September 05, 2005
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Posted by Mark at 08:26 AM | Comments (0)
February 10, 2005
| Secretaries in short supply at UK law firms |
Legal secretaries are currently in such short supply that many law firms across the UK have been forced to consider candidates with no experience of legal document drafting or other law firm-specific secretarial work.
The claim has been published in a salary survey of support staff commissioned by Angela Mortimer, a recruitment consultant, which in addition suggests that in job interviews, secretaries are increasingly demanding the opportunity to progress from a purely support role to a fee-earning position within the firm.
The survey also found that most legal secretaries are already studying for ILEX or for some other, similar professional qualification.
Substantial salary gaps between law firms in different regions of the country were also revealed by the survey, with London-based secretaries earning nearly twice as much as their counterparts in Birmingham.
In London, a typical salary for an associate-level secretary is £28,000, while in Birmingham a similar role pays only £16,000 per annum — equivalent to the most junior-level salaries in the capital.
Salaries for temporary secretaries varied less between the two cities, with those in London commanding £14,400, compared with just under £10,000 in Birmingham.
At the most senior level, partnership secretaries could expect about £30,000 in London but typically no more than £19,000 in Birmingham, the survey found.
Angela Mortimer, chair of the eponymous recruitment agency, said: "This survey is the most extensive listing we have ever compiled and really serves to demonstrate the disparity in incomes across certain sectors and within the industry as a whole."
She added: "If managers know what is motivating their candidates, whether it be salary, opportunity, challenge or feeling comfortable in the culture of the agency, it will go a long way towards improving staff motivation and ultimately output."
Posted by Mark at 05:25 PM | Comments (0)
January 26, 2005
| Gender pay gap is greater in London |
The pay gap between men and women is significantly wider in London than the UK as a whole, according to new research for the Mayor of London. Women in the capital earn on average 25 per cent less than men, compared with 18 per cent less across the UK. At the same time the most common female occupation in London pays £5.38 per hour, while the most common male job pays £17.30 - three times as much. One of the reasons, as revealed in the report, is the concentration of women in low paid jobs in the capital and being excluded from more lucrative male dominated occupations.
Another report published last week by the London Business School revealed that 177,000 more women set up businesses in UK in the past year - closing the gap between the number of male and female entrepreneurs.
Women are under-represented in London's managerial and senior occupations by 25 per cent but over-represented in administrative and secretarial roles by 62 per cent. Even in sectors where women are concentrated there are fewer women at the top. In business, women represent only 6 per cent of directors of FTSE 250 companies based in London, while only one business in ten is owned by a woman. Even when women are on the board, the average total remuneration is less than half that of a male counterpart.
These findings are revealed in Women in London's Economy, a report for the Mayor of London, which details the huge inequalities women in the capital face in employment. The report contains new research from GLA Economics as well as case studies from women in and seeking work. It sheds light on the factors that prevent more women in London from taking an active role in the economy and contributes to the current discussion on legislative changes needed to create laws that really challenge women's inequality.
The report finds that London's output would be raised by almost £1.5 billion a year if the proportion of women with dependent children in the capital in part time employment were raised to the average national level. This is equal to almost 1 per cent of London's entire economic output. It finds that having dependent children significantly reduces employment rates for women in the capital compared to the rest of the UK.
Ken Livingstone said: 'London's future as a world city depends on using the talents of all its citizens to the full. As this research shows we need to make far better use than we currently do of women's potential in the capital's workplaces.
'Women are the majority of London's population yet barriers often prevent them playing a full part in the capital's economy. The inequalities revealed here are bad for women and bad for London's economy and society.
'This report also demonstrates the importance of improving the provision and affordability of childcare in the capital, and has implications for national policies on employment, benefits and equalities.'
Mary Reilly, Chair of the London Development Agency and a partner at Deloitte, who is speaking at the conference, said: 'Women are in a much better economic position now than they were 30 years ago - but as this report shows in recent years the UK as a whole has improved far more rapidly than London. We need to foster a culture shift amongst employers in the capital to improve workplace flexibility and equal pay and ensure more women fulfill their potential both in terms of personal achievement and economic success. This will deliver benefits to companies themselves by attracting more women into the workplace and help ease the skills shortages which exist in many areas of the London economy. Women in London's Economy highlights that there are strong arguments for creating a positive duty for employers to promote equality in the treatment of women and men employees.'
The report's findings will be discussed by over 300 London businesswomen and policy makers and opinion formers at a conference on the role of women in London's economy at City Hall on 13 January. The report will also inform the Mayor's submission to the government's Women and Work Commission
Posted by Mark at 03:53 PM | Comments (0)
| City salaries rise almost 4% in 2004 |
Since December 2003 the average City basic salary has increased by 3.69% from £43,445 to £45,046.
Support/admin and middle market professionals have benefited most from the increase in recruitment, seeing respective salary increases of 13.8% and 6.9% over the year.
Morgan McKinley estimates there are currently circa 8883 outstanding job vacancies in the City, which is down by 11% over the month.
Indicators suggest a positive outlook for the City jobs market in 2005.
Ken Brotherston, Chairman Morgan McKinley comments:
“Growth in projected business volumes led to a strong increase in demand for staff across all levels, particularly in the early half of 2004. This placed upward pressure on salaries, which rose by an average of 3.7% over the year. Whilst salaries for support/admin and middle market staff rose steadily, expectations of improved bonus payouts compared to the relatively low level of payments in recent years, remained the key driver at the senior end.”
Outlook for 2005
Despite concerns about the effect that poor retail sales, higher interest rates and a slowing housing market may have on the growth of the UK economy, prospects for the City job market in 2005 remain optimistic, particularly for certain specialist sectors. Projected upturn in M&A activity in 2005 should lead to continued recruitment within the Corporate Finance segment and continued growth in financial regulation and reporting requirements will fuel demand for accountants across the City.
The outlook for Banking Operations appears positive across the board and at all levels to support steady growth in trading activity. Derivative specialists across equity, credit and rate areas are in particularly high demand as there continues to be a shortage of high calibre candidates in these sectors.
Ken Brotherston comments:
“2005 is shaping up to be a good solid year for the financial services market in London and therefore for recruitment activity. Where areas of high demand are met with a paucity of candidates, there will naturally be an upward movement in salary levels in 2005. However, overall salary pressure is reasonably under control as bonuses continue to hold significant weight in the make up of total compensation packages.”
Posted by Mark at 03:47 PM | Comments (0)