The industry body for recruitment and labour hire, RCSA, is extremely disappointed by yesterday’s action by Labor to oppose a move to create much-needed certainty for Australian business employing casual employees. Labor yesterday moved to disallow a statutory regulation enacted last year that was designed to provide clarity following the Skene v WorkPac decision. The regulation effectively dealt with the largest concern for employers from that decision, namely the potential it created for employees to ‘double dip’ by accepting loading in lieu of permanent entitlements, but then claiming entitlement to all of the benefits that is paid in lieu of. RCSA Chief Executive Officer Charles Cameron

It has long been a frustration for small to medium business that the upfront costs of using a recruitment and staffing provider are seen as prohibitive from a cashflow perspective, standing as a towering impediment between them and what may well be the best talent in their field. The APay system, an initiative of APositive Workforce Finance introduced in 2018, now offers businesses the option of paying permanent recruitment fees in instalments rather than as an up-front fee, finally conquering the impediment many small and medium sized businesses face in accessing professional recruitment services. Megan Shorter, Managing Director of People Medical Consulting and a RCSA member, explained tha

Nominations for the RCSA Industry Awards are now being accepted and with applications closing March 29, those who are interested in putting themselves forward are encouraged to start the process sooner rather than later. These annual awards recognise the best of best in the recruitment, staffing and workforce solutions sector in Australia and New Zealand. Australia’s awards night will be held at Doltone House, Jones Bay Wharf in Sydney on June 20 and will be hosted by comedy favourite Tom Gleeson. The New Zealand awards night will be hosted by South African-born and New Zealand resident, comedienne and TV personality Urzila Carlson at the Hilton Auckland on July 25. Categories for the 2019 I

Immigration policy continues to be a hot topic in New Zealand as we search for ways to address our worsening skills shortage and we are making sure you have a chance to have your say. In December last year, the New Zealand Government announced it would undertake a period of consultation on proposed changes to the employer-assisted work visas scheme. If approved, the changes will impact six temporary work visa categories: Essential Skills including the Essential Skills in Demand Lists (ESID) Approval In-principle Talent (Accredited Employer) Work to Residence – Long-term Skill Shortage List Occupation Silver Fern (Practical Experience) Silver Fern (Job Search) Submissions to the government on

As many of you who supply under the All-of-Government contract will be aware, RCSA held a series of forums in 2018 to connect the panel of suppliers with MBIE (Ministry of Business Innovation & Employment) procurement representatives to discuss key issues and consult within industry to drive best practice. Previous issues identified at these forums centred on non-compliance/probity check issues as well as a desire to strengthen relationships with hiring managers and access feedback on performance. At that time the key actions discussed were: Produce a White Paper to provide clarity on what good recruitment looks like and to drive best practice and; Facilitate expos to bring recruitment suppl

For our New Zealand members, if you need another reminder about payday filing, here it is. Inland Revenue provided us with this update to ensure our members are up to speed and prepared for payday filing from 1 April 2019 and no, it’s not an April Fools joke. Over the past few months, we’ve shared information to help employers around New Zealand get ready for payday filing. All employers need to be payday filing from April 1, 2019, but if you believe you are ready to start payday filing now, February is a great time to opt in. Doing so gives you time to get used to payday filing ahead of it becoming mandatory, and will stand you in a good position to iron out any issues before the busy perio

Most organisations today are aware of their environmental impact and responsibility. But beyond any legislative requirements, are there lessons from nature that may boost resilience among employees? And before you cynically dismiss this thought as too ‘touchy-feely’, think of scientist Albert Einstein’s comment “Look deep into nature; then you will understand everything better”. Recruiting and HR professionals appreciate that there have always been (and probably will always be) the darkest of disasters in both Mother Nature and human nature. Thankfully few of us will ever face tragedy that strikes with the strength and speed of tornadoes and tsunamis, or with the ferocity of floods and fores

This year marks the 10th anniversary for Ensure Recruitment. It’s hard to believe that we have been making our mark in the Australian and New Zealand Insurance markets for a decade! Ten years is a significant milestone for any business and so it is particularly rewarding to see our company thriving in such a competitive market and as we celebrate this milestone, it is good to reflect on the things we have learnt along the way. Founding Ensure Recruitment (pictured left) 10 years ago was the best career choice I have ever made. I literally love what I do, I control my own destiny and make my own decisions on my future. However, it is certainly not easy. Here are my 10 top tips for you if are

How much priority do you give your company's online presence when it comes to brand reputation? Chances are you have a website, company Facebook and LinkedIn pages, probably Twitter, maybe Instagram or even a Youtube channel and podcasts. If they are not a company-wide priority, new research by online job platform indeed suggests they should be. While these may be driven by your marketing team, increasingly candidates will consider an organisation’s online presence to make their own decisions about who you are, your values and whether they feel you are a cultural fit, and therefore an organisation they want to work with. A January 2019 survey of 1,000 Australian jobseekers by Indeed, reveals

Recruitment International’s Australian Awards are returning to Sydney in 2019 with the gala black tie event to be held at the Sofitel on Wednesday, April 10 and nominations for the awards are now being accepted. This year’s awards will be the biggest yet and will include a musical finale finish, a chance to celebrate with your colleagues and peers and of course, great food and company. A team of 30 judges with experience in and around the recruitment industry - including RCSA CEO Charles Cameron - will decide the winners of each category based on the applications, and give the standard we have come to expect, it is going to be a tough job indeed. Categories for this year’s awards are: Growth