS)

The Government has announced that the Worker Registration Scheme (WRS) will be no longer apply to workers from Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia from 30 April 2011. Currently, workers from these countries, referred to as A8 countries, are required to register with the Home Office Scheme when taking up employment in the UK. The Scheme was introduced as a temporary measure when the A8 countries joined the European Economic Area. From 30 April 2011 workers from the A8 countries will be free to work in the UK without any restrictions in the same way UK nationals and workers from the original member states of the EEA.

Additionally the Government has announced that the restrictions which currently apply to workers from Bulgaria and Romania (A2 countries) requiring them to have work authorisations to work in the UK, may be lifted in December 2011. However, it is possible for these restrictions to be retained until 2013 for A2 workers if the removal is likely to result in a risk of detriment being caused to the labour market.

SMART GROUP AWR SEMINARS - DATES ANNOUNCED

The Agency Workers Directive is a piece of European legislation which became law on 5th December 2008. All EU member states have 3 years from that date to implement the Directive via their own national legislation. In England, the Directive will be implemented via the Agency Workers Regulations (“the Regulations”) which will come into force on 1st October 2011.

The purpose of the Regulations is to give temporary agency workers the same basic pay and employment conditions as they would have been entitled to had they been recruited by the client directly to do the same job. This right will commence after the agency worker has had 12 weeks of service with the same client.

Equal treatment for temporary works has been in operation in many other European countries since the 1980s

Smart Group are running 4 FREE SEMINARS for our clients and any local businesses are welcome to attend – for further information or to book yourself on to your nearest seminar please email Rachel.blight@smartgroup.co.uk

The dates are:-

• Bournemouth 10th March
• Dorchester 22nd March
• Yeovil 23rd March
• Taunton 24th March

There was an amendment from 1st Jan 2011 whereby expenses for travel to a temporary workplace can no longer form part of an employee’s pay for national minimum wage purposes (amendment no 2). Before this expenses paid for travel to a temporary workplace could count towards an employer’s obligation to pay the national minimum wage.

In addition from 1st Jan, the Government is running a scheme to publicise the names of employers who deliberately pay their employees below the national minimum wage. Such companies will be publicized on the Department for Business, Innovations and Skills website (www.bis.gov.uk)

AGENCY WORKERS REGULATIONS

On 1st October 2011 new Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) will be coming into affect. This could influence the way in which temp agency staff are engaged. There are currently 1.3 million agency workers in the UK so the changes will affect a lot of people.

The changes are designed to give agency workers a right to the same basic conditions of employment as direct hires by companies (once 12 weeks have been worked).

To keep clients up to date of the changes and to assist with the implementation Smart Group will be running client seminars from Jan – March 2011.

To book your place on your local seminar or to receive further information on the changes please contact Rachel Blight at Rachel.blight@smartgroup.co.uk or 01305 230050.

XMAS HAMPER WINNERS

The winners of the Smart Xmas captions competition and 4 hampers were:-

• Pasta Reale
• Ashleys of Yeovil
• No Butts
• DJN Associates

If you were not a winner best of luck next time and we wish all of our clients a Merry Xmas.

“Temp work leads to Perm………..”

Smart Recruitment, Yeovil’s leading Employment Agency have presented their Temp of the Month award to Thomas Little. Thomas has worked for Smart Recruitment as a temp at a local cheese producer in Cricket St Thomas. In today’s difficult climate Thomas has demonstrated that with hard work, flexibility and reliability, “a one day work offer” can result in a permanent job. Thomas was offered 1 shift at Lubborn Cheese Ltd, but due to his hard work and excellent attitude, he was requested back the following week and completed a full week’s work – 2 months on and Thomas has worked full time during this period and will be employed on a permanent contract at the factory in two weeks time. Smart Recruitment’s James Thompson added “Thomas is a young man who has impressed us immensely – he has a refreshing attitude to work and has made himself indispensable to our client, and secured himself a permanent position. Our temp of the month award for Thomas is well deserved, and his story is an indication that in today’s employment market temporary agency work remains a useful method of obtaining permanent positions.”

For further information on Smart Recruitment’s services for candidates and client alike, please contact the team in Yeovil on 01935 310020

In the picture:
Left: Smart Recruitment’s Service Consultant Ewa Siekierko
Middle: Thomas Little
Right: John Cole, Packing Manager at Lubborn Cheese.

USE OF PRE-EMPLOYMENT MEDICAL QUESTIONNAIRES

The use of pre-employment medical questionnaires by employers is now regulated following legal changes under the Equality Act 2010.

Changes were brought into force on 1 October 2010, mainly the changes will prevent employers from asking health-related questions before making job offers to candidates, except in some limited circumstances.

Section 60 of the 2010 Act will:

• Prohibit employers from asking potential recruits questions about health, other than for a prescribed reason
• Shift the burden of proof automatically to the employer where a job applicant who has been asked a prohibited health question brings a disability discrimination claim.

The changes will not prohibit the use of pre-employment medical questionnaires outright but it will seek to move their use to a later part in the recruitment process, with a view to preventing disabled job applicants from being routinely screened out.

Asking an applicant a prohibited pre-employment health question will not itself amount to discrimination but acting on the responses may well do.

There are some pre-employment health questions which employers are permitted to ask. These are, for example, where such questions are "necessary for the purpose of":

• establishing if the applicant will be able to comply with a requirement to undergo an assessement
• establishing if a duty to make reasonable adjustements will arise in conncection with a requirement to undergo an assessment
• establishing if the applicant will be able to carry out a function that is intrinsic to the work concerned
• monitoring diversity in the range of people applying to the employer for work
• if it is a requirement of the role for the applicant to have a particular disability

The point at which such a question will go further than is "necessary" is unclear; and is likely to be resolved only following litigation.

Smart Group has now removed all medical questionnaires from our registration process. Specific client requirements are now dealt with on a case by case basis.

If anyone would like further information on the legal changes and how this will effect your business please do not hesitate to contact us at any location.

WORLD CUP COMPETITION WINNERS

Well the Football season has been and gone and well done to Spain! We have had a lot of fun with our competition and distributed a lot of runners up prizes of chocolate football nets!

The winners of the South African hampers were as follows:-
DEK
Dorset Cereals
Merriott Plastics
Frauschers UK
Spectrum Housing
Preston Redman
No Butts Bins
Colman Financial

SMART GROUP PREPARES FOR THE WORLD CUP

Each location has teams entered into the Smart version world cup where individual clients are representing a country. As the cup progresses the client that wins the overall competition (ie representing the winning country) will win a hamper! There will in typical Smart fashion be plenty of updates along the way and possibly even a few booby prizes of a chocolate nature!

If you need assistance with staffing to cover the world cup then please remember our minimum billing period is just four hours and we have temps available for most skill sets so do call your local branch.

To download your free wall planner of the matches please click on attached link.

If you have not been entered into the competition or would like further information on our services please do not hesitate to contact via email rachel.blight@smartgroup.co.uk or via any of the branches.

World CUp Planner.pdf

NEW MINIMUM WAGE FROM OCTOBER

National Minimum Wage rates are to rise from October 2010, with the minimum rate for workers aged 21 and over rising to £5.93 per hour (currently £5.80 per hour). And for the first time a minimum wage rate for apprentices has been set.

National Minimum Wage rates from October

Apprentice pay

For the first time, an apprentice minimum wage rate has been set at £2.50 an hour

From October 2010, National Minimum Wage rates will increase from:

• £5.80 to £5.93 per hour for workers aged 21 and over
• £4.83 to £4.92 per hour for workers aged 18 to 20
• £3.57 to £3.64 per hour for workers aged 16 to 17

Apprentice minimum wage - £2.50 per hour

The government also accepted a recommendation from the Low Pay Commission (LPC) to introduce an apprentice minimum wage of £2.50 per hour.

The new rate will apply to:

• apprentices under 19
• apprentices aged 19 and over, but in the first year of their apprenticeship

Need advice on the minimum wage?

The Pay and Work Rights Helpline number is 0800 917 2368. Alternatively you can contact any Smart branch for additional information.

PATERNITY LAW CHANGES

From 6th April 2010 there has been a change in paternity leave legislation. there are now new rights to additional leave allowing fathers to take up to 26 weeks’ paternity leave in the first year from birth.

Fathers will have a legal right to take the place of the mother at home for the last three months of her nine-month maternity leave.

During that time, they would be eligible for statutory government pay of £123 a week. They would then be allowed to take an additional unpaid three months off, which would effectively allow couples to have a total of 12 months' parental leave between them.

The measure would allow mothers who earn more than their partners to return to work earlier.

EASTER COMPETITION WINNERS

Download the PDF file here

EASTER COMPETITION

Each branch is currently running an Easter competition to celebrate the upcoming holiday!

We have 50 Easter eggs per branch for the first 50 completed responses plus a CHAMPAGNE EASTER HAMPER for one lucky winner randomly selected per branch as well.

All will be delivered to your workplace by the Smart team.

To receive a quiz please either download the attachment or contact your local branch.

SMART GROUP SOLUTIONS APPOINTED AS BUYING SOLUTIONS SUPPLIER

Following a vigorous evaluation and selection process it was announced today that Smart Group has been awarded a framework agreement to provide non clinical recruitment requirements to the public sector.

Smart Group will play a key role in helping the public sector to buy non clinical recruitment requirements that offer value for money and comply with statutory and legislative requirements.

Quote from Janet Robinson Director “This is an important win” said Janet “it will help consolidate our position as a leading supplier within the public sector and compliment our existing business”.

Buying Solutions is the national procurement partner for UK Public Services and is an executive agency of the Office of Government Commerce in the Treasury.

YEOVIL BRANCH BECOMES PREFERRED SUPPLIER TO SCREWFIX DIRECT FOR TEMPORARY RECRUITMENT

Yeovil branch is pleased to announce that they have been selected as the preferred supplier for staffing to Screwfix Direct for their head office and contact centre temporary requirements. This is a real boost for the branch and as Rachel Blight, Area Manager states:- " Screwfix Direct is one of Yeovils largest employers and an exceptional company to both work for and in partnership with. It is a hugely credible account for us to have and we are all delighted to be working alongside the Screwfix team. Anyone that is interested in hearing about possible positions based at Screwfix should contact Tracey McEwan at the Yeovil branch.”

SMART GROUP APPROVED AS NHS SUPPLIER

All four branches of Smart Group are pleased to announce that we have achieved approved supplier status on the new national framework agreement for agency staff to the NHS (pasa agreement). This will cover both temporary and permanent recruitment for non medical positions and will be from the beginning of January 2010.
For more information on this or enquire about working with us under the agreement please contact your local branch

FRIGHTENINGLY GOOD RECRUITMENT…

All branches are out and about this week to celebrate Halloween and make it a bit of fun for the companies in the local marketplace we have been dressing up!!! Pictured are the Yeovil team who were out and about on Wednesday scaring the local companies and handing out treats from the pumpkins!!!

It’s spooky how good we are at supplying temporary and permanent staff to local companies. So if the spectre of sudden staff shortages gives you the shivers, you can depend on us!

Simply make contact with your local branch from the contacts page.

PROUD NEW ADDITION TO THE SMART GROUP FLEET!

We are very proud of our newest addition! We have recently taken delivery of a new mini bus addition to our fleet to take some of our hard working temps to and from work each day. The bus is currently in service in the Yeovil area. If you have demands that you feel would warrant a mini bus then do get in contact with your local branch and we will be happy to meet with you to discuss your requirements.

WE'VE LISTENED TO OUR CLIENTS AND YOU CAN NOW TALK2US DIRECT...

After feedback from our clients and applicants we have changed our telephone system. There is no longer a central number and you can call our branches direct on a local number.

The new numbers effective immediately are as follows:-

Bournemouth Office 01202 629010
Bournemouth Industrial 01202 629020
Poole Office 01202 440415
Poole Industrial 01202 665522
Dorchester Office 01305 230050
Dorchester Industrial 01305 230055
Yeovil Office 01935 310010
Yeovil Industrial 01935 310020
Contracts Division 01935 310021
Technical Division 01202 440414
Construction Division 08450 665522

The fax number remains the same for all locations at 08456 800 900 and email talk2us@smartgroup.co.uk
There is now additional email for each branch which will be branch@smartgroup.co.uk eg dorchester@smartgroup.co.uk

NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE FROM 1ST OCTOBER 2009

Coming into effect on Thursday 1 October 2009 the national minimum wage will rise by 7p to £5.80 per hour (an increase of 7p from the current minimum rate of £5.73 per hour).

The rate for 18 to 21-year-olds will also increase to £4.83 from £4.77. Minimum wage for 16 to 17-year-olds will increase by 4p to £3.57 an hour.

According to the government, nearly one million people benefit from this increase, after it approved recommendations made by the independent Low Pay Commission (LPC).

If anyone has any queries regarding National Minimum Wage then please do not hesitate to contact any location of Smart via the contacts page

DORCHESTER BRANCH WIN INTERNAL WISE COMPETITION

Dorchester branch of Smart are celebrating this week as it was announced that they have won an internal competition that has been run by parent company Wise Employment across the network of 14 branches. The prize is a day out at the races for the branch team plus some money for a flutter!

The branch are delighted to have been crowned as champions and is the result of much hard work and dedication to the client base and candidates alike.

Enjoy the day out!

SMART GROUP TEMP OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2009

The lovely Summer Lodge Hotel in Evershot was the setting for the Temp of the Year awards for the Dorchester and Yeovil branches on 18th June. We all enjoyed afternoon tea in glorious surroundings with even the weather co-operating for a change! We tried not to embarrass our worthy winners too much but they were slightly embarrassed as we read out their nominations from the clients before presenting them with certificate, champagne and chocolates before enjoying the afternoon tea. The Temp of the Year were awarded across our network after nominations from clients for temps that had been in place at any point over the last year. Choosing was extremely difficult as we truly have some exceptional temps out there but we did have winners:

Bournemouth branch - Caroline Jarvis
Yeovil branch - Tom Gibbs
Poole branch - Jenna Williams
Dorchester branch - Liz Venters

Commenting on the day, Rachel Blight from Smart said, "We really had our work cut out picking the winners as we had some amazing stories of people who had gone the extra mile from walking through the snow to work to deciphering a whole team of doctors handwriting on a daily basis! However we did eventually pick and I was personally delighted to have attended the event at Summer Lodge and take part as it was a lovely day and to spend some time with the star temps and clients out of a work environment was very enjoyable."

Attached are some photos of the day:-

L-R - Emma Randle-Occupational Health; Liz Venters- Dorchester branch Temp of the Year, Debbie Clark- Dorchester Temps Consultant.

L-R Ivan Herring - SSDC, Tom Gibbs - Yeovil branch Temp of the Year.

Group shot in the lovely Summer Lodge grounds.

Again a thank you to all of our temps and congratulations to all those who were nominated.

NATIONAL TEMPORARY WORKERS WEEK 2009

1-5 June 2009 saw the RECs (Recruitment & Employment Confederation) annual Temp Workers Week and as per usual Smart celebrated every step of the way! Temp Workers Week is to celebrate the enormous contribution that temp workers make to the UK economy. Did you know that across the UK a massive 1.2 million people are temping each and every week across pretty much every industry sector? Now whilst we don't have 1.2 million people temping for us we do have a few and this week was about thanking each and every one of them!

The focus of the week was Tea for Temps (set by REC) photos and captions to be sent in for a national competition as it was a nice sunny week we improvised and used iced tea and ice creams on some days and tea and donuts on others. Attached are a couple of photos Andy being served vodka (this was a joke!) by James from our Yeovil branch with the caption it takes more than a cup of tea to get through a day at this place! And Izabela serving the hardworking horticultural labourers at Green Roof with iced teas.

We also this week accepted nominations from clients across the network for our Temp of the Year 2009 - each branch now has a winner and the events are taking place this week - updates of the winners and some pictures will follow.

In the meantime though another big thank you to all of our temps.

COMING UP - NATIONAL TEMP WORKERS WEEK 2009

Next week the 1-5 June is National Temporary Workers Week - this is when the whole industry celebrates the contribution that temporary workers make to the whole UK economy.

At Smart we of course will be celebrating this week as ever! Each branch will be visiting the temps and clients and all clients have been asked for nominations. The winner from each branch will be treated to a afternoon tea at a swanky local venue and a bottle of Champagne! The nominating client will also be treated!

More information will of course follow of the winners and some photos of them enjoying their afternoon tea so watch this space.

We will also be out visiting all our temps next week and bringing out donuts for you to enjoy at your tea break!

In the meantime if you would like more information please contact any Smart location on 08456 800 800 or email talk2us@smartgroup.co.uk.

More information on National Temporary Workers Week can be found at www.rec.uk.com/Tempweek

Relaunch of Construction Division

Smart Group is pleased to announce that the Construction Team has been relaunched with Lisa Mellon as the Consultant dedicated to this area. Lisa is very well known within the Construction Industry and returns to Smart with much knowledge and experience of Construction across the whole of the UK. We will be working UK wide via our network of 14 branches all run by Lisa.

Rachel Blight, Team Manager comments, "We are delighted to have Lisa on board and especially being able to expand into new areas during this tough time within the economy. We see Construction as a real growth area and are very excited about our future plans for Lisa and this area."

Lisa can be contacted via email at lisa.mellon@smartgroup.co.uk or 08456 800 800 ext 3201

YEOVIL BRANCH BECOMES PREFERRED SUPPLIER TO SOUTH SOMERSET DISTRICT COUNCIL

Yeovil branch is pleased to announce that they have been selected as the preferred supplier for staffing to South Somerset District Council following an official tender exercise earlier this year. This is a real boost for the branch and as James Thompson, Senior Consultant for the branch states:- " South Somerset District Council is a hugely credible account for us to have and I am personally delighted to be working alongside the team based at Lufton Depot. We look forward to developing the relationships with the Council and supplying them with all their staffing needs over the busy Summer season. In addition Yeovil is hosting the Britain in Bloom contest this year which we will be involved in."

The contract is initially for a period of one year and anyone that is interested in hearing about possible positions based at the Council should contact James or Izabela at the Yeovil branch.

This recent Council win is one of the latest in a long stream of Councils and Local Government business that has been secured by Smart and also Wise Employment our parent company. We are fast becoming specialists in this way of working and Rachel Blight, Team Manager looks after this specialist area. Rachel comments: "We understand that local Governments are constantly evolving with unitary authorities and neutral vendor options emerging. Therefore so is our service and the options available are also constantly being reviewed.

Our clients say…

“Smart Recruitment has demonstrated that they can work within the tender specification and act as an extension to the Boroughs Civic Temp Scheme.”

Lauren Prosser - Borough of Poole

Smart specialises in making our service a one-stop shop and as such provide:-

• Seamless service and experience of supplying councils directly, via neutral vendors and in association with civic temp schemes as additional support.
• Ability to CRB check, reference check and conduct background checks.
• Employment seminars with like-minded individuals both within your area and professional field.

All of this is of course in addition to the quality and service that you would naturally expect from any professional recruitment business and would be tailored to suit your specific demands and requirements."

For further information on this specialist sector please contact Rachel Blight, Team Manager on 08456 800 800 ext 1200 or rachel.blight@smartgroup.co.uk

Thank you all our fabulous temps!!!

National Temporary Workers Week promotes and recognises the contribution and value of the UK's temporary and flexible workforce. Every week 1.2 million temporary workers are keeping business in the UK moving. National Temp Workers Week is an annual event run by the REC (Recruitment and Employment Confederation) and culminates in a temp of the year awards ceremony held at the House of Commons.

Smart Recruitment would like to take this opportunity to thank our temporary workers for their continued loyalty and hard work. To celebrate the week Smart Recruitment held a number of initiatives across its network of branches including taking lunches out to temps on assignment, raffles for all workers, lotto cards and in branch hospitality.

If you have not already registered with Smart Recruitment please contact any of your local teams for further information. You could be next years temp of the year!!

PRESS STATEMENT REGARDING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

Smart Group Recruitment Solutions would like it to be known they have no connection whatsoever with Smart Recruitment of Worthing as featured on the BBC South Today programme on the evening of 10th December 2007.

Smart Group Recruitment Solutions pride themselves on setting the standards on Recruitment and Migration issues.

• Thanks to their diligent and dynamic approach Smart Group Recruitment Solutions were the first of the initial three Dorset based recruitment agencies to be accredited with the Gang masters licence following a comprehensive and stringent audit process.
  
  
• Members of governing body, the REC, Smart Group Recruitment Solutions holds the ‘gold standard’ of REC membership, highlighting that Smart Recruitment is fully compliant with industry regulations and best practice.
  
  
• Director of Smart Group Recruitment Solutions, Helen Stacey has been co-opted onto the Migrant Workers Task Force and advices the Home Office on Migration issues.

SMART RECRUITMENT CELEBRATE SUCCESS OF THE SOUTH WEST