RECRUITMENT AGENTS PAID €300,000 TO HIRE NAMA STAFF AS IT TRIED TO PLUG GAPS - The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) has spent almost €300,000 on recruitment agencies so far this year as it tries to plug staffing gaps at Nama.
Around 66 staff have been recruited to work with the National Asset Management Agency this year, while the agency also suffered a series of departures, with more than 30 having left or are serving their notice. Sixty-three of the positions filled had been advertised on the NTMA website, writes the Irish Independent. Three were filled by staff who moved to specified purpose or fixed-term contracts. Nama staff are paid about €90,000 on average. Nama chairman Frank Daly has recently suggested there needs to be some sort of retention plan to help attract and keep top talent. Mr Daly said the Nama board was concerned at the difficulties in retaining staff and said the last thing the agency wanted was that it wouldn't be able to match the "A-Teams" in hedge funds and equity funds. Finance Minister Michael Noonan revealed that because of the improving jobs market, the state's debt management agency had difficulties filling some of the positions. It has had to turn to outside recruitment agencies for help, costing €291,625 so far this year.
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€600,000 FUNDING FOR IT START-UP - Specialist IT start-up YellowSchedule has landed €600,000 in funding from various sources, which will enable it to grow both its employee base and customer numbers, says the Irish Examiner. The Dublin-based firm, which also has a sales office in Limerick, provides therapists and health clinics with cloud-based payments and appointment management tools, helping them manage their records and meet Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act standards. Founded by siblings Martina and Michael Skelly, YellowSchedule’s solution enables one-click scheduling for users and self-serve online appointments for their clients. Automated appointment reminders reduce appointment ‘no-shows’ substantially and the unique ‘Real Time Confirmation’ enables clients to confirm or cancel appointments. Client communications, notes, and attendance history are also stored on it.
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ENERGY GROUPS LEFT BRUISED AS FALLING OIL PRICES BITE INTO PROFITS - Tumbling oil prices have hit the earnings of two big London-listed energy companies, in one of the first tangible signs of how the oil supply glut is reverberating across the global economy. FTSE 100 oil and gas producers BP and BG Group both reported a fall in third-quarter profits on Tuesday, in part due to the drop in the oil price over the period, writes the Financial Times. “This is prompting the whole sector to consider the implications of a sustained period of lower oil prices,” said Brian Gilvary, BP’s chief financial officer. BG’s interim executive chairman Andrew Gould said the company might be forced to delay future investments if the current price environment worsens. “As the price goes lower, so we look at our debt coverage and need to reduce spending in the future,” he said. Royal Dutch Shell, Total, Chevron and ExxonMobil, which also report quarterly earnings in the coming days, will probably face similar questions about the impact of cheaper crude on their businesses. The effect could be even greater in the final quarter, since the oil price has been falling more sharply since the end of September than it did in the three prior months. Crude has dropped 25% since mid-June, driven lower by surging supplies of shale oil from the US and a slowdown in global demand, particularly in China, the world’s second-largest petroleum consumer.
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SPORTS DIRECT BOWS TO PRESSURE OVER ZERO HOURS CONTRACTS - Sports Direct has caved into pressure over its use of controversial zero hours contracts in a victory for campaigners who have called on the company owned by billionaire Mike Ashley, to end the “abusive” practice, says the London Independent. Former employee Zahera Gabriel-Abraham took the company to an employment tribunal, which was due to be heard next month, over its policy of employing nearly 20,000 staff on contracts which guarantee no fixed hours each week.The company, which is the UK’s biggest sporting retailer, agreed to settle out of court and will now re-write all job adverts and employment contracts to expressly state that “casual” roles will not guarantee any work. Staff will also have holiday and sick pay explained to them more clearly, with many not realising they are entitled to paid holiday and to claim for sick days. The new policies will be displayed in Sports Direct staff rooms and all managers will be reminded of their responsibilities for equal opportunities.
