Alexander Mann Again

[Mustang]

Different view

I have just finished a contract through them and I actually thought they were OK - some rough areas but generally OK.

Their contract was checked by B&C and didnt cause any major problems. Their practice of offering a new work package rather than a contract extension is very IR35 friendly and I felt them easy to deal with even if they needed to be spoon fed!

Depends very much on individual circumstances I guess.

HTH

[tim123]

You have got no chance, their contract with each client dictates that the people that they supply are akin to employees, hence you have to go through an umbrella, (giant or parasol as I remember). Not sure what they will do post april 07 apart from be highly uncompetative. £800 for a sys admin anyone?

I would have ridden off into the sunset by now!

Why do they do this?

AIUI HMG has stopped the practice of clients not having to pay the VAT on subcontractors salary if they are 'employee-like' .

tim

[marcus2704]

Whats an EB please.

[boredsenseless]

Alexander Mann's core business is acting as an RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing - which the equivalent of an EBs own EB) rather than a proper EB with links to the hiring client. They act as a buffer between the EBs they source to get candidates and the clients they are outsourcing for. Often you will see roles advertised from an EB and AM simultaneously. All AM are doing is seeing if they can legitimately cut out the same EB and source the role direct to their client for less cost (of course, it makes bugger all difference to us, because AM are the same sort of intermediary as an EB only with even more loyalty to the client than the usual bog standard EB.

Leave well alone. They are a bunch of *******. Unfortunately, lots of EBs are now finding their path to end client representatives being blocked by their use of separate legal entity RPOs. For us that means we can never negotiate the EB to end client terms upfront and directly anymore until we get in front of the hiring manager. Even then we are either forced to raise commercial relationship ((IR35 matters during the interview) or else risk not raising them at all. If you go back to the EB after the interview and try to re-negotiate clauses after offer, they will simply refuse on the grounds that they can't speak to the hirer and must go through the RPO who is now their own client or else you risk pissing the hiring manager off by going to them direct. If they were up for that then they wouldn't bother using these intermediaries in the first place.

Even without EBs being hindered by client hired RPOs increasingly I am finding that account managers at EBs are not talking to candidates directly about roles. Therefore, they've adopted a sort of in-house RPO arrangement of their own by hiring candidate sourcers who are sometimes freelancers not even in the same offices as the EB account manager - who pass your CVs onto the account manager at the EB. Again, this is bad news for us as we can't really talk to anyone about what the client really expects from the contractual relationship much less build up any kind of rapport with the EB recruiter who is in charge of potentially representing you. I have never once been represented to the client by EBs who have this arrangement in place, but I have been strung along with false hopes of representation by the candidate sourcer who I thought was the account manager and found out afterwards they weren't and who said my CV was a good match for the role before it was then buried by the account manager who I had yet to speak to and won't even pass their name on.

The only EBs I will deal with now are those whereby the account manager actually speaks to me and the client hiring manager (not supply chain or, worst still HR). This is the only alternative to going direct. The rest I will not deal with.

Agree in principle, but still disagree with the idea that you should be able to influence the contractual terms between two other businesses. Basically you want the job and without having 'direct contacts' you are effectively a consumer.

[Newby]

You have got no chance, their contract with each client dictates that the people that they supply are akin to employees, hence you have to go through an umbrella, (giant or parasol as I remember). Not sure what they will do post april 07 apart from be highly uncompetative. £800 for a sys admin anyone?

I would have ridden off into the sunset by now!

[Sockpuppet]

I out an application into Alex Mann. Never heard from them...glad I didnt now.

[BrilloPad]

Been offered a position by them now i think there terms and conditions are unbelivieable.

6 weeks b4 one weeks pay means there is no way you can get out the contract if its no good or other reasons as they are holding 6 weeks money.

Can only be paid PAYE whats all that about?????

Any advice ect would be great

Cross out what you don't like in the contract and put in what you want. Sign each alteration. Then tell them to accept or not.

You have the job. The client wants you. You have the upper hand.

And keep looking round...

[BoredBloke]

sounds very one sided - don't sign up

[BrollyBabe]

Walk away.

I 2nd that

[The Lone Gunman]

Any advice ect would be great

Walk away.

[haybaby212]

Been offered a position by them now i think there terms and conditions are unbelivieable.

6 weeks b4 one weeks pay means there is no way you can get out the contract if its no good or other reasons as they are holding 6 weeks money.

Can only be paid PAYE whats all that about?????

Any advice ect would be great