News
Exciting New IT Positions - 27.02.2007
A sudden burst of IT positions have been given to us to resource. These jobs are with highly respected companies operating in the UK.
Check out the IT section for the specifics.
PS. For those interested... Since updating this News page on the site with the BLOGs entry below, hits on this page have jumped 25%. hmm, looks like this is a BLOG...
MSG Team :-)
Blake Lapthorn Tarlo Lyons e-Briefing:
New legislation is flying thick and fast - Feb. 2007
- MSC
legislation
The debt transfer provisions under the proposed "Managed Service Company" tax regime were published on 6th February: will staffing companies and end users now be liable for the tax and NICs of limited company contractors? This legislation is important because, conceivably, a staffing company which fails to take appropriate steps may find itself hit by an unprovided for tax bill for as much as 20-30% of its turnover. - More
employment rights for temps
There is a new Union attack on the world of temping: a Private Member's Bill has been introduced to Parliament designed to give temps the same pay etc. as "comparable" perms at the same site. - Electronic
communications
There is new legislation setting out what you need to state about your company on your emails and websites. - New
data protection legislation
Penalties for breaches are being seriously increased.
Reproduced by permission - Blake Lapthorn Tarlo Lyons
BLOGs and other web things - 24.02.2007
Sitting in the study researching for a great new position we are resourcing, and watching the David Gorman standup comedy routine, my mind started wondering - well actually my mind was wandering and my fingers were weirdly drawn to web sites and pages that started off in the engineering realm and disappeared down the strange world of the web...
I started off reading about BLOGs and what they can do for business. It quickly turned into the strange web crawl and before I knew it, I landing up on the most interesting site (for a non-technical electronic noob); I couldn't leave. Try "Hack a Day" which at first glance one would expect to be a computer hacking site, but far from it and the reason I was so drawn to the site was probably the cupboard full of old electric/electronic "stuff" that has accumulated over the years - including an old toaster and computer power supply, which can be easily be converted into a car heater (with a bit of effort). This would save me a packet if the Landy heater ever gave up the ghost.
So from home-made MP3 players to fantastic futuristic music and four lost hours, I managed to get back to BLOGs and what they can do for business. Many 'net pundits swear by them and there are millions of people writing BLOGs and publishing them on the web, many more replying, in various forms ranging from the ludicrous to the philosophical. Where do all these people get the time to spend writing all this stuff? It absolutely boggles my brain… Mind you, I just spent four hours reading loads of rubbish!
So where is the business value? Definitely only about 1 percent (if that) is actual sense - the rest is mindless rambling. Sure there are links to other sites - millions of other sites all indexed and dished up by Google © and once in a while you stumble on an interesting thread. But, hey! I still fail to see the real business value in a BLOG? A good solid business model will stand up and be successful without a BLOG - won't it??
Do you really want everyone in the world (with 'net access) adding their 2ps worth to your views? Well no, unless their advice has specifically been asked for and the reason the advice has been requested, is that you trust and respect the person you have asked. Anyway, I digress again; Sunday must be my mind rambling day.
I looked at the MSG news page and thought to myself; Hmmm, this is the original BLOG - new and views on the internet. AHA! There's the business value. The big plus is that plenty of internet traffic could/would be running through an interesting BLOG on a site! Well yes, but is that the right sort of traffic - millions of people reading some rambling views and commenting on them. Maybe the dark fascination of reading someone else's diary kicks in somewhere here?
So
until someone lets us know where the business benefit is in creating and
maintaining a BLOG, we will stick to the News Section…
MSG Team Blog :-)
Phuket Break
My son and I are back from 10 days in Phuket... Gone like a blur
We stayed for 4 nights at the Seaview in Patong (www.phuket.com/seaview). Patong is a crazy, mad and frenetic place that never sleeps... too much for me, and most people I met agreed.
We then moved to Kata, and stayed 4 nights at the Sugar Palm. Both were awesome with lavish breakfasts. We stayed in a pool access room at Sugar Palm which was a real treat. Costs were around 1400 Baht and 1800 baht in Patong... about a quarter of what we would pay in S.A.
We
ate at Thai restaurants mostly and our most expensive meal was at Mali
in Kata, a fillet steak with unlimited salads and a soup to start for
159 baht, about a third what we would pay in S.A. More often than not
the meals were around 60/80 baht.
A typical meal at Mama Kata or Kata Seafood on the beach was 8 medium
prawns with big noodles and funny vegetables with a small bowl of steamed
rice or separately ordered seafood rice full of prawns and calamari.
Other
meat dishes are like pepper and garlic OR sweet and sour OR ginger and
Orange Pork or Beef etc.
Beers are generally "relatively" expensive, around 70 Baht,
for a Quart (660ml), of Chang or Singha or Leo beer at a basic restaurant
or 100 baht at a more fancy place. Chang beer has 6.5% Alcohol content
so after 2 quarts you can feel the buzz. The local Rum has 80% Alcohol
content.. man down stuff.
I would normally splash out on a fresh fruit shake, mango, lychee, Dragon
Fruit, Orange, Banana etc.
You can buy a 500 ml water at a 7/11 or Family Mart for a 5 -10 baht-,
so need never go thirsty. A half litre Pepsi/7UP/Iced Tea is around 15-20
Baht
We
only pushed the limits to eat out of our comfort zone to eat Shark which
was as good as any fish I have ever eaten, prepared with a lemon and garlic
base with an array of local spices. The bugs and serpent head fish, eels
etc, etc went uneaten.
We hired a Jeep for 500 Baht a day from day 1 in Patong, so toured the
Island from Kamala and all the way South around to Phuket City, saw many
sites, stunning private beaches and mind blowing tropical scenery where
Pot plants grow into Trees.
We
went on a speedboat excursion to Phi Phi, Maya Bay, Monkey Bay and Khai
Island. At Khai we spent 3 hours snorkelling and came across a 2 metre
Reef shark and hundreds of species of colourful fish and an incredible
underwater coral garden of many weird shapes and colours. The excursion
with a huge buffet lunch and free soft drinks and fruit all day cost 1300
Baht each, less than half the advertised internet special price.
The sea water average is around 26 degC, and the average day temperature
was 24 degC in the a.m. and up to 32 degC.
Being
Monsoon season we had 3 days of heavy rain , but this was a blessing as
it was a respite from the heat and humidity.
There is no visible remaining damage from the Tsunami in 2004, in fact
only a vast improvement since I was last there the month before the Tsunami,
with new walkways, street lights and change Rooms along all the beaches.
Once again the money that was received from International Donor funding
was obviously put to good use.
We shopped.. a lot, and even though the bartering gets irritating at times, we bought about 30 T Shirts, mostly Billabong , Quiksilver and Rip Curl brands, average price between 170 - 200 Baht a shirt. As luck would have it, ONLY on the 2nd last day did we find a Chinese wholesaler in Karon where you could shop in peace and quiet without some guy nagging/harassing you incessantly.., and we landed up buying most of our stuff there cursing the times we had paid more at the other markets.
Then
we bought fake Ray Bans of incredible quality for 200 baht, DVD's for
60 baht, incl. all the very latest titles.. and soaps and candles and
other junk.
The main shopping centre, Festival Mall is impressive but you could just
as well be in Joburg/ London/Sydney. We enjoyed shopping for funny foods
and other stuff at the Tesco and Big C hypermarkets. The rows and rows
of fruit maybe 50-60 different types of fruit is the most impressive.
To put that into perspective, our Hypermarkets in S.A probably have 15
types of fruit at any given time.
The BEST thing of all is no beggars, over willing service and NOT expecting a tip, happy smiling faces, respect for each other and especially for tourists. The major crime headline was a police car got vandalised, and no stone will be left unturned to track down the culprits!
I had 4 Massages. The two, 2 hour long Thai and oil massages are 450 baht and leave you feeling totally drained.
The hour long massages were around 300 baht at nice cliniocaly clean places. The face and neck massage with facial scrub, mask and lotions etc was awesome.
All-in-all,
an incredible time.
Report back 6-16th October - Gazz
Gautrain Rail Project
Following
the final decision to go ahead with the Massive Gautrain Project, MSG
Recruitment SA, Johannesburg Branch, has been commissioned to provide
various specialist staff members for the first phase of this highly prestigious
project.
We are URGENTLY seeking candidates from Europe, Asia and the Middle East
with appropriate education criteria and excellent English language skills
The route length of Gautrain is 80 kilometres with 10 stations along the
way
Trains used for the Gautrain Rapid Rail Link project will travel at a
maximum speed of 160 – 180 kilometres an hour and thus fall in the
“rapid speed” category.
Air passengers on the Sandton – Johannesburg International Airport
will have special dedicated trains
Dedicated bus services under the control of the Gautrain operator will
be provided from and to the Gautrain stations
Click here for all the news and further information relating to the Gautrain Project
The Good News - Business Confidence hits a new 23-year high
While doomsdayers will continue to refuse to accept that South Africa's improving economy can go much further, the signs just keep getting better. The latest in a string of good news on the economic front is a jump of 9 index points in the business confidence index (BCI) during the fourth quarter of 2004. This takes the business confidence index, compiled by Rand Merchant Bank and the Bureau for Economic Research, to 88 points, the highest it has been in 23 years.
The highest BCI on record, at 91 points, was in the third quarter of 1980, around the time when gold was at its highest levels ever and shortly before South Africa was isolated by the rest of the world.
The index is compiled by surveying almost 3000 businesses on a quarterly basis. The index level of 50 represents a break-even point where there are as many business "optimists" as "pessimists". Anything less than 50 indicates overall pessimism, and anything more indicates optimism.
Rand Merchant Bank chief economist Rudolf Gouws said that although another rise in business confidence was expected, the size of it came as a pleasant surprise. During the fourth quarter confidence rose in all sectors covered by the survey, namely manufacturing, building, retail, wholesale and motor trade. The biggest jump in confidence was amongst building contractors, who moved from 79 to 93 points. Many contractors reported shortages of skilled labour and resources in their sector because of the amount of activity. Vehicle dealers are sitting on an incredible 98points, after a record breaking year for the motor industry.
Much of the confidence has been driven by news of solid economic growth, low and stable inflation, low and stable interest rates and a strong Rand. The only sector to be relatively less happy with the strength of the Rand - because of the negative effect on exports and the difficulty of competing locally against cheap imports - is the manufacturing sector, which is sitting at 67 points, up from 63 points in the third quarter.
Other positive related news is that all sectors also reported net employment growth during the fourth quarter. This is important as economic growth and confidence growth must be accompanied by growth in employment for the majority of South Africans to benefit from its effects. Inflation is also expected by most to remain low, despite the most positive growth in domestic demand in many years.
Most businesses, especially those in the retail sector, expect the festive season to be very bubbly, but the general consensus is that the current frenetic activity should slow to a more sustainable pace in the first quarter of 2005. This may be a good thing in that it will give the economy time to re-consolidate before pushing forward again later in the year.
For more interesting and exciting news about developments in South Africa, subscribe to the International Marketing Council's regular Brand SA newsletter or visit the South African gateway web site
What do you need to do if you have received "extended hire" and "opt-out" notices relating to your temps or contractors?
As a user of temporary workers (including "agency temps", limited company contractors, or consultants), you may have received "extended hire" notices from the staffing companies you use. We have been told that a great number of user companies are unsure how to treat these notices.
What is an "extended hire" notice?
Staffing companies have, since 6th July this year, been prohibited from charging existing introduction (i.e. temp to perm or temp to temp) fees. Such fees are now enforceable only if the terms and conditions under which the fees are charged comply with the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003. Staffing companies have therefore been busy sending out notices designed to comply with these Regulations. These "extended hire" notices seek to amend existing contracts by replacing introduction fee provisions with new (Regulation-compliant) terms.
Have you received an "extended-hire" notice?
If you have received an "extended-hire" notice you should be aware that signing and returning the notice, or even failing to respond to the notice could result in you "agreeing" to introduction fees which may exceed those originally set out in the existing contract.
You may also miss valuable opportunities to re-negotiate introduction fees to a more acceptable level if you ignore the notice.
What can you do if you have not received any "extended-hire" notices?
It is unlikely that the staffing companies which supply temporary workers to you under pre-July 2004 contractual arrangements will be able to charge introduction fees. This gives you scope to either avoid paying introduction fees altogether or to offer significantly reduced recruitment fees if (for example) you want to transfer your temporary workers to a cheaper staffing company or Managed Service Provider.
What is an "opt-out" notice?
Contractors and the limited companies through which they supply their services may jointly "opt-out" of the application of the new Regulations.
Is it in your interests for contractors to opt-out?
You may think that it is not in your interests (as a user company) for a contractor to "opt-out" because it may reduce the ease with which you can take temporary workers temp to perm or temp to temp. However we generally recommend that user companies allow or even encourage staffing companies to supply "opted-out" contractors. This is because there is a slightly increased likelihood that contractors who are not "opted out" will be deemed to be employees of the user company.
In addition "opting out" will allow the staffing company to impose on the contractor restrictions preventing the contractor from working for one of your direct during or immediately after the assignment (unless the contractor has opted-out any such restriction protecting you is probably unenforceable) .
What to do about "opt-outs ".
It is important to check that the notice is lawfully enforceable, i.e., that it meets the requirements set out in the Regulations.
What about Managed Service Contracts?
The Regulations apply to certain aspects of most MSP arrangements and changes will need to be made to your contracts to ensure you are fully protected and it is clear how you expect each of your suppliers (MSP, preferred suppliers and secondary suppliers) to comply with their new obligations to you.
If you would like to find out about how best to respond to these notices please contact us on our web site for specialist recruitment and resourcing lawyers below. We would also be happy to discuss the opportunities the new Regulations present for transferring contractors to a preferred suppliers without payment of costly introduction fees.
Ask for Kevin Barrow (Partner), Bridget Wood (Partner) or Frances Lewis (Associate)
Reproduced by permission - Tarlo Lyons
New Web Site Owner
The new owner of the MSG Recruitment web site will be taking over the web site operation and is a wholly owned company in South Africa. The South African company concentrates on Civil and Mining resource, the Civil, Building, Mining and PetroChemical industries Worldwide, although other engineering disciplines will be handled. Please see the Jobs section for currently available positions.
Occasionally, IT positions will be advertised and it is worth bookmarking the relevant pages on the site as a quick reference to check current vacancies.