Executive

Meridian Nursing & Care is one of the UK's leading recruitment agencies specialising in the supply of nurses and care workers to the NHS and Private sector. We have created a company Facebook page to keep our candidates up to date with the latest jobs, news and career advice for the health sector! Please click here to like our page!

Meridian's Exeter branch has teamed up with The National Citizen Service and other local businesses to deliver a programme which has seen 500 young people take part in activities, ranging from a residential stay in Cornwall to developing a social action project. The National Citizen Service (NCS) scheme is delivered in Exeter by the CITY Community Trust. For just £50 the young people, who are aged between 15 and 17, sign up to the programme, which includes a week in Cornwall, life skills classes at Bicton College and in the final two weeks, the planning and delivery of a social action project. Danny Harris, of CITY Community Trust, who oversees the programme, said business support was vital to its success. He added: ‘We are incredibly lucky in Exeter to have a business community which is hugely supportive of both the work the charity does in the community and more specifically, in this case, the support it gives to the NCS programme. ‘The young people spend a week at Bicton College learning life skills and we have been extremely fortunate to have business people who give up their time to support this section of the programme.’ Companies that supported this part of the programme included Meridian Business Support, Sarah West Recruitment, Jay’s Aim, CEDA BisNet, Northcott Theatre, McQueenie Mulholland and Santander. Paula Thompson from our Exeter branch presented two days of employability workshops to the young people. She said: ‘The workshops encouraged the participants to identify skills that they have gained from the NCS Programme and other activities, which can assist them in their future careers. Meridian were delighted to support the NCS Programme and look forward to further involvement in the future.’ The groups are tasked with producing social action projects which are designed to make a difference to their community. Over the summer they have been working with a number of local charities and their ideas were then pitched to a panel in a Dragons’ Den format. Danny added: ‘I’d also like to express my gratitude to the business leaders who have given their time to support the Dragons Den. Some going on to act as mentors to the young people and even donating their own money to the good causes. It is this kind of support which really demonstrates the generosity and kindness of our business community in Exeter.’

We are delighted to welcome James Bridgford to Meridian! James will be heading up our Manchester Nursing & Care Branch! James has worked in Recruitment for the last 12 years, beginning his career in the Industrial sector before accepting a new challenge in Healthcare/Nursing recruitment 6 years ago. During this time James has specialised in the supply of temporary staffing to the NHS covering most specialities of Nursing. James says: "My aim is to put Meridian Nursing and Care back on the map! I am looking forward to a new challenge and with the help of my team, we will take Meridian Nursing & Care to the next level. In my spare time I like to keep myself busy spending time with my family and going for days out. During the summer months I can often be found trying to play golf and cricket and during the winter months watching Manchester United! I also enjoy travelling exploring the world and experiencing different foods and cultures. " Email: jbridgford@meridianbs.co.uk | Mobile: 07795 707528 Click here for more information about Meridian Nursing & Care

We are delighted to announce that Meridian has been granted accredited supplier status on the new RM6160 Recruitment services framework with the Crown Commercial Service (CCS). The framework agreement ensures best value for organisations across the NHS & UK Public Sector, when procuring goods and services. Meridian has been approved to support the public sector with Non Clinical interim and fixed term recruitment requirements within the following disciplines: Admin & Clerical Corporate Functions Clinical Coding Ancillary Staff This award further demonstrates Meridian’s commitment to the NHS and the Wider Public Sector in delivering a safe, quality and compliant workforce in a cost-effective and efficient way, which meets the pressures and demands of the Public Sector. For further information on the Services that Meridian can offer, please contact Carl Murphy on 01924 205010.

Raising awareness of mental health and challenging the stigmas attached to it is, rightly so, receiving a lot of press at the moment. Mental health is part of everyday life, just as much as physical health, and it is estimated that in any one year approximately one in four people experience a diagnosable mental health issue. Unfortunately the long-standing stigma around mental health means that many people have a limited understanding of it which in turn makes it difficult for some people to seek help when they need it – apparently, people are three times more likely to discuss physical ailments at work than concerns about mental health. With this is mind, increasing understanding about mental health is essential, not just for the benefit of our people but for our candidates too. The Taylor Report found that workers in the gig economy are at a higher risk of suffering mental health issues due to the nature of the work that they do so having an awareness and being able to signpost people towards support should they need it could help make all the difference for some people. As part of Meridian’s commitment to raising mental health awareness, we are rolling out several initiatives to help create a mentally healthy workplace. We already have a 24/7 counselling service provided by members of our HR Team who have been trained as Mental Health First Aiders and in addition to this, all our of line managers have been invited to attend Mental Health First Aid (Mental Health First Aid) Training. Above are some photos from a recent session held in Chippenham.

Today, Meridian Business Support has launched an exciting new division called MBS Response to focus solely on high volume recruitment accounts. Meridian is already a high volume recruitment specialist and has launched the new division in response to a demand from our current clients for a ‘no frills’ yet fast and reliable, high volume recruitment service. MBS Response which will focus on the food and distribution sectors, is the vision of Derek Skelton, Meridian’s CEO, who for 26 years ran an agency that had over 150 specialist high volume Onsite operations. Derek Skelton commented: “Meridian has been trading for 30 years this year; we are in an excellent position to start this new division following the outstanding work completed over the last three years in growing the branch network and key accounts. There is a need and a demand from our current clients to offer volume recruitment and onsite options. With my background in Volume Recruitment, this venture is taking me back to my roots.”

Meridian is delighted to have been awarded our Cyber Essentials Certification. Cyber Essentials is a government certification scheme which assesses the IT Security status of a business. It covers a variety of areas including: Boundary Firewalls | Secure Configuration | Access Control | Patch Management | Password-Based authentication | Anti-Malware Software In order to gain our certification, we had to define and provide evidence of how we approach IT security in these areas. The answers and evidence were then independently assessed by a specialist security company who also undertook testing of our IT systems using techniques such as port scanning to establish the level of security. We are confident that this will give our clients and candidates even more reassurance that when they use Meridian their data is dealt with in a safe and secure way, with the highest levels of protection available. To contact your local branch, please click here.

Modern slavery, which includes forced labour and human trafficking, is a form of organised crime based on profiting from the exploitation of vulnerable people. It’s easy to think of modern slavery as something that happens in other far-off countries, but the reality is that it happens much closer to home. Meridian is committed to helping eradicate slavery in all of the industries we operate in and in the UK, the Construction industry is particularly susceptible to modern slavery as labour is often employed through sub-contractors or agents. Meridian has recently signed up to the GLAA Construction Protocol, a joint agreement between the GLAA (Gangmaster and Labour Abuse Authority) and some of the biggest names in UK Construction with the aim of eradicating slavery and labour exploitation in the building industry. The agreement commits signatories to: Work in partnership to protect vulnerable workers Agree to share information, where possible, to help stop or prevent the exploitation of workers Work together to manage information sensitively and confidentially Commit to raising awareness within the supply chain Maintain momentum through this protocol by communicating regularly Meridian already has robust procedures in place in regard to Modern Slavery. We already work with the GLAA as we are a GLAA Licence and our partner status with Stronger Together underpins this. Furthermore, our Learning and Development Team delivers mandatory legislation training across the business, which ensures that all of our staff are kept abreast of issues in this area. Derek Skelton, CEO, said “I am very pleased that we have signed up to the Construction Protocol, joining forces with other Construction companies to help eradicate slavery. Taking advantage of vulnerable people is something that still happens even though we can’t easily see it in our day to day lives. Anything we can do to support the fabulous work the GLAA and Stronger Together teams do we will.” GLAA Deputy Director of Business Change Mark Heath said: “We are delighted that Meridian Business Support has signed up to our Construction Protocol and pledged to fight modern slavery and labour abuse. “When organisations agree to the protocol, they commit to work in partnership with us to protect vulnerable and exploited workers. They also agree to share information to stop exploitation and pledge to raise awareness of slavery through supply chains. “Around three million people are employed in UK construction and the industry contributes over £100 billion to the economy. However, there are challenges and we consider construction to be a high risk sector for labour abuse and exploitation. “It is therefore more important than ever for respected organisations such as Meridian Business Support to sign up to the protocol and work with us to protect the reputation of the construction industry. Together, we can put an end to modern slavery and labour exploitation for good.” Meridian is dedicated to meeting the requirements of this agreement, not just in policy and procedure but in custom and practise at all times throughout our business.

What is IR35? IR35 or ‘off-payroll working rules’ became law in 2000 where it was introduced to crack down on freelance contractors who had incorporated themselves into what’s known as a Personal Service Company (PSC) that could take advantage of the tax benefits but were still considered to be an employee, aka ‘disguised employees’. IR35 was to ensure the contractor assessed themselves properly by assignment paying a similar amount of income tax and NI as if they were employed where they were really a disguised employee. The liability for getting this assessment wrong generally sat with the PSC. HMRC made some changes to IR35 in the Public Sector in April 2017 and announced in 2018 they would make similar changes to the Private Sector from April 2020 to stop the perceived tax abuse by companies engaging with what are thought to be disguised workers and paying them as self-employed. What are the changes I need to know about? It’s important to know that IR35 and the method for determining an IR35 status is not actually changing. What is changing is the responsibility and liability for getting the assessment wrong. From April 2020, for private sector hirers, the responsibility for determining the IR35 status of a PSC will move from the PSC to the company that engages with the PSC (the hirer). The liability for getting the status wrong and / or not deducting and charging the right taxes and NICS will initially move to the fee payer (commonly a recruitment agency) as long as everyone in the supply chain fulfils their responsibilities. This liability currently sits with the PSC. Should HMRC find that a hirer hasn’t taken ‘reasonable care’ when setting the IR35 status, the liability will be transferred to the hirer whether they are the fee payer or not. In certain circumstances the liability can move up the supply chain. If an assignment is deemed to be inside IR35, the contractor can still be paid via their limited company, but the fee payer is obliged to charge Employers NICs and Apprenticeship Levy and deduct Employees NICS and Income Tax from the payment made to the PSC. This status determination is only for tax purposes. HMRC states it doesn’t apply to employment status; however, claims are already being made by contractors in the Public sector - if they are being taxed as a worker then should they not be treated as a worker and be entitled to holiday pay, auto enrolment and other worker rights? Small company hirers (likely to be the Companies House definition of less than 50 employees) are out of scope of this change. Anti-avoidance measures will be included in the final legislation and measures will be taken for non-incorporated hirers such as partnerships or public sector entities. How is IR35 Status determined? There are a number of pointers towards a PSC being inside or outside for an assignment which are supported by case law. Items such as taking financial risk, there being the right of substitution, mutuality of obligation all point towards whether someone is inside or outside of IR35. Simplistically, if a contractor and employee are indistinguishable from each other in how they are treated but for the fact one is paid via their PSC it is highly likely they should be deemed to be inside IR35. How can I ensure I’m prepared for the changes? First and foremost, you need to make sure you understand the rules and what is likely to deem an assignment to be inside or outside of IR35. Whilst Meridian are not qualified to give professional advice on these matters we understand the issues involved and are partnering with legal teams who can offer professional assistance with making determinations regarding IR35 status. If you would like any further information on the changes to IR35 or would like any help in how to prepare for this change please email IR35@meridianbs.co.uk Form ID:4540

In October 2014, NFU Regional Director William White said “labour may rival weather as the biggest challenge to growers in the future.” Over the last few years, his words have proved increasingly correct. The Statistics UK unemployment stands at 4% in September 2018 - the lowest levels of unemployment since 1975. Across the EU unemployment is also falling (Germany 3.4%, Poland 3.7%, Romania 4.5%). Research for the 2018 season shows the following: 41% of producers have seen a drop in applications for seasonal pickers (EAP) 42% of temp/seasonal employers couldn’t fill all their requirements (REC) 2 in 10,000 picking applications British (Concordia) Hundreds of tonnes of produce rotting in fields Feedback from ALP Associate Members (Labour Users) tells us: the volume of returners dropping by a third or more labour users are having to invest heavily in accommodation and transport worker experience is a top priority for labour providers and labour users to be able to survive 66% of labour providers have seen a drop in volume of labour; 71% report a drop in quality 83% of labour providers have short supplied their clients in the 3 months to September 2018 The facts speak for themselves; labour is harder to find and more expensive to supply. For labour providers and labour users alike. The Brexit Effect The UK’s vote to leave the EU has had a number of effects on labour supply: The value of the £GBP has fallen, making working in the UK less attractive to migrant workers Some EU workers have felt ‘less welcome’ as the referendum was explained by many as a reaction against foreign workers As the future immigration policy of the UK is unclear, many EU workers have experienced uncertainty about their future working in the UK Many other EU economies are flourishing and the relative value of the Euro against the £GBP is making other EU countries (such as Germany) more attractive Local Labour Supply The statistics above are based on the national picture, and it is important to remember that at a regional level, the problems can be much worse. In Herefordshire, there are 4 large soft fruit farms need c.3,400 seasonal staff, but there are only 769 registered jobseekers in the area. One of the fruit farms had to send 100 bins of apples for juice instead of eating, at one fifth the price, purely because they didn’t have the workers to harvest in time. In Cornwall, recent research found that after the Brexit vote recruitment immediately became more difficult for horticultural farms, harvests could not be lifted in full, and staffing requirements dwindled to 65% of need. Food is literally rotting in the fields. How much do you know about your local labour market? What’s the Answer? The ALP is lobbying for a Seasonal Workers Scheme, and a sensible UK immigration policy that supports UK businesses, and many other industry bodies are supporting this approach. At a site level, there are various things you can do to influence the future of the UK labour market: Contact your MP – invite them to your site to discuss the issues you are facing Respond to Government and other industry surveys – help build the business case Write to the Defra Access to Labour Team and the Home Office Immigration Minister Speak to the media and tell your story In the meantime, however, our best advice is that labour providers and labour users need to work in partnership to overcome the challenges their businesses are both facing. From regular planning meetings and accurate forecasting to creating a positive worker experience (from recruitment through onboarding and beyond) that will lead to high referral rates and better retention rates, the best results can only be achieved by working together.