Christmas temp recruitment already well under way

More
than eight in 10 UK
retailers are already recruiting staff for the Christmas holidays, research
shows.

A
survey of 326 retail employers from law firm Peninsula
reveals that 83 per cent of respondents are already recruiting for the festive
period – 
a significant increase since the previous year’s poll.

Employers
need to be aware that although they will be mainly recruiting temporary workers
in this period, it does not mean their liability as employers is limited,
warned Peter Done, managing director of Peninsula.

“It
is a common mistake for many businesses to regard temporary workers [as having]
fewer rights than the more established members of the workforce,” he said. “But
this lapse in concentration could cost a business millions in tribunal cases if
there are major cases of discrimination.”

It
is also imperative that HR departments have effective criteria in place when
using an individual’s references and recruiting temporary workers, as time and
quality are both issues during the frenzy of the Christmas period, Done said.

By Daniel Thomas

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