October 1 was one of the two ‘common commencement’ dates when new legislation came into force. These included a number of regulations that are of direct relevance to recruiters and employers, including National Minimum Wage and the Equality Act.

National Minimum Wage (NMW)

As of October 1, the hourly rate of pay for workers aged 21 and over rose from £5.80 to £5.93. For those aged between 18 and 20, the rise was to £4.92 from £4.83 while younger workers aged 16 and 17 saw their rates go up to £3.64 from £3.57.

This year also sees the introduction of a new NMW for apprentices which has been set at £2.50 and will apply to apprentices under the age of 19, or those aged 19 and over who are in the first year of their apprenticeship. Also, the accommodation offset amount will rise to £4.61.

Equality Act 2010

The overall aim of the act is to harmonise existing discrimination legislation. Provisions that come into force include:

• Provisions which define and outlaw direct and indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation;
• Indirect discrimination to be introduced to disability discrimination, providing disabled people with greater protection;
• Provisions rendering pay secrecy clauses unenforceable
• Restrictions on using health questionnaires;
• Protection for employees against third party harassment to be extended across all protected characteristics.

On of the biggest issues for members is whether the Equality Act prevents recruiters from asking for health information about job applicants and temporary workers. These and other questions are addressed in recent editions of the REC’s Legal Bulletin.   A number of other areas covered in the Equality Bill are still under consideration.

The REC/KPMG Report on Jobs, published today,  has revealed further easing in the  growth of staff appointment with permanent staff placements and temporary/contract staff billings both rising at weaker rates in September.

The latest increase in permanent appointments was the slowest for a year, while growth of temp billings eased to an 11 month low.

Overall demand for staff increased again in September, but the rate of growth was the weakest since October 2009. Slower rises in both permanent and temporary vacancies were recorded. Although permanent staff salaries continued to rise in September, the rate of inflation eased to a ten-month low. Temporary/contract staff hourly pay decreased marginally for the first time in nine months.

September data signalled a reduction in the availability of permanent staff for the fourth time in the past five months. However, the latest fall was only slight. The availability of temporary/contract staff rose at the fastest pace for three months.

Kevin Green, the REC’s Chief Executive, says:

“September’s Report on Jobs shows that the jobs market is starting to flatline and may herald a ‘double dip’ in employment.  Whilst there is marginal growth, these figures are the worst we have seen for a year. The Government must do everything possible to avert the threat of increasing unemployment. This must include avoiding new regulation that could restrict businesses and jobs growth. How the Government decides to implement the Agency Workers Regulations will be its first major test in cutting red tape on business.

“Recent party conferences have underlined plans for welfare and benefits reform but this will take years to implement. Immediate priorities for Government must focus on encouraging private sector employers with incentives to take on staff and radically improving the support being offered to specific groups of jobseekers, such as those under 25. Tapping into the existing expertise of the private sector recruitment industry is a cost effective way in which the Government could start to make real headway in this area.”

Bernard Brown, Partner and Head of Business Services at KPMG comments:

“September has seen a further slowdown of the UK jobs market with permanent job appointments rising at the weakest rate for a year. As in previous months engineering, construction and executive staff have been most in demand, an indication of the continuing recovery in the private and manufacturing sector. This is in sharp contrast to the situation in the public sector where many organisations have started redundancy programmes or have at least imposed hiring freezes. For example, the sharp decline in the demand for healthcare professionals comes as a direct result of government cutbacks and efforts to reform the NHS and may be only a sign of things to come.”

Report on Jobs provides the most comprehensive guide to the UK labour market drawing from original survey data provided by recruitment consultancies. Copies of the report are available on annual subscription from Markit. For subscription details, please contact: economics@markit.com.