Out-of-this-World stories from Rocket Software

Rocket Software welcomes new training and support specialist

After massive growth in 2011 and in preparation for several new product launches in 2012, Rocket are delighted to announce another addition to its Support and Training team.

Emma Hulse has experience within recruitment in both the front office and back office. Emma also has experience of working within the cloud sector which will prove invaluable as Rocket expands its hosted offering. Danny Steel, Managing Director says "Emma's appointment further enhances our already strong dedicated team and will help to support Rocket Software's continued unprecedented triple digit growth".

Rocket Software expands its support team

Rocket Software is proud to welcome our newest member to the support team, Tom Gannon.

Tom joins us after undergoing intensive training in the latest Microsoft technologies through our apprentice academy partner, Zenos IT Academy. Tom will be assisting the rest of the IT and TempID support teams in providing the level of support which Rocket Software is renowned for.

We wish Tom all the best for a long and successful career with Rocket Software!

Team Rocket finally did it, the Great North Run phew!

Team Rocket can finally say we did it, that is the Great North Run the full 13.1 miles. Danny Steel, Mike Carter and myself and at this point are glad it is over, if only to give our legs a slight reprise. It also seems as though I may have persuaded Mike and Danny to do another, just for the fun of it, we must be mad!

We cannot complain too much for our poor feet, as it was a great day which started at 5am Sunday morning. This proved to be a smart move, as we managed to park close to the start with a couple of hours to spare. While we were waiting we were in high spirits with the sun shining and with the eager anticipation of the crowd at the start line, even though we were so far away we couldn't even see it or hear the gun go off!!

We knew it would be soon as the Red arrows flew past and we would be on our way slowly to the start, in fact it took us 16 minutes to reach the start line after the elite had stormed off. So we were all surprised to see Mo Farah still shaking hands, in fact I suspect that would be his first world record, with the reported 54k participants!

After 2 miles we were running well, but I was getting a little frustrated with the pace so I decided to speed up, as it was for charity I did not want to just turn up. Afterwards Mike and Danny ribbed me for leaving the Rocket team behind. In hindsight this was not such a good idea given the fact that there was so many runners, there was no chance of a PB anyway. Saying that I spent the next 11 miles panicking that the team would catch me up.

It was a fantastic experience for us all, even if it felt like it was up hill all the way and we didn't even mind the rain near the end, because our spirts were lifted, not only by the support from the spectators, but the fact we knew we will raise over £3,000 for the Macmillan Cancer Fund.

If it was not for all the sponsors we would not have pushed so hard for sure, but more importantly it was sponsors donations which made us get up most mornings to run, no matter how we felt or whatever the weather was like during those 4 months of training. I am also sure Danny would not have completed the run given the injury he picked up, just a couple of weeks before hand either.

So to finish with we would just like to say thank you to all those who did sponsor us....and there is still time for those who did not to add to the total because without you, we could not have done it.

And for those who are interested here are the times

Stephen Fowler 1195 01:46:28

Mike Carter 43530 01:51:27

Danny Steel 55617 1:54:12

Brabners Bulletin - Hirers and connected hirers under the AWR.

Brabners Chaffe Street, one of the industry experts on Employment Agency legislation and the AWR, give their latest update.awr-bulletin-9---hirers-and-connected-hirers-under-the-awr.pdf

Brabners Bulletin - DEFINITION OF �AGENCY WORKER� � WHAT IS THE SCOPE OF THE AGENCY WORKERS REGULATIONS 2010?

Brabners Chaffe Street, one of the industry experts on Employment Agency legislation and the AWR, give their latest update.awr-bulletin-8---definition-of-agency-worker.pdf

Agency workers to get new rights from October

This has been taken direct from the government website.

Agency workers will be entitled to new employment rights from 1 October 2011 when new regulations come into force. When on an assignment you will get some of these rights from day one and some after 12 weeks in the same job.

What the new Agency Workers Regulations mean for you

The Agency Workers Regulations come into force on 1 October 2011. They will give you an entitlement to the same basic employment and working conditions as if you'd been recruited directly.

The new rules mean that from day one of an assignment you’ll be entitled to use your workplace’s facilities, and get information on job vacancies.

· Agency workers: entitlement to equal treatment - from day one (employment section)

· Agency workers: what information should you get and when (employment section)

After 12 weeks employment

After 12 weeks in the same job with the same hirer you’ll be entitled to equal treatment in:

· pay

· holidays

· night work

· rest periods/breaks

· duration of working time

The new rules don’t mean that you become a permanent employee of the hirer after 12 weeks.

The regulations are not retrospective (back dated). Any time spent on an assignment before 1 October 2011 will not count towards the 12 week qualifying.

· Agency workers: entitlement to equal treatment after 12 weeks (employment section)

Pregnant agency workers

After completing the 12 week qualifying period, pregnant agency workers will be allowed paid time off for ante-natal appointments during an assignment.

· Agency workers: pregnant workers and new mothers (employment section)

More on Directgov

· Working out your employment status: agency workers (employment section)

· Agency workers and employment agencies (employment section)

EMPLOYMENT BULLETIN - STOP PRESS - AGENCY WORKER (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2011

Brabners Chaffe Street has been involved in the comprehensive consultation process and whether you are an end user of agency workers or a supplier of temporary workers this is an important piece of news to be aware of.

Bulletin 210 - Stop Press - Government publishes The Agency Workers (Amendment) Regulations 2011.pdf

Brabners Bulletin - Definition of pay

Brabners Chaffe Street, one of the industry experts on Employment Agency legislation and the AWR, give their latest update.awr-bulletin-7---definition-of-pay.pdf

Brabners Bulletin - Anti Avoidance for AWR

Brabners Chaffe Street, one of the industry experts on Employment Agency legislation and the AWR, give their latest update.awr-bulletin-4---anti-avoidance.pdf

Brabners Bulletin - Qualifying period for equal treatment.

Brabners Chaffe Street, one of the industry experts on Employment Agency legislation and the AWR, give their latest update.awr-bulletin-3---qualifying-period-for-equal-treatment.pdf

Brabners Bulletin - Practical Options and the AWR

Brabners Chaffe Street, one of the industry experts on Employment Agency legislation and the AWR, give their latest update.awr-bulletin-2-practical-options-and-the-awr.pdf

Let technology help you stay compliant!

Danny Steel, Managing Director of Rocket Software explains why recruitment software is vital in helping temporary recruitment companies stay compliant with the AWR.

“Just as we appear to be lifting ourselves out of the credit crunch, recruiters are faced with the biggest administrative headache in the last 10 years. The AWR poses a real threat to the recruitment industry, as the resource and cost associated in managing the legislation and being compliant, are not insignificant.

In my opinion the legislation is draconian and we are trying to solve a problem that doesn’t really exist. Are temporary workers really that hard done by? I accept that in certain isolated cases there are disparities between temporary workers and permanent workers, but these disparities also exist the other way around. I don’t see the PWR (Permanent Workers Regulations) coming into force anytime soon! In lots of cases permanent workers are paid less than agency workers. Surely this is the nature of the beast and whether you are an agency worker or permanent worker you have the freedom to make your own choice and accept the associated pay and benefits.

Putting my opinion aside there is nothing any of us can do to stop the legislation coming into force and there is no magic wand we can wave to get around it. So we have to accept it and put systems and solutions into place to manage it and ensure our businesses remain compliant at all times.

No recruitment agency wants to be made an example of and be the first to test case law.

We should be proactive, embrace it and take it to our clients and explain to them how we are going to manage AWR for their business. Whether you opt for the ‘Swedish Derogation’, ‘French Extension’ or whether you follow the legislation in the spirit it was meant for.

Should you decide to go down the ‘Swedish Derogation’ route and employ your workers, I would advise that you consider exploring the options and benefits of a travel and subsistence scheme. If this is a course of action you wish to follow I would recommend contacting employment law experts, Brabners Chaffe Street for further information.

There is no doubt that running an agency in 2011 is much more onerous than it was when I first started in recruitment in 1997. Having been in the industry for 14 years I have seen some big changes, none more so than the introduction of the AWR. With new pensions legislation coming into force in 2012, it seems the administrative burden will continue to hound the recruitment sector.

From a recruitment software point of view, the AWR legislation has been difficult to programme as there are so many rules and variants depending on which route an agency takes. It must be almost impossible to track, control and comply with AWR for agencies using a paper based system. With complex requirements such as the need to keep at least 26 weeks worth of detailed work history and managing employment gaps, I would urge agencies to look at a software solution. Whatever system agencies decide to use, they should ensure that it is written in a way that does not prevent consultants from carrying out their normal daily duties.

Case Study - 24-7 Staffing

"AWR Legislation necessitates need for automated solution"

24-7 Staffing specialises in the supply of drivers and industrial staff to the logistics sector, across Wiltshire and South Gloucestershire. 24-7 first started working with Rocket Software in 2005 when they decided to introduce TempID into the business, to streamline front and back office operations by eliminating the duplication of data entry. The system manages workers and clients from the beginning of the recruitment process, through to the end resulting in payslips and invoices.

Rocket Software was started by recruitment agency owners providing recruitment software to recruitment professionals. With the 1st October 2011 looming and AWR legislation coming into force, Rocket Software has adapted its system to fully comply and control all aspects of the AWR.

Julian Thompson, Managing Director, 24-7 Staffing, understands the importance of having a software system that keeps his business compliant at all times.

"Having TempID within our business has proved priceless in the past and has enabled us to grow year on year through the efficiencies it delivers. The introduction of AWR only reinforces our need for a software solution to manage the process from start to end. Rocket Software has provided us with the tools to do our job".