Credit Management magazine May2017

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HR MATTERS THE STATUS OF WORKERS Gareth Edwards explores what status an employee has depending on his contract and what rules he is subject to. BUSINESSES using the services of self-employed consultants may need to question whether they need to change their working model following the Court of Appeal's decision in Pimlico Plumbers Limited and Charlie Mullins v Smith. Gary Smith worked for Pimlico Plumbers as a plumber from August 2005 until May 2011, when he was dismissed following a heart attack in January 2011. His original contract with Pimlico Plumbers referred to him as a ‘sub contracted employee’ and incorporated Pimlico's company procedures and Working Practice Manual. This manual set out extensive rules for the provision of Smith's services including that he had to wear company uniform at all times; his normal working hours were a five-day week in which he should complete a minimum of 40 hours; he must always be available during his shift to take on-call work; and there were detailed requirements for timesheets, invoices, estimates and additional labour charges. This contract was replaced by a more detailed agreement in September 2009, which referred to Smith as a ‘self-employed operative’. This stated that the actual days he provided his services would be agreed from time to time; he had to correct any errors free of charge or cover the cost of correcting them; his fee would be paid against his invoices and set at 50 percent of the cost charged by the company; he was responsible for his own taxes and had to provide his own equipment and materials; and had to follow ten ‘personal conduct’ guidelines. In practice, Smith decided his own working hours. Pimlico Plumbers had no obligation to provide work on any particular day. If there was not enough work, none would be provided and he would not be paid. He had discretion whether to negotiate on price, covered substantial costs of materials himself, provided his own protective clothing and used his own accountant to file his tax returns. Following his dismissal, Smith brought claims against Pimlico Plumbers for unfair and wrongful dismissal and against its Managing Director, Charlie Mullins, for disability discrimination. After consideration, the Employment Tribunal held that Smith was not an employee for unfair dismissal purposes because there was no legal obligation on Pimlico Plumbers to provide him with work. The judge also felt the company's right to withhold payment if its customer had not paid and his obligation to rectify problems in the work at his own expense were also inconsistent with an employment relationship. The judge did, however, hold that Smith was ‘in employment’ for the purposes of his discrimination claim and a worker. She felt that Mr Smith had sufficient obligation to provide his services personally to be a worker and held that he was under an obligation to provide work personally (and not substitute someone else) for a minimum number of hours per week on the days agreed with Pimlico Plumbers. Both parties appealed the elements of the Tribunal's decision that went against them. The Employment Appeals Tribunal upheld the decision on employment status saying that the relationship simply did not look anything like a contract of employment. It also supported the decision on worker status. The case went to the Court of Appeal as Mullins and Pimlico Plumbers appealed the decisions on worker status and being in employment for discrimination purposes. However, their appeals were unsuccessful. The Court of Appeal conducted a thorough review and offered comments on the right of substitution. It held that Smith had a personal obligation to provide his services. It also held that he had acknowledged he had a contractual obligation to work a normal 40-hour week, even if that was not enforced by Pimlico Plumbers, and even though Pimlico Plumbers had no corresponding obligation to offer him work if there was none to offer him. He was therefore a worker. Despite the series of recent cases in which individuals have been held to be workers even though their contracts stated that they were self-employed contractors, there is still scope for the self-employment contractor model to operate without engaging either employee or worker status. However, businesses seeking to engage individuals on this basis must take care to ensure that the individuals providing the services genuinely meet the necessary criteria such as exercising a genuine right of substitution. It will also be interesting to see whether this area will be significantly affected by the forthcoming Taylor review and the updated Employment Status Review recently published by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). Gareth Edwards is a partner in the employment team at Veale Wasbrough Vizards. gedwards@vwv.co.uk. 48 May 2017 www.cicm.com The recognised standard
OPINION CELEBRATING CREDIT PROFESSIONALS ALL YEAR ROUND Recognising and celebrating the work that credit professionals do is something that Hays got really involved with during Credit Week, supporting the CICM as a Premium Corporate Partner. WITHIN Hays Credit Management, we wanted to dedicate the Week to supporting credit professionals. They have a vital role in helping organisations to succeed, enabling companies with cashflow and working capital, to report healthy profits and grow and attract investment. The Week also gave us a good opportunity to recognise how vital our own credit team at Hays is in supporting the UK business. The team bills and collects £1.8 billion per annum and was recognised last year with CICMQ accreditation, which helps identify best practice and best-in-class credit teams. SUPPORTING PROSPEROUS JOB SEARCHES Credit management is currently one of the most in-demand job sectors in the accountancy and finance sphere in the UK. Legal, retail, manufacturing, media and property are where demand lies most at present. Appetite for new talent is high and to support those looking for a new role, we shared our top tips for creating a truly effective CV to help credit professionals achieve internal promotion as well as ensure it stands out against any external competition. Set out a plan for your whole recruitment process, and know when you need to fill your role by, it’s also best to be explicit with requirements, and realise what you are looking for in a candidate to avoid losing out. For credit professionals, we recommend targeting your CV for a sector specific role, highlighting specific achievements as well as providing details of live accounts and the size of ledgers worked on. It needs to demonstrate achievement of things like cash collection targets – how much, over what period of time, and the part you played if a team collectively achieved the target. Additionally, while appearing very basic, checking for spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, formatting and consistency are all a vital part of the process. Karen Young, Director at Hays Credit Management, presented to our own credit team at our Finance Shared Service Centre in New Malden on how to build your own personal brand via LinkedIn by sharing content across social media. This skill is also particularly pertinent for job seekers, as credit professionals can help share and thus demonstrate their expertise and knowledge of the field through their social media feeds. ADVICE FOR EMPLOYERS Throughout the Week, we also discussed the market demands in credit management as well as advice for employers who are looking to recruit this year. Kabir Gulabkhan, Manager at Hays Credit Management, offers tips for hiring managers when competing for talent: “Set out a plan for your whole recruitment process, and know when you need to fill your role by,” she says. “It’s also best to be explicit with requirements, and realise what you are looking for in a candidate to avoid losing out.” BEING PASSIONATE ABOUT CREDIT Two members of our own credit team at Hays, based in New Malden, visited our Hays Cheapside office in Central London to share their thoughts with the sales team on how they can work with our Credit Consultants to improve the service our customers receive. Discussing the qualities of a Credit Controller, or Manager, the team highlighted some core strengths needed to succeed in the industry including being commercially aware, understanding operations as well as good people management skills. We also shared findings from our DNA of a Credit Manager report, which reveals the top three skills needed to be a Credit Manager; the ability to manage people, solid commercial understanding and the ability to manage risk. The Shared Service Centre also celebrated the week with a number of activities for Credit Week, including raffles, quizzes, and competitions. All activities raised just over £330 for our charity partner Together for Short Lives. INTERNATIONAL CHALLENGES IN CREDIT Our London office also took the chance to host a forum based on credit risk with an international focus in mind, alongside Chris Sanders, Head of Accreditation - CICMQ at CICM, who welcomed clients including Snapchat and Ink Global Publishing to our London Cheapside office. The forum looked at the top five elements needed for managing risk in today’s credit landscape. Attendees also enjoyed a discussion around upcoming risks and issues in credit, including the implications of Brexit when staff are placed internationally, as well as credit scoring. We’d challenge all those working within the credit industry to celebrate their input into the profession, and look forward to celebrating Credit Week next year. For more information on Hays Credit Management, visit hays.co.uk/credit-control. The recognised standard www.cicm.com May 2017 49
Page 1 and 2: CREDIT MANAGEMENT CM MAY 2017 £10.
Page 3 and 4: CONTENTS MAY 2017 www.cicm.com REGU
Page 5 and 6: 0101100 1101010
Page 7 and 8: CICM WINS APPROVAL IN NEW APPRENTIC
Page 9 and 10: NEWS CREDIT WEEK PROMOTES IMPORTANC
Page 11 and 12: NEWS EXTRA Dominic Saville, Group C
Page 13 and 14: Notall credit collection systems ar
Page 15 and 16: THE B2B DEBT RECOVERY SPECIALISTS T
Page 17 and 18: WEIGHING UP THE ACCREDITATION WEIGH
Page 19 and 20: OPINION DESPITE much speculation, n
Page 21 and 22: INTERVIEW EXERCISING MINDS Sean Fea
Page 23 and 24: "We want to do more of what we’re
Page 25 and 26: We could pay you on your customers
Page 27 and 28: TRADE TALK EXPORT OPTIMISM Lesley B
Page 29 and 30: MOTHER’S RUIN BRITISH booze is br
Page 31 and 32: DO YOU KNOW THE TRUE IDENTITYOF YOU
Page 33 and 34: OUT OF CONTROL? The advice sector i
Page 35 and 36: TECHNICAL BRIEFING GAME CHANGER STE
Page 37 and 38: SHERIFF’S ROLE? The Sheriff has f
Page 39 and 40: e 0South 1West 2 3 4 59.3 6 7-2.6 8
Page 41 and 42: SECTOR REVIEW - FITNESS AND SPORTS
Page 43 and 44: THE PERFECT VENUE FOR THIS YEAR’S
Page 45 and 46: CICM EDUCATION CONFERENCE 2017 22 J
Page 47: Discover what apprentices are sayin
Page 51 and 52: EXAM RESULTS Congratulations Congra
Page 53 and 54: PARTNERS TO TALK TO YOU... Safe’s
Page 55 and 56: BRANCH NEWS 60SECONDS WITH NORTH EA
Page 57 and 58: ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE ADMINISTRATOR G
Page 59 and 60: Cr£ditWho? CICM Directory of Servi
Page 61 and 62: Cr£ditWho? CICM Directory of Servi
Page 63 and 64: MONTHLY PRIZE CROSSWORD CREDIT CONU

Credit Management magazine May2017

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