The Home Office has recently announced measures to force employers to advertise some positions in Jobcentre Plus branches before they recruit workers from overseas. The measures, recently announced by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, are designed to help fulfil prime minister Gordon Brown's controversial promise in 2007 to keep "British jobs for British workers".

The move would be limited to vacancies in sectors identified by the Migration Advisory Committee as having a shortage of skilled workers, such as construction, nursing, hotel management and teaching, a Home Office spokesman said.

Employers are currently obliged to advertise jobs for two weeks in the UK before seeking recruits overseas. However, some employers advertise in ways which ministers believe are less helpful to British workers than advertising through Jobcentre Plus, such as in shop windows or in trade magazines.

Writing in the News of the World on 18th January 2009, the home secretary said: "In difficult economic times I believe we need a tough system that offers British workers the first crack of the whip for British jobs.

I'll be using the new points-based system to require employers to offer British jobs through Jobcentre Plus before recruiting foreign workers."

The Government introduced a range of measures to help the long-term unemployed back into work early in January 2009. These measures included "golden hello" payments to employers of up to £2,500 for every person they recruit and train who has been out of work for more than six months.

The incentives to recruit will be similar to those already offered under the New Deal scheme for the unemployed, but will be tied to particular job seekers.

JobCentre Plus staff will be able to advise businesses on the potential benefits, which will range from around £1,000 to recruit individual who has been long-term employed, up to £2,500 if they agree to train the new member of staff as well.

All lone parents with children over the age of one should be obliged to seek work or face losing their benefits, under measures recommended in an independent review commissioned by Secretary of State for Work and Pensions James Purnell and published on 2 December 2008.

The review, undertaken by Professor Paul Gregg of Bristol University, examined the current regime of benefit sanctions to recommend how sanctions could be toughened to push more people into work. It recommends that "virtually no-one" should be able to claim benefits without being required to actively seek work; only those with severe health conditions or disabilities or lone parents with children in their first year should be exempt from conditionality.

For small businesses, the proposed welfare reforms may result in the opportunity to gain access to a larger pool of experienced and committed staff willing to work part-time.

As the economic downturn makes the operating environment increasingly difficult for small businesses, many will be looking to rely increasingly on part-time staff as part of their survival strategy. Employers recognise that employing part-time staff not only has the benefit of reducing costs, but also gives access to high calibre pool of candidates that may not be able to work full-time because of family commitments.

John Wright, chair of the Federation of Small Businesses, speaking in New Start, said “Small businesses are proving resilient in the face of tough economic conditions because of their flexibility to adapt to changing market conditions. Many small businesses are retaining, not letting go of, staff – and hiring part-time staff is an excellent way forward for small businesses to manage growth in their economic environment. The talent pool of women returners can offer small businesses a viable way to grow their businesses.”

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