Research Files: Part 3 - Jobsites of Recruitment Agencies

Part 3 of my jobsite list. Please note that once again WildeHeads takes no responsibility whatsoever for the conduct of other companies and organisations. There would have been more of these (100 in fact) but I gave up the will to live searching for them as recruitment agencies in my experience are an extremely mixed bag indeed. None will side with the employee if payment is not made by a big employer on their books and all would prefer it if you only used them and not other recruitment agencies. That rather flies in the face of what the Department of Work and Pensions insist that you do if ever you are unemployed, which I am myself now due to hopefully short-term  but nonetheless a severe episode of ill health. The solution to problems with recruitment agencies is simple... try another and report them to  HMRC where at least you should be able to get tax credits. In theory you should be able to report all  illegal working practices to the Police at any point as such employers are breaking the Employment  Law if not the Equality Act. Then there's always ACAS for employers which dismiss you unfairly. It is  sad to note that while many Human Resource departments want to, many Chief Executives think they  are entitled to ignore all the laws of this land not to behave. My advice is use the law to give them every opportunity to behave! If you need legal advice do a search for services (both free and 'no win no fee) for them. There are as many of those about as there are naughty employers and well... it keeps people and the money moving which can only help in a recession! Good luck on YOUR journey to the right career for you. The General Job Search Websites
All major national and local papers and trade magazines publish vacancies
Name	Website Links
1 Job	www.1job.co.uk
1 Stop 4 Jobs	www.1stop4jobs.com
360 Resourcing	http://www.360resourcing.co.uk
Adecco	http://www.adecco.co.uk
Agency Central	http://www.agencycentral.co.uk
ATA Recruitment	http://www.ata-recruitment.co.uk
Bis-Henderson	http://www.bis-henderson.com
Blue Arrow	http://www.bluearrow.co.uk
British Jobs	http://www.britishjobs.net
Brook Street	http://www.brookstreet.co.uk
Career Builder	http://www.careerbuilder.co.uk
Career Jet	http://www.careerjet.co.uk
Career Recruit	http://www.careerrecruit.co.uk
CBS Butler	http://www.cbsbutler.com
CG Consultants	http://www.cgconsultants.com
Chisholm And Moore	http://www.chisholmandmoore.co.uk
City Jobs	http://www.cityjobs.com
Eden Brown	http://www.edenbrown.com
Euro Jobs	http://www.eurojobs.com
Europa	http://ec.europa.eu/eures/home.jsp
Experteer	https://www.experteer.co.uk
Fircroft	http://www.fircroft.com
First Recruitment Group	http://www.firstrecruitmentgroup.com
Fish for Jobs	http://www.fishforjobs.co.uk
Free Recruitment	http://www.freerecruitment.co.uk
Ganymede Solutions	http://www.ganymedesolutions.co.uk
Hays	http://www.hays.co.uk
Hot Recruit	http://www.hotrecruit.com
ICAEW Jobs	http://www.icaewjobs.com
Indeed	http://www.indeed.co.uk
Independent	http://ijobs.independent.co.uk
Industry Recruit	http://www.industryrecruit.co.uk
Jam Recruitment	http://www.jamrecruitment.co.uk
Job Mart	http://www.jobmart.co.uk
Job Max	http://www.jobmax.co.uk
Job Opps	http://www.job-opps.co.uk
Job Zone UK	http://www.jobzoneuk.co.uk
Jobrapido	http://uk.jobrapido.com
Jobs 24	http://www.jobs24.co.uk
Jobs and Training	http://www.jobsandtraining.co.uk
Jobs Go Public	http://www.jobsgopublic.com
Jobs group	http://www.jobsgroup.net
Jobs Trovit	http://jobs.trovit.co.uk
Jobs Wales	http://www.jobswales.co.uk
Jobs Zoo	http://www.jobszoo.com
Jobsearch	http://www.jobsearch.co.uk
Jobseeker Direct	http://jobseeker.direct.gov.uk.
Jobserve	http://www.jobserve.com
Jobserve Live	http://www.jobservelive.com
Jobsite	http://www.jobsite.co.uk
Just London Jobs	http://www.justlondonjobs.co.uk
Killer Start ups	http://www.killerstartups.com
Kinetic Jobs	http://www.kinetic-jobs.co.uk
Kings UK Group	http://www.kingsukgroup.com
Local Jobs	http://www.localjobs.co.uk
Local Jobsearch	http://www.localjobsearch.co.uk
London Jobs	http://www.londonjobs.co.uk
Manpower	http://www.manpower.com
Michael Page	http://www.michaelpage.co.uk
Monster	http://www.monster.co.uk
Moore Jobs	http://www.moorejobs.co.uk
N Jobs UK	http://www.njobsuk.com
Nine O Clock	http://www.nineoclock.co.uk
Overseas Jobs	http://www.overseasjobs.com
Pinks Recruitment	http://www.pinksrecruitment.com
PWC	http://www.pwc.co.uk
Recruitment Searcher	http://www.recruitmentsearcher.co.uk
Red Gold Fish	http://www.redgoldfish.co.uk
Reed	http://www.reed.co.uk
Regan And Dean	http://www.regananddean.co.uk
RICS Recruit	http://www.ricsrecruit.com
S1 Jobs	http://www.s1jobs.com
Scottish Jobs	http://www.scottishjobs.com
Solutions Recruitment	http://solutionsinrecruitment.com
Spectrum Consultancy	http://www.spectrumconsultancy.co.uk
Spectrum Recruitment	http://www.spectrumrecruit.co.uk
Staffline	http://www.staffline.co.uk
Task Force Recruitment	http://www.taskforcerecruitment.co.uk
Telegraph	www.jobs.telegraph.co.uk
The Guardian	http://jobs.guardian.co.uk
The Times	http://jobs.thetimes.co.uk
Tip Top Jobs	http://www.tiptopjob.com
TMDR	http://www.tmdr.com
Total Jobs	http://www.totaljobs.com
UK Temps	http://www.uktemps.co.uk
Veredus	http://www.veredus.co.uk/Jobs
Work Thing	http://www.workthing.com
Workhound	http://www.workhound.co.uk

Article: Ethical Trading

Despite appearances I don't like getting involved with politics, but the fact is that the political landscape affects us all, all the time. In a democracy it is a landscape that is shaped by our demands upon it. It is not helpful to merely criticise, nor is it helpful to stay silent when things that have been introduced then turn out to cause more difficulties. Just as no business can correct mistakes if it is not aware of them nor can any government. I wholeheartedly advocate not only highlighting the difficulties we all face but to use our imaginations to think up more viable solutions too. The one without the other is no solution at all. I certainly don't have the monopoly on solutions, no one does. Collectively I believe we can and do find them and always have and will. They we always need amending though, because progress never has had a reverse gear.

Over the past year I have encountered many organisation that are not wholly organised, or ethical in how they trade. If it their administration right, it slips up on it's customer service, marketing, budgeting or how it treats it's staff. While that could be true of any time - enterprises, like government reforms, take time to evolve - it seems more prevalent during an economic crisis. I strongly feel therefore that resolving these challenges requires time out to do so if we are to get on a better financial footing sooner rather than later. Hasty, knee-jerk emergency measures without due research, careful planning including contingencies and a thorough and detailed understanding of all the elements that are in play will only ever result in a deeper and more complex mess to unravel.

Information is the key to all matters, but in a time when goalposts seem to be whizzing about at hyperspeed it is perhaps no surprise to find so many enterprises struggling to function at all, even at a basic level. Take comfort though as throughout history, people will eventually slow down, calm down and stop acting rashly, it's just a question of when.

Do not assume that silly edicts will last - they never have. Do not assume they have been instigated from a sense of malice or cruelty - they seldom are. They arise mostly out of ignorance and fear due to there being little time to think clearly or collect information while the demand is for change. It's as if change of any kind will do, when in fact change at all could be the worst thing to do. Changes only help when they have been well planned and all the information has been collated to restructure a business and/or lead to government reforms that are sensible, logical and wise. I believe we can learn much from history, but what we learn and what ideas we come up with do need to be adapted to factors that we are encountering in the here and now to be effective and for the good.

From where I am sitting, the key change of our times is the growing demand for ethical trading. While it has always been in most people's psyche, it seems to have gathered momentum and a stronger voice in recent times - hence my interest and passion for social enterprises as it seems to yield more solutions than anything else on offer. That is not to say though that it has a monopoly on solutions though.

Why ethics is becoming more influential
In the UK in recent years we have had the scandal of cash for honours and politicians using their power for the betterment of themselves as individuals long before the economic crisis actually hit. It is not surprising therefore that many are still calling for parliamentary reforms to correct such things even now when such things have been reported to have been improved and fixed. The level of trust from individuals and businesses alike in any government has been seriously damaged by these things. It's led to all manner of petitions, protests and new movements starting. Add to mix the struggles that always ensue during a recession and it's no wonder at all that any government will have a hard time of it trying to effect sensible reforms while people are less inclined to trust and therefore talk to them.

What is true of our governments is also true of the world of business and industry. People are much more informed about scandals and corruption in those circles too thanks to the development of the internet and in particular social media and there is no going back on that now. With more information comes understanding of what is unjust, unfair and of how these things have come to happen but without full details again no viable solutions will be found. It has led to a growing sense of unrest and dissatisfaction with how things have been run.

Add to that how the Paralympics and the Time to Change campaigns etc have given disadvantaged people a platform to have a voice this year and it starts to become obvious why morals are becoming an element of social structure which will have to be factored in. I cannot see how such sections of our society can ever go back to being forgotten, overlooked or silenced now. For myself I think that's a positive step so long as we can avoid extremist reactions which could result in a reversal of discrimination against people who have not been so disadvantaged.

Ethics is complicated
We are all products of the societies in which we live. The smaller the circle of influence we move in the more insular we become and the less informed we are. Again the internet and media can help us to be informed but we can only ever make decisions based on the information we obtain. The maxim of 'we only find what we seek' holds true. People do not tend to believe anything that does not suit their own agenda, belief or ambitions unless they actively make an effort to understand and be considerate of their opposition to improve communication and negotiate. When it comes to social issues (which without exception helps form who we are and our opinions), we find the intensity of emotion at it's peak.

For example, is is right for governments to spend large amounts of money on trying to reform convicted criminals and less on supporting victims of crime? The hope is that by making such efforts there would be no victims as there would be no crime if they were wholly successful. Add in the fact that many people turn to crime because they are illiterate and the solution might seem simple at least for illiterate types. You might think it would it be right to say criminals are all mentally ill but by doing so you'd make it more difficult for victims of crime to be treated fairly and NOT be tarnished as criminals by mistake. Yes, we want to contain the worst offenders and punish them, but even some of them have become offenders because of what they have been subjected to. I often confuse people because I refuse to come down on one side of the fence or the other without access to all the facts.

A law has to apply to everyone regardless of circumstances but it should in my opinion have discretionary powers to allow for individual exceptions e.g. parking on double yellow lines to save someone's life, but you'd have to prove that that is precisely what you were doing. Ethics is extremely complicated, so it follows that governments and businesses alike have a hard time of it in attempting to be fair to all.

Gearing up in business and industry
Fortunately in business and industry, away from public and community services (including charities), ethics are far more easy to get right. No sweat shops, no excessive hours of work, rest and meal breaks, and a fair wage that reflects the value of worker's skills are all a good start. Paying staff promptly so they don't have to struggle with finances to get to work, allowing them time off to look after relatives in an emergency and providing good training to help both parties develop and succeed all help too.

It's my guess that those businesses and organisations who are already supportive of their staff AND the community will be ahead of the game for the future. Those who provide work for disabled and disadvantaged people, who support public services through giving a slice of their profits will be the most profitable by growing ever more popular and therefore successful. The one common factor all people respond to, is giving more to those who support them in their hour of need and this is something all employers would do well to invest in as their greatest asset will always be their own staff and the broader community, as working or not we are all a part of it. Employers could, and I think eventually will, change not just our current economics with regard to trading, but the political landscape too. For me, it's just a question of when, however, now seems to be as good a time as any to start trading ethically if you are not already doing so.

Research Files: Unemployment – a burden to all

Without doubt unemployment is a burden to all as well as a frustration. With unemployment figures showing no real sign of dropping, the prospect of higher taxes being levied to pay subsistence costs to those not working is not a happy one - but morally we shouldn't let people starve or go homeless. It doesn't take a genius to work out that it is always in our interests to have as many people working as possible. The more people work, the more money circulates as businesses have more customers. 

Let’s be honest - who of us hasn’t at some point in their lives faced the prospect of unemployment? If at no other time in our lives, as school leavers we do. At that point we just don’t know if we will make the grade or not. This is all the more likely when there is a national or global economic crisis or recession. In the last two years alone I have had go through the process of seeing through redundancies of fabulous staff in my role as a manager and been made redundant myself. Additionally, I have heard news of former colleagues from years ago of all ranks being made redundant too.

No one, I hope, likes redundancies – they are not pleasant processes to have to go through whether you are a manager implementing that painful decision, or a member of staff being made redundant. It should be (and usually is) a business decision not a personal slight which is of some comfort, especially when outside influences and not mismanagement has led to it.

There are in the UK employment laws and guidelines to follow - affected staff must be allowed time to seek alternative work and go for interviews and you cannot then hire new staff to take their place to do the same job. Nor are you allowed to use volunteers to do work that would normally be covered by a paid position, but we all know it happens. The ethics behind that I believe to be right but the realities of the working world mean that it can be of enormous help to both parties for volunteering to cover the essentials.  In rosier times, the hope is that those volunteers, having gained work experience, will be offered a paid position as a result of their efforts - although not everyone wants to be paid.

There is no point talking about unemployment though without understanding some realities the unemployed are facing - many of whom maybe friends, relatives and former colleagues of yours by now.

The realities of being unemployed

For those of you who have never been through the benefit system here is a brief outline of what others may be going through or have been through in order to secure work.

Firstly the amount you receive is determined by National Insurance contributions for the two types of Jobseekers Allowance. There used to be a crossover for top-ups if you had a medical condition or disability via Incapacity Benefits. More commonly now you are either on one or the other.  Housing (Council Tax) can be covered subject to meeting criteria and you don’t have to pay it back. It’s part of what we pay our taxes for – to help people through hard times so that they CAN get back on their feet and make contributions again when they secure work.  So far, so good but...

If you are a homeowner, unless you took out insurance against unemployment only the interest of your mortgage will be paid (up to a certain level and subject to meeting criteria) and even then it is only for a maximum of two years. Generally speaking home buyers have made additional contributions because they took out a mortgage, but not apparently to receive the same level of support if they hit hard times or indeed for as long.

However... all benefit claimants also get assistance with free prescriptions for most medical conditions, (not all) and further assistance is sometimes available for medical and other emergencies, even funeral costs (subject to criteria).

What you don’t get is additional money for utilities, food or clothing except in dire emergency. Basic benefits per week I believe on average to be £65.00 - that is the maximum you can be paid (it does go up by a couple of pounds after you've been deemed to be long-term unemployed (i.e. without work for six months or more). There are variations to this amount dependent on marital status, dependents and circumstances - hence the benefit fraudsters we hear about who capitalise on that. 

You can sometimes get assistance from the utility companies if they run such schemes and have money in the kitty to assist in emergencies (again dependent on criteria). There are too emergency benefits (e.g. Crisis Loans and Social Fund). These are usually in the form of repayable loans and payment usually starts (as far as I can fathom) immediately and are deducted at source thereby reducing the fortnightly sum of £130 further.

You DO NOT get additional money for internet connection, phone bills, envelopes and paper and postage when applying for work although there are things that help with that. The cost of running a car is also not covered.

To their credit the Job Centre does pay for travel expenses for interviews even retrospectively now so long as it’s provable and so long as the interview is over 15 miles from your home. It will also help with travel expenses all the way up to you receiving your first payment from a new employer. I happen to think the business world should do their bit to help the economy by paying new staff after their first week’s work. Cash flow may prevent it in all cases but none of us want to be paying more tax to facilitate those travel expenses do we? Without the government's intervention though, a lot of people simply cannot afford to even get to an interview.

A brief recap of the ethos behind welfare support

Initially the benefits system started to help UK citizens through times of extreme crisis to prevent starvation and homelessness and that is all. Its origins started in 19^th Century with Victorian philanthropists not in the 20^th Century as many suppose (you could argue it was earlier than that).

In the  20^th  Century the welfare system formed and has since undergone many changes and had many restructures to government departments to run it - in my lifetime, from the DHSS (Department of Health and Social Services) to the DWP (Department of Work and Pensions). This latest incarnation says it all... the deal is that if you need assistance you MUST be trying your best to seek employment no matter what your circumstances are, regardless even of disabilities. There has never been any significant increase in benefits to cover the costs of job seeking or to help facilitate it except via Employment Adviser Services.

Welfare to Work Services

Welfare to Work and Employment Advice Services are in main contracted by the DWP. Most help by providing clunky old PCs, intermittent internet connections, a couple of phones (in usually an open plan office), envelopes, paper and postage. They provide sterling advice services and guidance for the unemployed to help them to get the most of job searches, assist with CVs, cover letters, applications and interviews. All people need to do is ask at their local job centre to access it. Each advice service is paid £14,000 per benefit claimant.

Most if not all work on a target basis set by the DWP so have little time for morale and motivation boosting prior to job search activities (hence additional services supplied by many charities, social enterprises and some private companies). Some of these target based organisations have failed during this recession because they didn't meet those targets. It begs the question - is some help is better than none particularly when demand for such services is, if anything, increasing according to recent reports? Is it perhaps a tad unfair to hold these service providers responsible for the effects of a recession? Then again, the government needs to ensure every penny it spends is spent wisely and effectively. 

The poverty trap

On the thankfully few occasions I have been on benefits I can honestly say that the vast majority of job seekers are honest people who want to be employed and not professional fraudsters who have no intention of securing legitimate work ever. It is therefore grossly unfair to criminalise and stigmatise the unemployed as a whole as aside from being extremely unhelpful – how does that solve the problem?

The most difficult issue by far is whether or not people will be better off for working. Often part-time work results in benefits being deducted penny for penny after the first £5-£20 is earned (dependent on circumstances). In most cases this meagre amount would not cover the travel expenses to get to work. The government has introduced the Back to Work Calculation and Tax Credits to assist, but frankly it isn’t enough. Rumour has it that new initiatives will be brought in next year - what they will be I haven’t a clue but I'm not hopeful.

The domino effect

In the last couple of years this economic crisis has seen many high ranking managers, company directors and even CEOs be made redundant; there are cases where they have become job seekers voluntarily resigning to ensure their organisations survive the recession and to save lower paid staff their jobs. Some have gone on to secure new positions at a lower level and at substantially reduced salaries. The knock on effect of that is that lower ranking managers end up taking the jobs normally taken by supervisors etc until in the end it hits the unskilled labour level or those looking for their very first job opportunity.

Compounding that are the recruiters and HR departments who are asking for more and more qualifications, skills and experience to help them shortlist (aside from anything else). This domino effect isn't unique to a recession but it certain escalates during one.

Another good initiative from the government did come in the form of apprenticeships and some funds for training but the latest indications are that they are likely to be cut now. Other ideas to resolve unemployment include more job-share opportunities, more jobs at lower salaries and quite simply short-listing according to what skills are required instead of on qualifications or even experience. I personally like the job-share idea best and more people being employed on a contract basis. In these uncertain times, businesses would do well not to over commit by offering contracts for over a year - nothing to stop them being reviewed and renewed though. With more short-term contracts the prospect of everyone getting some financially viable employment increases in my opinion.

An appeal to the business community

My real reason for writing this article is to inform the business community to prompt it to think about what it can do to ease the burden of vast numbers of unemployed people, as it helps no one, (nor the economy), to have people unemployed.

Heaven knows how complex it is for the DWP to overhaul the current system, but it certainly needs it. What hasn’t helped is successive governments scrapping what their predecessors have put in place that was working. Would that they displayed a more businesslike approach and collaborated to find the right solutions to sort this once and for all. A joint effort from all political parties on this issue might just achieve that, I think. Unlikely to happen though, I fear.

Finally...

If you are experiencing any difficulty at all related to unemployment the Job Centres have information of local support agencies which are there to help you. Failing that there are the CABs (Citizen’s Advice Bureaus) - they are a charity and therefore reliant on donations etc for funding. Those working could help with either donations or by volunteering as advisers (if you have time to spare) as the CAB strives to provide information on the professional services out there for anything people may need a hand with.

The CAB does not help with looking for work. Instead google 'Welfare to Work', 'Employment Advice' and 'Careers Advice' services if ever you are stuck or indeed if you want to change your job. Any one of them should be able to list all local recruitment agencies as well as general and industry specific on-line sites where you can upload your CV and get job-alerts by email. If they don't... find another that does. That search also lists specific sources of help if you suffer from any form of disability although the Job Centres themselves will happily connect you to the local services they know of.

Hope it helps.