CONTENTS

• My Favourites (Andy Drinkwater)
• Article One (How to Avoid Choking on the Smoke-free Law by Clarks Legal)
• Article Two (CV Database Review by Dan Atkinson)
• Don't Miss This (Talent Management Conference: 24th to 26th September 2007- PR: PreVisor Opens Sales and Support Office in the UK - Northern Recruitment Network Summer Social, Manchester, 11th July- PR: HotLizard New Launch)
• Discussion Board Summary
• Online Recruitment Update (Louise's UK Recruiter Blog - PR: Butternut Jobs Launches - PR: OfficeRecruit.com's 5th Birthday - PR: Text vs Email)
• Subscribe/Unsubscribe
• Feedback & Advertising Information

Visit http://www.careersinrecruitment.com for the latest recruitment industry jobs.

My Favourites

www.theregister.co.uk - Science & Technology based news website that has a sometimes amusing way of reporting the news.

www.ephotozine.com - EPhotoZine as a photography community that allows you to upload, view, rate photos and pick up a wealth of knowledge from thousands of other photographers.

www.dwizard.net - The Domain Wizard will help you make finding that next website easier by making suggestions of available domain names based on your keyword requirements.

Andy Drinkwater works at Agency Central

Why not submit your 3 favourite web sites. See the guidelines at http://www.ukrecruiter.co.uk/articles.htm

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Article One: How to Avoid Choking on the Smoke-free Law by Clarks Legal

From 1st July 2007 employers in England will have to ensure that their workplaces are kept smoke-free. Any employees who ignore the rules risk exposing their employers to fines and even potential claims from other employees.

Employers who fully comply with the Health Act 2006 will avoid prosecution for the offences under the Act, namely a failure to display no smoking signs and to prevent smoking on smoke free premises. However, the arrangements employers make to comply, and how these are implemented, pose different risks and, in some cases, could give rise to other claims. Follow our Top10 tips to keep you and your employees safe! 

1. Order surplus signs

Don’t get caught out if a sign is removed or vandalised. Have extra signs readily available and designate someone with responsibility to check signs regularly and erect new signs if needed. Display additional signs in other areas, not just at entrances, where a person may have a reasonable expectation that smoking is permitted without any evidence to the contrary. 

2. Encompass doorways in the ban

The distance from smoke free premises at which smoking is allowed is not specified in the legislation. On a strict interpretation, unless the entrance/exit is “substantially enclosed” people will be permitted to light up the instant they get outside and smoke in the immediate area. However, this will expose others entering or exiting the building to second hand smoke and is against the spirit of the law. Avoid any potential problems by prohibiting smoking within a specific area of all entrances e.g. five metres.

3. Manage and control smoking outdoors

Smoking outdoors could damage the image and reputation of the business. If cigarette litter builds up around your premises you may be fined, so adequate provision should be made for proper disposal of cigarette butts and other litter generated in outdoor smoking areas. Precautions should also be made to prevent other pollution, such as noise, odour and light. In some cases, it may be necessary to control antisocial behaviour.

4. Introduce rules on when employees can smoke

The regulations are only concerned with where smoking is permitted but you should also advise employees when smoking is permitted. If you do not allow breaks during working hours you should confirm that smoking is only permitted in the employee’s own time. If breaks are permitted these should be applied consistently to smokers and non-smokers and have clear rules. Smoking at unauthorised times, taking long or too many breaks should be communicated as a disciplinary offence. 

5. Record all incidents and any action taken

Employers may be able to avoid prosecution for a failure to prevent smoking if they can show that they took reasonable steps to do so. You should therefore make it a condition that any known breaches are recorded, together with any action taken. This can then be used in evidence to show due diligence in support of a defence. 

6. Agree action to be taken in the event of a breach

Be prepared to deal swiftly and effectively with any breaches. Enforce your rules with employees through use of the disciplinary procedure. Contractual terms with other organisations or consultants should confirm the consequences of breaching your company’s smoke free workplace policy. Ensure arrangements are in place to deal with the lawful expulsion of any person, if the need arises. 

7. Provide adequate guidance on confronting smokers

Managers and other staff in control of smoke premises have a legal duty to prevent smoking and will be expected to confront smokers, if the need arises. However, employers also have a statutory duty to care for the employee’s safety and they should not be exposed to unnecessary risks. Breaching this duty could give rise to a claim of constructive unfair dismissal and/or personal injury claims. Therefore, it is important that you give adequate information or training to staff on how to deal with such situations. You should also confirm that, if there are genuine concerns for personal safety, the matter should be reported and will be dealt with by more appropriate personnel or the police.

8. Consult staff on proposals to implement the Heath Act 2006 

Although prohibiting smoking is necessary to ensure legal compliance, employers are advised to consult with staff and/or trade unions on the specific provisions of the policy, particularly where any current smoking permissions are to be withdrawn. Failing to consult could lead to formal grievances which take up valuable management time. Unilaterally changing terms and conditions is a breach of contract, which in some cases could entitle an employee to resign and claim constructive unfair dismissal. Changing terms includes the withdrawal of a right or privilege which the employee has come to regard as part of their terms and conditions through custom and practice, even if the right is not confirmed in writing, and could apply to smoking breaks.

9. Effectively communicate your expectations

Employers are advised to develop a comprehensive Smoke Free Workplace Policy to confirm the arrangements in place and to ensure all employees are aware of their responsibilities and the consequences of non-compliance. Your policy should be communicated to all employees and brought to the attention of any other users of the premises. Potential applicants should be advised during the recruitment process if smoking is prohibited or restricted to certain areas and at certain times. 

10. Be consistent

Finally, treat employees who breach the policy in a fair and consistent manner through the application of your disciplinary procedure. Make sure the information you give to employees is not ambiguous. Your disciplinary policy, and any home working and/or car policies, should also be updated to include any provisions you make in the Smoke Free Policy. 

Clarkslegal is a leading commercial law firm with a proven track record across the UK and overseas, with clients ranging from small to medium-sized enterprises to multi-nationals. With offices in London, Reading, Cardiff and Swansea, Clarkslegal has extended its reach into new local markets as well as improving its national capabilities. To contact email contact@clarkslegal.com or visit www.clarkslegal.com. 

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Article Two: CV Database Review by Dan Atkinson

Site Name: CVtrumpet.co.uk 

URL: http://www.cvtrumpet.co.uk/platinumannual.htm

Site Stats: 
Sectors covered: All major sectors. 
Target candidate level: Main level is candidates looking for between £50,000 to £150,000. Secondary levels are £25,000 to £50,000 and £150,000 to £300,000. 
Site Launched: February 2002, all CVs in the database are from January 2006 onwards.
Number of CV's held: 44,512 as of May 15, 2007 
Geographic split of candidates: 94% are UK based. 

Costs: £97 per month or £847 per year. Up to 400 full Word CVs can be downloaded per month. The site is offering 10% off a year's access for ukrecruiter subscribers if you quote ukrec when purchasing.

Contact details: ro@executivetrumpet.com or 0870 385 0970.

Background: The site is owned by Software Leaders Ltd. CVtrumpet is the company's flagship product and was the UK's first CV sending service. The company expanded into the U.S. in 2005 with executivetrumpet.com and has recently launched allexecutivejobs.com, an executive job site for positions starting at £50,000+.

How it works:
CV trumpet gives the user a number of criteria to search with, plus the ability to input free text for a little more focus. At the time of writing this means 15 possible job functions and six broad industry groups plus various sub sets. There is the ability to choose from 12 regions in the UK. All searching is done via check boxes with the exception of the free text box. There are only two salary levels to choose from – below fifty thousand pounds and above fifty thousand pounds.

Strengths:

• Simplicity. You give the systems a broad idea of what you’re looking for and it throws you back broad candidate possibilities. I much prefer this to other more complicated systems that leave me wondering what may have been missed.

• Quality of candidates. When searching for middle and senior that’s just what you get. You don’t have to spend time filtering out the low earning candidates as I have done on other systems.

• Cost. In the ten years I’ve watched web based systems evolve there’s never been one that could claim to be ‘the only one you’d ever need’, yet most small recruiters can’t afford to buy access to multiple web services. CV Trumpet seems very sensibly priced, allowing it to be one of several paid for candidate channels.

• Range. You can download up to 400 CVs per month.

Weaknesses:

• It doesn’t tell you when you’ve already viewed a CV, which can be frustrating if you’re searching on multiple positions with crossover skill sets (however, they inform me they will fix this over the summer). 

• Snapshot information of candidates is possibly a little too broad. 

• The ability to search on more precise salary levels and functions before committing to downloading CVs would be welcomed.

• Cleansing is not what it could be. Since candidates using CVTrumpet are generally those pursuing an aggressive career move plan, I would expect details to go out of date quickly. At present all information is fresh from January 2006, and candidates are reminded quarterly to deactivate their accounts. Apparently there are steps to dramatically improve data quality in the not too distant future.

• This isn’t really a weakness, but is an area where recruiters ought to watch out. Apparently many recruiters tend to think that CVtrumpet CV's have already been sent out with the CV sending service and wonder if accessing the database is of value. But, just 10% of CV's are sent with the CV sending service (as it's a premium service for candidates). To search/access the other 90% of candidates a database subscription would be required. 

Summary:

CVTrumpet’s brilliantly simple CV broadcasting service coupled with the effective use of Google desktop search has long been a handy search tool to keep in the box. With the launch of an online database, CVTrumpet has moved their service to the next level and I for one am glad. Whilst it may be simpler than some of the bigger names out there, the quality of candidates found during test searches for a £150k customer services director, a £70k software solutions sales specialist and £50k construction engineers all met or surpassed my expectations. The service also gives you what you need without confusing you by providing services you don’t. The designers seem to have thought about how a typical senior management recruiter works and provided accordingly, at a price that represents excellent value for money. As long as they keep an eye on the data cleansing side and don’t hike the price up I’d recommend this as a ‘must have’ service to complement existing candidate channels. 

Dan Atkinson formed Accite Executive Research in 1999. Accite is a recruitment research company and Dan can be contacted on 01423 565 999 or by email at research@accite.co.uk. www.accite.co.uk.  This article is the ninth in an ongoing series of CV database reviews.We have reviewed CV-Library in issue 273, Monster.co.uk in issue 275, Constructionjobsearch in issue 277, Jobsite in issue 279, Jobs in Credit in issue 281, Executivesontheweb.com in issue 284, Justconstruction.net in issue 290 and CV Central in issue 305.

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Don't Miss This (sponsored by http://www.alljobsUK.com "The UK’s Jobs Portal")

Talent Management Conference: 24th to 26th September 2007
The Lawyer publication has organised a Talent Management, Graduate Recruitment & Trainee Development conference. "As pressure mounts on managing an integrated talent strategy at all levels of the firm, this event helps you surmount these challenges. Featuring a panel of senior speakers representing a range of firms, universities, legal recruiters and out of industry perspectives each day will provide you with freshly generated insight into how to best manage your talent at all levels of the firm. Boasting a first class speaker line up you will hear from companies including, Allen & Overy, DLA Piper, SJ Berwin Shearman & Sterling CMS Cameron McKenna and Addleshaw Goddard." To book your place at the Talent Management Conference call 020 7970 4770 quoting "OLF01" or visit the website

Press Release: PreVisor Opens Sales and Support Office in the United Kingdom
"PreVisor, a leading provider of employment assessments and selection solutions that connect hiring decisions to business results, is pleased to announce the opening of its UK sales and support office. Located at Arlington Square in Bracknell, the establishment of this office represents a key milestone in PreVisor’s efforts to more directly support its rapidly growing global client base. Formed in 2005 as the combination of premier companies Qwiz, ePredix, Brainbench, and PDRI, PreVisor now offers the broadest line of assessment products and services in the market. The ability of clients to have all of their assessment needs met through one platform has already had a positive market impact internationally. For more information call 01344 742813 or visit www.PreVisor.com"

Northern Recruitment Network summer social, Manchester, 11th July
The Northern Recruitment Network are holding their summer social on Wednesday 11th July at Bluu in Manchester's Northern Quarter. "Always a popular fixture on the calendar, this event is a great opportunity to catch up with and meet colleagues and clients from across the recruitment industry in the north." From: 4.00pm onwards. Cost: £15 for members, £20 for non-members. For further details of this event and how to join the Northern Recruitment Network, contact Janine Richardson at NRN@guardian.co.uk, tel 0161 908 3821 or look on the website www.northernrecruitmentnetwork.co.uk 

Press Release: HotLizard launch advanced real-time analytics module for recruiters
"HotLizard, the experts in online recruitment, and SABER Analytics have partnered to offer recruitment consultancies and staffing agencies the ultimate solution to obtaining accurate management information, on time and in full. For further information on HotLizard’s products and services, please email sales@hotlizard.net, telephone 01635 527900 or visit www.hotlizard.net."

This section is sponsored by http://www.alljobsUK.com "The UK’s Jobs Portal"

Discussion Board Summary

Don't forget to visit The Discussion Board. Current topics on the site include:

• There has been much discussion about Friendsreunitedjobs

• PJ has made a recent placement who is now going on maternity leave what should he do?

• There has been ongoing conversation on the topic of Gifts for placements

• Terry has had had trouble Obtaining Feedback from a client

• What do you do with a High Fee Low Volume Recruitment role 

Any postings you or anyone else makes will be included in the weekly digest. Sign up for the free digest here or hit reply to ask me to include your email address

It is free to use the discussion board and you don't have to register to view messages. Visit the site, ask questions and share your knowledge

Online Recruitment Update (sponsored by http://www.broadbean.co.uk for "the UK's favourite job posting system")

Louise's UK Recruiter blog
Since the last newsletter I've posted the following: 

• Interview with a blogger - Heidi Moulson

• Monster request candidate feedback

• Onrec conference review

You can read Louise's UK Recruiter blog at http://ukrecruiter.typepad.com  You can keep up to date with other the recruitment blogs from the UK via the UK Recruiter - blog watch page at http://www.ukrecruiter.co.uk/blogs.htm.

Press Release: Butternut Jobs Launches 
"Butternut Jobs is East Anglia’s new one stop shop for job seekers! Surf for your dream job, get free advice on your CV, get job alerts directly to your mobile or enter our monthly competitions! Butternutjobs.com has been created to make your job search easier, so if you like what you see let us know! We showcase jobs in Norfolk, Cambridgeshire & Lincolnshire! Visit www.butternutjobs.com and see for yourself."

Press Release: OfficeRecruit.com's 5th Birthday 
"OfficeRecruit.com, the leading job board for PA’s and support staff, celebrates 5 years of being a market leading online recruitment service in 2007. In 2004 Jobsite was acquired by Associated New Media, a division of Associated Newspapers Ltd (DMGT). This partnership has given OfficeRecruit.com access to extensive new resources that allow it to further attract the highest calibre of candidates, and match these to current vacancies. Even though it’s a specialist site OfficeRecruit.com provides its job hunters and recruiters with the resources and innovation of a generalist site, along with sector specific expertise and the tailored reach that only a niche site can offer. www.officerecruit.com"

Press Release: Text vs Email
"Formation, a mobile applications developer is seeking the opinions of the recruitment industry to establish why text messaging is fast becoming recruitment consultants' number one communication tool. Formation has produced a survey, which is now online at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=vHHq25Xz_2bOw7iS5uKiw7qA_3d_3d "

This section is sponsored by http://www.broadbean.co.uk; "the UK's favourite job posting system".

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