In your corner: REC Campaigns and Policy news - 6 May 2021

Whilst the bank holiday weather may have been disappointing, as we plough forward into May, the overall jobs climate feels a lot more positive. Jobs are continuing to recover as lockdown eases further and there is plenty going on in the world of recruitment for the REC’s campaigns team to get stuck in to on behalf of the industry. With local elections taking place today the REC is looking forward to contacting the elected candidates again, having already asked them to sign-up to the REC’s Good Recruitment Charter if elected.

UK/EU relationship

Last week, the European Parliament ratified the Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA), also known as the post-Brexit EU-UK trade deal, which effectively entered into force on 1 May 2021. This was the last step to cement the ongoing partnership between the UK and EU. REC will keep lobbying on behalf of members to ensure issues such as business travel, and mutual recognition of professional qualifications are resolved as smoothly as possible. We attended a webinar on UK travellers in the EU organised by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and you can access some Q&A's from that session here. In addition, the first set of Government guidance for travelling to work in some EU member states is now available and can be accessed here.

As for the future relationship with the EU, 30^th June is fast approaching is the closing date to apply for the EU Settlement Scheme on 30 June 2021. Although you cannot ask for proof of status before that date, you should incentivise your employees to apply to preserve their right to legally live and work in the UK going forward.

Flexi-Job Apprenticeships Roundtable with Department for Education

As part of the DfE’s ongoing consultation on the upcoming flexi-job apprenticeship scheme, the REC is hosting a roundtable event with the DfE. DfE are keen to hear feedback from the recruitment sector on these proposals, particularly around how flexi-job apprenticeships could be a solution for certain sectors; and what the key issues are with flexi-job apprenticeships. The roundtable has been scheduled for 10-11.30am on Monday 10th May, so if you are interested in joining, please email Patrick.milnes@rec.uk.com by the end of Friday 7^th May.

CBI Trade Association meeting

We participated in the second meeting of the CBI’s new Trade Association Working Group , focused on services trade with the EU after the end of the transition period. With Government guidance in trading with EU countries and Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications soon to be released, participants discussed medium term objectives such as a fit for purpose immigration system and financial services.

REC meets with new Secretary of State

Neil Carberry had a good discussion with BEIS Secretary of State Kwasi Kwarteng about the scale and impact of the industry in relation to economic recovery and the importance of temporary agency work.

Research Corner

Data from the latest JobsOutlook shows that in the three months to March, employers expressed a greater sense of optimism in the UK’s economic outlook, with the balance of sentiment rising by 14 percentage points to net: -36. Ahead of the government’s planned re-opening of all non-essential shops, restaurants and leisure facilities, the sentiment surged to net: -8 in March alone. Furthermore, employers’ confidence about making new hires and investing in their businesses remained stable at net: +14, a notable nine percentage points higher than the final quarter of 2020. These are all welcome signs that businesses despite obvious challenges have weathered the latest lockdown and that the economy is well-positioned to bounce back in the remainder of 2021.

The REC is also publishing the new KPMG and REC, UK Report on Jobs this week, so keep an eye out for the latest insight on labour market conditions and recruitment activity in the UK.