Current News

REC/IRP - The Week Ahead

Highlights of the last week included some decent prime-time media coverage on BBC Breakfast News (commenting on the latest GDP figures) as well as an opportunity to engage with the Pensions Minister Steven Webb at the TPR ‘auto-enrolment’ conference in Westminster. We were invited to showcase our ‘Pathways to Pensions’ toolkit at this event and will continue to provide practical support for members – in particular through our latest round of pensions workshops.

The centrepiece of the last seven days was of course the annual IRP awards ceremony. Congratulations to all nominees and category winners and a special mention to Jeff Brooks, Chair of REC Technology, for his life-time achievement award. As ever, the event was an opportunity to showcase the positive contribution of recruiters as well as the industry’s commitment to a proactive compliance and standards agenda.

Major ‘happenings’ over the coming week include member events in Sheffield and Hinckley and our meeting with new Employment Relations Minister Jo Swinson MP.  Discussions with the Minister will focus on the forthcoming review of the Conduct Regulations, the findings of the REC’s Flexible Work Commission, the equality and inclusion agenda and a possible AWR review in 2013. Feedback from the meeting will be made available to REC and IRP members.

In summary, REC activities and key external announcements over the coming week are as follows:

Monday October 29

• REC meeting with new Employment Relations Minister Jo Swinson, MP
• Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg hosts a conference on city deals with the Centre for Cities where he announces the second wave of city deals
• Mark Field MP speaks at the Institute of Economic Affairs discussion on the future of business schools in London
• Ofsted launches a consultation on the framework for the inspection of sure start children’s centres

Tuesday October 30

• REC ‘In the Round’, Sheffield
• Meeting of REC Drivers & REC Industrial sector groups, Hinckley
• ‘Start Up Your Own Agency’ – REC Training Course, London
• REC meeting with RNIB on inclusive recruitment practices
• Care services minister Norman Lamb speaks at the UK dementia congress in Brighton
• The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee publishes its report on the financial resilience of NHS trusts
• The Joseph Rowntree Foundation publishes a report on universal credit
• The CBI publishes its monthly survey of distributive trades

Wednesday October 31

• ‘Start Up Your Own Agency’ – REC Training Course, London
• Telephone Sales’ – REC Training Course, London
• The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills hosts a national seminar on local enterprise partnerships
• Shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry and shadow cabinet office minister Jon Trickett MP attend the launch of the new trade union based think tank Centre for Labour and Social Studies
• The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills publishes the Heseltine Review on economic growth
• The British Retail Consortium publishes its monthly economic survey
• The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills publishes the English business survey for August 2012

Thursday November 1

• REC member webinar on new vetting & barring scheme
• PubAffairs Scotland hosts a networking event in Edinburgh
• Joseph Rowntree Foundation published research conducted by Manchester
• Metropolitan University on Chinese migrant workers in the UK (09.00)

Friday November 2

• Sharon Boles MEP speaks at the Policy Exchange debate on the impact of the EU on the UK’s financial services industry
• The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills releases insolvency statistics for Q3 2012
• The Department of Health publishes accident and emergency weekly data, ambulance quality indicators clinical outcomes for June 2012 and system indicators