New way to beat downturn
Jan 20 2009 by Sue Scott, Evening Gazette
A RECRUITMENT specialist has found an unusual way to reduce staff costs for cash-strapped construction firms.
Darlington-based Beaumont Recruitment is running at a loss after deciding to charge out staff at £5.55 per hour - 18p below the minimum wage of £5.73 for workers aged 22 and over - and making up the shortfall in wage packets itself.
Introduced last October, the scheme will cost the company £70,000 over an initial 12-month period and could be extended if the construction industry does not pull out of its slump later this year.
Manager and director Shaun Connolly said the scheme was generating new business from construction bosses on a cost-cutting mission.
He said: “It would be crazy not to take advantage. Construction companies couldn’t employ staff any cheaper.
“Manufacturing is being killed by minimum wage rises. The minimum wage should stay stagnant until the economy recovers.”
A former bricklayer, Shaun believes a housing market recovery will kick-start a surge in construction-related activity and address the current imbalance between job vacancies and applicants.
“There are that many people looking for work but the jobs aren’t there. Companies can charge less because they know there is plenty of demand.”
Typically, Shaun charges out bricklayers at about £13 per hour, but says labour rates have been reduced by “around 10%-25%” in the last 18 months as company bosses cut their cloth.
