IT Support Technician - Current Vacancy

IT Support Technician Skilled with Windows, MS Office, TCP/IP and Ethernet is urgently being sought. You will be familiar with using, installing and maintaining hardware and software and providing support within a network environment. You will assist the Network Manager in the maintenance and installation of hardware and software systems and the development and security of the network and Server systems. You will provide support to users as well as maintaining Router and Firewall configuration and user accounts and performing backups of software. You will be self-motivated and flexible in approach to working hours. Please do send a technically detailed CV ASAP to be considered. G & G Recruitment is working as an Employment Business.

Located in barry, South Wales

Oracle Programmer - Current Vacancy

Oracle Programmer, skilled in developing Oracle Forms and with an excellent understanding of SQL, PL/SQL and Database design is urgently required. An exposure to other visual programming languages (VB /Foxpro /C# /C++) would be advantageous. A good understanding of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook and Access) is required, along with the ability to problem solve quickly and work to strict deadlines. This is an excellent and fast moving permanent role, so please do send through a technically detailed CV asap. G & G Recruitment is working as an Employment Agency.

City Salaries

The average advertised salary in London is now £10,000 more than the rest of the UK, according to new figures.

The figures, from search engine AllTheTopBananas.com, show that the average advertised salary around the UK is £31,128, compared with London’s average advertised salary of £41,500.
The highest average advertised salary outside London is to be found in East Anglia, at £34,487, while the North West has the lowest at £29,676.

Dave Martin, managing director at AllTheTopBananas.com, said: “Advertised salaries are rising faster in London than the rest of the UK and the gap is getting bigger. This is a trend that is likely to continue throughout the next 12 months. We are also seeing advertised salaries continue to rise overall, putting added pressure on inflation. There’s a chance this could add to the UK’s economic woes in the next 12 months.”

* - Article from the recruiter

IT Support Technician - Windows 2003, Exchange, Office

You will have 3 years of Helpdesk Support experience as well as 2 years experience assisting users with MS Windows XP desktop, administering Windows 2003 Servers and supporting MS Office applications. You will have been education to degree level and preferably have an MCSE qualification. Your Role will be varied, responsible and stable involving other technologies such as: PC repairs, Windows Vista desktops, Virtual Servers, Veritas backup Exec, LANDesk as well as MS Exchange 2003/2007 & SQL Server 2000/2003. Please do apply to Mark by sending a technically detailed CV to the address below. If you have any questions at all please do contact us on the number below - this is a genuine and fast moving opportunity.

Insight Manager - Raisers Edge, Charity, Fundraising

Insights Manager/Database Analyst skilled with Raisers Edge, Access, Excel and preferably Cognos would be highly desirable. You will develop a strong strategic understanding of each business unit's goals and targets and use this to inform and direct database analysis activities that will provide strategic targeting advice. You will develop models to improve communication-targeting efficiency, and provide database selections, mailing lists, and advice about maximising the reporting potential to all Raisers Edge user teams in an accessible manner and an understandable format. This is an excellent opportunity to put analysis skills to good use in a marketing format. The role is moving fast, so please do send through a detailed CV ASAP.

Data / Reporting Analyst - SQL Server, T-SQL, Business Objects

Reporting Analyst skilled with SQL Server, Business Objects (or equivalent), T-SQL, MS Office and preferably SPSS is urgently required. You will be an experienced Data Analyst who has worked with large volume databases, with strong marketing, financial or fundraising data manipulation and analysis skills. To have a Business Intelligence administration background, maintaining data universes and supporting system users. You will excellent attention to detail, and appreciation of data quality/integrity issues relating to relational databases. This is an excellent and challenging position, so please do send through a technically detailed CV ASAP.

Agency Workers Directive - Pointless EU Directive?

With the Agency Workers Directive (AWD) hanging over our heads and the inevitable collapse of our government's opposition to it by agreeing to a "compromise" I thought it was a good time to have my say.

The AWD for the skilled sectors is pointless. It's that simple. Why would clients bring in Temporary workers with skills they need for projects which could take 6 months in the knowledge that they can only have them as temporary workers for 12 weeks. Projects often have agreed timescales that change, difficulties that can arise, budget changes, whatever it may be, a temporary worker is often needed for over 12 weeks. They don't want the same rights of a permanent employee, they like working as a temporary worker and they like the benefits that come with that. In the skilled sectors the usual draw is the higher hourly and daily rates that they can earn.

Why don't they just take a permanent employee on you ask? Well, the project is just that. A project. There is no permanent need for this skill set. In fact it would be a flagrant waste of money to bring this skill set in house on a permanent basis.

There are other examples. Covering long term sick leave. Why would you want two members of staff doing the same job on a permanent basis?

The temporary workers market is key to the UK's economy. The ability to bring in people on a short term basis is beneficial to both the worker and the business. To force companies to basically make them permanent after 12 weeks is wrong. Admittedly I am focussing on the skilled sector (IT, Finance, Professional Services) but surely even in other sectors the AWD will just lead to less temporary worker demand, more unemployment and then gloomier economic predicitions.

Why change something that isn't broken? From all the reports I have seen generally 80% of temporary workers are happy with their lot. So why change the whole system and rules?

Temporary work isn't just a good way to earn money but also to try and select a career. It gives you that opportunity to sample different working environments, industries, people and locations. The AWD would cut down on this.

The UK does not have the same economy as the rest of the EU, it simply does not need or want this directive. For that reason I hope someone sees sense and gets it thrown out.

City Jobs

Hiring in the financial services sector in the City has ‘slowed considerably’ during August because of the faltering global economy.

According to the Morgan McKinley London Employment Monitor, the number of new job vacancies in the City fell by 34% in August compared to the same time last year. The number of individuals registering for new jobs also decreased in August, down by 37% compared with August 2007 and the average City salary has dipped slightly by 2%.

Robert Thesiger, chief executive of Morgan McKinley’s parent company, Imprint, said: “Following the collapse of one of the financial services industry’s major institutions at the weekend, it is evident that the fallout from the credit crisis is not over. These momentous events of the past few days have changed the landscape of not only London’s but also the global financial services sector. It is probably fair to say, therefore, that the period of transition that will now follow will create an equally challenging and nervous environment within financial services and the recruitment market within this sector.”

* - Article from the recruiter

Adecco purchase

Multi-sector recruiter Adecco has announced that it will not be making an offer for financial recruiter Michael Page and will remain “financially disciplined”.

Adecco, who had a £1.3bn offer rejected last month, said that a deal could have benefited both recruiters and their respective shareholders but had now concluded that it could not agree a combination on terms acceptable to both Adecco and the board of Michael Page at this time.
Adecco has reserved the right to make a future offer for Michael Page within six months if an agreement can be made with the group’s board or if a third party comes in with an offer for Michael Page.

Michael Page’s board released a statement saying that it had unanimously concluded that Adecco had materially undervalued the financial recruiter and its prospects, and that the interests of shareholders and employees would be better served by Michael Page remaining an independent entity.

The statement added that the board believes that Michael Page’s clear strategy of organically diversifying its activities by geography and discipline and increasing its exposure to growth markets, together with the longer-term structural growth drivers of the specialist recruitment market, means that the recruiter has excellent prospects.

* - Article from recruiter

Housing association enables flexible, secure remote working for staff, anywhere, anytime

How a major housing association has enabled flexible, secure remote working for all of its staff, anywhere, anytime Flexibility is the keyword in the housing sector. Concerns over work-life balance, and the need to help field workers and partners to operate effectively when away from the office have made the ability to work flexibly an IT essential.

The potential benefits that can be achieved from providing remote network access are well-documented: improved productivity from employees away from the office; customers who can access services online when they want; and quicker responses from suppliers who can service systems without having to come on-site.

But the problem with such flexible working is control. Giving all these users external access to your network poses a real risk to an organisation’s data, and no-one needs reminding of the consequences of a data breach – especially after the recent high-profile Government data losses. So how do you deliver the services that your users and partners demand whilst also guaranteeing that critical, sensitive information such as customer data will remain as safe as houses?

This was the conundrum faced by a Bradford, Yorkshire-based housing association, Incommunities. Here’s how it was able to balance easy, flexible access with watertight network and data security.

Incommunities in control

Incommunities is a housing association managing over 22,000 homes for customers across the Bradford district. Andrew Bland, Senior Network Administrator for Incommunities, explains how installing a unified access control solution from AppGate Network Security has solved the problem of network security so he and his team can get on with the business of delivering online services.

“We were originally just looking for a replacement for our Citrix Secure Gateway, and a secure Instant Messaging product”, explains Bland. “But AppGate’s approach got us looking at things differently and thinking outside the arena of traditional VPNs. It was clear we could achieve far more. So we changed our plan and made the decision to buy the AppGate solution.”

Central point of control

“Having a single point of control for security is the most important feature for me,” said Bland. “With the new solution I have a single, central point where we can define security policies, and control and monitor access for all users – whether they are tenants, employees or external suppliers.”

Previously network security depended on the security of all point products on the network. “Putting services online used to be a minefield, having to manage the security of applications from multiple vendors. The AppGate server now manages security, providing our first line of defence, and centralised policy control means I no longer have to worry about the security of other vendor applications.”

Bland is also confident that data on the network is better protected. “For our remote workers, especially those who work on temporary sites, such as building projects, we provide virtual PCs which they can now access via Remote Desktop. It’s proved cheaper to operate, and much faster and as a result everyone wants to use it. Which makes me happy because even if the laptop is stolen, data remains onsite and fully secure.”

Bland adds that a further benefit of using Remote Desktop is that users see exactly what they see when working in the office. So no additional training and support is needed – which saves more time for the IT team.

ROI matters

Bland reports that in less than 12 months, the investment in security has resulted in overall cost reductions in a number of areas. Several point products on the network have been made virtually redundant, generating considerable savings on product support, software licenses and training.

And further cost savings have been identified as the team plans to provide wireless access. “Previously this would have required the purchase of an additional dedicated wireless solution, but our solution already supports wireless access so it’s saving us a lot of money. What’s more, we can give secure remote access to any employee or partner from anywhere, not just locations with dedicated VPN links, which is a further cost saving.”

The solution is also helping to improve the productivity of Bland’s team. As well as the time and resources saved from not having to check the security of other vendor applications, new applications developed in-house do not have to be fully secure and online services can be rolled out faster. In addition, the IT team can take advantage of secure remote access from any location so that system support is no longer restricted to a fixed time and location.

* - Article from www.publictechnology.net

Letting Lehman Collapse Was Right Move

It’s been an extraordinary weekend on Wall Street and the latest events in the financial crisis will probably affect us all.
Lehman Brothers’ move to Chapter 11 -- roughly equivalent to administration in the UK -- is extraordinary in itself. Lehman is (or was) the fourth largest investment bank in the world after all. But on top of that, you have an emergency takeover of Merrill Lynch and insurance giant AIG in deep trouble, too.
Today’s news makes it even clearer that the days of cheap credit and surging property prices are over. Stability will eventually return but I may not see ‘irrational exuberance’ again in my lifetime.

Today’s markets

Shares in London have fallen across the board this morning and we’ll probably see a similar picture this afternoon on Wall Street. As I write, the FTSE 100 is down 185 points at 5,232 while mortgage bank HBOS (LSE: HBOS) has slumped 52p to 229p.
Other financial fallers include Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: RBS), down 21p at 212p, and Barclays (LSE: BARC), which has dropped 36p to 314p.
I can understand why investors are selling out. Lehman had big positions in derivatives markets and we don’t know which banks are exposed to those positions. Lehman’s positions will now have to be unwound in very difficult markets and other assets may be sold at ‘fire sale’ prices, too.
There’s a risk of a domino effect across the financial sector as asset values fall further.

Beyond shares

Sadly I fear Lehman’s collapse will even affect those of us without a share portfolio. For starters, the economy will be hit as bankers lose jobs and confidence suffers.
And the mortgage market could be hit as well. In recent weeks we had seen tentative signs of a revival with rate cuts on some mortgages. I reckon we’ll see that trend go into reverse as lenders once again find it harder to raise finance.
On the plus side, central banks such as the Bank of England may start to cut interest rates more quickly than had been expected. Central bankers will know that further bank failures could lead to deflation -- where retail prices fall. The obvious way to avert deflation is to cut interest rates.

What now?

The most important advice I can give is: ‘Don’t Panic!’ We’ll get through this crisis in the end. If you can focus on the long term, now is probably a good time to drip money into the stock market. The good old index-tracker fund will do nicely.
However, I would stress that any stock-market investments should really be for the long term. I mean ten years or longer. Drip feeding your cash in every month is a good approach, as it means you can 'average down' at lower prices if the market falls further.
The one area I’d avoid is bank shares. Sure, they look cheap at first glance -- if you believe analyst forecasts, HBOS is trading on a price/earnings ratio of just 4 for this year.
Trouble is, it’s very hard to ascertain the true health of the loan book and there’s a real risk of further fund raisings in this sector. Possibly even a Lehman-style collapse. I’m steering clear of the lot for now.

Hank got it right

But in spite of all the gloom, I am pleased about one thing. US Treasury Secretary, Hank Paulson, made the right call. We’ve seen government bail-outs of Fannie, Freddie, Bear Stearns, and Northern Rock, but it’s been different for Lehman. Paulson has let Lehman go to the wall.
That was the right decision because bankers had to learn that the government wouldn’t always rescue them when they took on too much risk. If bankers never learned that lesson we’d see another bubble all too soon.
The biggest risk for all of us now is deflation. Let’s hope that central bankers and governments can inject enough cash into the system to stop that happening.

* - Article from Motley Fool

Why Dragonfly got caught by IR35

A combination of factors brought this case down. The simple fact that it concerned a succession of contracts and extensions, commencing before the introduction of IR35, all for the same client, the terms of which contracts changed in details from contract to contract, left a fair degree of uncertainty as to what the terms actually were. Plus, the succession of changes, intended to create a more IR35-friendly background, probably lead to the conclusion that they were solely there for that purpose, and thus undermined their own credibility – the damage had already been done.

The succession of extensions compounded the risks – just as there are ways in which a later and better worded extension can potentially improve the position for earlier periods, provided it accords with reality, the converse can potentially apply – i.e. earlier less favourable terms can drag down later and more favourable terms. It’s a question of whether or not one can show that the later term in fact more accurately represents the reality.

It has long been recognised that overstaying one’s welcome with a particular client can compound IR35 risks, particularly where (as here) an appearance is created of the individual gradually becoming integrated into a team.

The fact that the agency-client contract had been entered before IR35 was even a twinkle in the eye of Gordon Brown that clearly did not help!

On Control, the case makes clear that where

• an engagement is to do work allocated as the contract progresses (as opposed to agreed at the outset), that may be capable of amounting to a sufficient degree of ‘control-what’

• there is a submission to guidance, or monitoring, or appraisal, that may be capable of amounting to a sufficient degree of ‘control-how’ to put the hypothetical relationship between individual and client at risk of being considered to be one of ‘employment’, for IR35 purposes.

Clearly, contractual provisions in early contracts which expressly provided that the contractor company was engaged to provide the individual to perform services under the client’s

• ‘direct supervision and control’ (first contract)

• ‘direction’ (second contract)

and requiring the individual to comply with ‘customary rules and regulations for the conduct of the client’s own staff and the client’s customary working procedures and security measures’ were unhelpful, even as background and not specifically relied on in the conclusions. It’s hard to interpret them in any other way than that the individual was expected to ‘fit in’ and become part and parcel of the client’s organisation as if he were an employee.

The true meaning of Mutuality of Obligation – ‘MOO’ – may be taken to have been further clarified; whilst it remains a negative from an IR35 viewpoint to be entitled to payment other than for services actually provided, to avoid that is not a complete get-out; at its barest essential, an obligation to provide services personally (i.e. without a genuine and unfettered right to substitute), in return for payment, will generally be regarded as sufficient MOO to constitute the basis for an employment-type relationship, if other factors too support that conclusion. So it must now be accepted that MOO can exist, without any obligation on the part of the engager to either provide work, or to pay in lieu; though of course if there were such obligations, they would clearly be additional negative factors.

On Substitution: the contractor was a 'one-man' company, and it was said that its sole raison d’être was to supply the individual’s services; the suggestion was made that the fact that such a company entered a contract which did not mention the individual by name might not of itself be sufficient to undermine the implication of an obligation to provide services personally. Admittedly here it was in the context of a sequence of contracts, of which some earlier and some later did name the individual. Nevertheless, this gives some cause for concern.

Two or more contractors might consider using a ‘partnership company’, to help avoid the suggestion that the sole raison d’etre is to supply the services of but one individual. They would need to manage this themselves, of course, to steer clear of the MSC legislation. But for such a company to contract for specified services, without any individual being named, would clearly help avoid the suggestions here that the only implication was that the one person behind the company would be doing all the work.

Overall

Whichever way one views it, this is a case which sets out the detailed interpretation of IR35, in a way which is clear and logical, and will provide a valuable first point of reference for the future. You may not like it, but at least this spells out what you have to do to work around it!

Analysis written and provided by Roger Sinclair, a legal consultant at Egos, a legal advisory for IT contractors.

IT contractor liable for £99,000 tax after losing IR35 case

The High Court has ruled against an IT consultant who was fighting a £99,000 tax demand for work he completed on behalf of motoring organisation the AA.

The Professional Contractors Group (PCG), which represents UK IT freelancers, has expressed its shock at the judgement, which it said could have major implications for other consultants.
The "Dragonfly" IR35 case involved PCG member Jon Bessell, the owner of Dragonfly Consultancy. He is now liable for £99,000 in tax. Speaking after the judgment was delivered, he said, "I am devastated by today's news. Not only does it affect my family and me, but all the other freelance professional consultants who are trying to earn an honest living. "I was never an employee of the AA and I simply cannot understand how the High Court has reached its decision. It is a travesty of justice."

The judgement found that Bessell was technically an employee of the AA when completing IT projects for the organisation, and that he was therefore liable for the £99,000 tax demand.
The Professional Contractors Group supported Bessell in bringing his appeal because of the potential wider implications of the case.

PCG managing director John Brazier said, "This is a potentially massive blow to freelancers throughout the country. This case threatens the long-established defences against IR35.
"We will be looking at the judgment in very close detail to work out its full implications."
The Professional Contractors Group will be publishing further guidance on the consequences of the judgment shortly, he said.

* - Article from Computer Weekly.

It is worrying that despite the Government always saying that they support small businesses and the freelancer market they permanently seem to be trying to clamp down on this section of our workforce. Back in 2002 one in ten of the working population was self-employed. I would imagine that this number has only increased in the last few years. Surely this number of people should be supported more. Yes everyone should pay tax (it's not like in the UK we aren't taxed enough) but what is the point of trying to better yourself, earn more, improve your and your family's living standards, add to the economy if all your hard earned money is going to be whittled away. The whole process should be simplified. It is all the Government rules and regulations that mean thousands are spent on Accountancy fees which still don't guarantee you safety from the long arm of the HMRC. Simplify it, make it easier to understand, promote entrepreneurial and innovative thinking, promote small businesses, promote freelancers, because without them this economy would struggle and companies will find skills that they want are now based abroad. It isn't really surprising that many people are looking abroad to try and find that better standard of living!!! I mean, this Government will take 40% of your hard earned money which you have paid tax on all your life and which you want to leave to your loved ones after you have died. Fair - I think not.

TPP Systmone

We are currently looking for candidates who have had experience with TPP Systmone for our NHS client. We have Business / Change Analyst, IT Trainer, Project Coordinator and Data Entry positions going.

The Business / Change Analyst, IT Trainer and Project Coordinator roles are all 7 month contracts. There are 2 Data Entry position, with each being about 24 days ad hoc work.

These are good opportunities to get involved in a NHS project, so please do send through technically detailed CVs asap.

G & G Recruitment are working as an Employment Business.

Any questions, do give us a call.

IT industry welcomes technology challenges of 2012 & looks forward to Olympics 3.0

With the Olympic flag now handed to Boris Johnson on behalf of London, Intellect, the trade association for the UK technology sector, highlighted the pivotal role of technology in delivering on the promise of 2012.

With London opting out of competing with Beijing on raw spectacle, the successful delivery of its promise of a green, secure, and integrated Olympics rests on technology. The aspiration is to deliver the first ‘Olympics 3.0’ with spectators being able to enjoy multiple viewpoints, real time Games updates and live travel information through mobile devices. Each audience member will be able to access information previously available only to the sports commentator in the booth.

Intellect’s Major Events Group is comprised of over 220 companies including; Atos Origin, Consult, Deloitte, Hyperion, Nortel and Tricerion. ICT will support over 205 international sporting organisations, 20,000 worldwide media, nine million spectators, and over four billion television viewers of the games. Carrie Hartnell, Transformational Business Programme Manager said: “London will be the focus of the world’s attention in 2012 and will be showcasing the best of British technology. Broadcasting, ticketing, venue management, security and transportation will be delivered through innovative and interconnected technological solutions. Come 2012 technology will be central to London’s Games and its legacy.” 4G mobile devices, contactless access platforms and smart cards will revolutionise the experience of spectators and athletes alike. Using these devices attendees of the London Games will be able to interact with the games in a number of ways including; finding their way through the London traffic, receiving security alerts, buying tickets, web blogging on the Games live, networking with friends across the Olympic village and accessing local wireless networks for close-ups and replays of Olympic events streamed to their mobile devices.

David Birch, Director of Consult Hyperion commented:“By 2012 the technologies – mobile and contactless – will have come together. Major manufacturers, such as Nokia, have already begun to integrate the contactless technology into their mobile phone product range. Once again London has been in the forefront of the development of new applications and services to take advantage of this fantastic platform. Barclays, O2 and TfL have just completed an experiment involving several hundred people who have been using their phones to catch the bus, ride on the tube and buy cups of coffee with a simple wave. The possibilities for 2012 certainly look exciting.”

Transport operators, banks and retailers are continuing to roll out new contactless terminals throughout London, laying down the rails for the next generation of contactless mobile devices to run on. This enabling infrastructure can provide a platform for a whole new set of innovative products and services to support London’s Olympics. Patrick Adiba, Executive Vice President for the Olympic Games at Atos Origin - Worldwide IT Partner to the International Olympic Committee through to the London 2012 Olympic Games, said:"As we complete the delivery of the IT infrastructure and systems for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, we see two areas where technology will play a greater role in London in 2012. Firstly in helping to deliver the low carbon Olympic Games from helping people plan their journey to the Games through to how the Games are broadcast around the world. Secondly in improving how the global audiences watch and follow the Olympic Games. In Beijing we have processed more than double the amount of competition data for media and news agencies than we did in Athens four years ago. We believe that this will increase yet further as audiences worldwide expect more detailed and colourful information about the competition events as they happen in the way that they want to receive it."The technology infrastructure being built into London 2012 will enable our Olympics to be environmentally sustainable, making London the low carbon Olympics. From helping people plan their journey more efficiently to intelligent building management, technology will be at the forefront in reducing London’s 2012 carbon emissions.

* - Article from PublicTechnology.net

Recruitment firm Hays has a job on its hands

Last year, 80,000 people took the next step in their careers thanks to Hays. Alistair Cox was one of them. An industry outsider, he arrived to become chief executive of the specialist recruiter exactly 12 months ago and so far the civil engineer has made a rather good fist of it.
Yesterday's results were a record and were higher than the City had been expecting. Yet to his credit, Cox made no attempt to deny the simple facts that the trends are not moving in Hays' favour.

The UK, despite moves to expand geographically, still accounts for more than half of revenues and the signs are not good. Demand for temporary contracts are flat at best, while permanent placements are falling. In Australia, too, the markets are softening.

Unemployment has so far proved the dog that didn't bark during the current slowdown, but the beast is now clearing its throat. The most bearish economists are now predicting a jobless total of up to 2.5m (compared with around 1.6m now) if the UK slides into a serious recession.

The difficulty for Hays is that with visibility of barely six weeks ahead, it finds it very difficult to predict where its markets are going. The only thing it knows for sure is that they aren't getting any better - particularly in its largest specialities of accounting and finance, and construction and property.

Some analysts moved to downgrade their forecasts yesterday on the expectation of contracting margins, while less buy-back activity may act as a drag on the share price.

For investors, it is not all bad news; Hays has a strong management team and good track record and boasts fantastic cash conversion. It also carries an attractive yield and a strong balance sheet that contains minimal debt.

For Citigroup, for instance, it means the fall in the share price to under 94p places the stock far below the 110p it believes should be a theoretical trough.

However, on balance, the company is more likely to see bad news rather than good in the months to come, and investors are likely to find better value elsewhere. Sell.

* - Article from the telegraph

Hays Profit Rises on Growth in International Business

By Lenka Ponikelska

Sept. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Hays Plc, Britain's largest recruitment company, said full-year profit rose 13 percent as international business growth in Germany and Asia helped to offset a slowdown in the U.K. and Ireland.
Net income for the 12 months ended June 30 was 188.2 million pounds ($337 million),or 13.33 pence a share, compared with 166.5 million pounds, or 11.39 pence a year earlier, London-based Hays said in a statement distributed by PR Newswire today. That beat the 170 million-pound median estimate of six analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. Revenue rose 20 percent to 2.54 billion pounds.

Demand for permanent placements in the U.K. and Australia declined, said the London-based recruiter. Hays, which gets about two thirds of revenue from the U.K., has sought to expand in faster-growing markets outside its home country. Hays said in April it plans to boost net fee income from international business to 70 percent within the next 10 years compared with about 42 percent today.

``A number of markets are becoming more difficult,'' Chief Executive Officer Alistair Cox said on a conference call with reporters today. ``We paused investments in one or two places but we have a diversification in 27 countries in broad sectors and there are significant opportunities to grow the business.''

Hays fell 0.75 pence, or 0.8 percent, to 93.5 pence in London, valuing the company at 1.29 billion pounds.

Temporary and permanent placements in the U.K. continue to decline and Hays reduced its workforce in the country by 7 percent in the second half to cut costs, Cox said. Hays expects to reduce its U.K. staff numbers further, he said.

`Clear Signs'

``There are clear signs that the U.K. is heading for recession,'' ING analyst Marc Zwartsenburg said by phone today from Amsterdam. ``They already said the U.K. was deteriorating in the trading statement and today they highlighted it again. There's no real trigger that things will get better.'' Zwartsenburg is reviewing his ``buy'' recommendation on the stock.

In Australia, demand among employers for temporary posts has been ``good,'' while demand for permanent placements is flat and Hays has halted further investment in the country, Cox said.
Net fees, or payments from clients minus payroll costs of workers, advanced 24 percent to 786.8 million pounds, said the company. Fees advanced 9 percent in the U.K. and Ireland to 452.9 million pounds. Net fees in Asia Pacific rose 55 percent to 176.2 million pounds. Germany, which accounts for 40 percent of European revenue, boosted net fees 43 percent.

Hays, which has a workforce of 8,872 people in 27 countries, opened 17 new offices in Germany, France, Spain, Poland, Canada and Brazil in the year while closing two sites in the U.K. and Ireland, said the company.

Hays increased its dividend to 5.8 pence, from 5 pence a year earlier.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lenka Ponikelska in London lponikelska1@bloomberg.net

Barts underestimated impact of IT system

Barts and The London NHS Trust said today [1 September 2008] it had underestimated the impact of going live with a new system under the NHS's £12.7bn National Programme for IT [NPfIT].

Difficulties in scheduling patients for appointments have led to operating theatres and clinics being unused at times, despite high demand for them.

The trust is funding nearly £1m for extra temporary staff relating to the NPfIT go-live from its reserves. And it faces a further £1.5m shortfall in income because it may not be able to bill its local primary care trust for the patients it sees and treats.

A spokesman for Barts and The London NHS Trust told Computer Weekly an "intensive programme of measures is in place" which "will allow us to return to our previous performance levels as quickly as possible".

The trust has "apologised publicly to patients, GPs and staff for the difficulties they have experienced," he said.

The spokesman was responding to Computer Weekly's questions after the trust published board papers on its website describing "significant" ongoing problems after the implementation of the Care Records Service,

The trust has had difficulty maintaining an overview of which patients have been treated for what following roll-out of the system. It is paid according to the information it provides to the local primary care trust on the patients it sees and treats. But the trust warns in its latest board papers that income may be much less due to difficulties gathering accurate information on who has been seen for what and when.

A financial paper to the board on the first quarter of the trust's 2008/9 year says:
"There remain significant data quality issues with the Trust's activity and patient activity and income information due to the implementation of the Care Records Service.
"To reflect the high risk around income the trust has provided £1.5m against the first quarter's income."
The paper adds: "There are also known system errors where data which has been entered into CRS [the Cerner Care Records Service system] has not been reflected in the data warehouse and therefore is missing from SLAM [Service Level Agreement and Monitoring system]. These issues have caused [a] significant understatement of both inpatient and outpatient activity and income".

The trust says that BT and Cerner are "working on solutions to stop further errors". With fewer than expected patients being booked clinics and operating theatres have been under-used.
"There is some evidence that April activity was reduced due to the implementation issues of CRS. Clinics were reduced in some areas and issues with bookings meant that in some areas the clinics and operating theatres were not operating their usual capacity".

The trust has directed nearly £1m from central reserves nearly £1m to ICT to "fund additional temporary staff costs relating to the implementation and subsequent validation of CRS".
Bart's and the London Care Records System is based on a patient administration system from US supplier Cerner and BT, London's NPfIT local service provider.

Two other London trusts, Barnet and Chase Farm and the Royal Free Hampstead have also had significant and protracted problems after going live with the Cerner system. There have difficulties at go-lives of trusts outside London too. But the government and the Department of Health want trusts to accelerate plans for trusts to deploy NPfIT systems.

A spokesman for Barts and The London said: "The Trust anticipated that there would be a greater degree of fluctuation in activity levels in the period before and after the CRS [Care Records Service] go-live in April, but we underestimated the level of impact that CRS would have on our operations."

* - Article from Computer Weekly.

As a point of interest, i was at the Royal Free Hampstead only a few weeks ago as my Girlfriend unfortunately had to go into A & E and stay in Hospital for a few days. There was no obvious sign of the significant and protracted problems with the speed of the service or the treatment she received. However, there were signs everywhere explaining that the new system had been installed and that there may be some teething issues.

Good luck to them, sometimes change isn't easy but has to happen!!! If they need a hand with their recruitment of temporary ICT staff they could always contact us.