• Court finds on-hire company liable for injured worker's compensation
• Recruiters can't keep heads in the sand about data
• Shift to digital strengthens Sydney ICT jobs market
• Gender equality job board goes live
• Women at heart of CareerOne careers fair

Court finds on-hire company liable for injured worker's compensation

The Tasmanian Supreme Court has dismissed an on-hire company's appeal of a decision finding it liable to compensate a worker who allegedly acquired a golden staph infection at work.

SKILLED initially did not dispute the worker's claim that he acquired the infection while "pumping flood waters from drains" during a 2012 placement.

The company's failure to dispute the claim meant it was "taken to have accepted liability" and it began weekly compensation payments, but eight months later, it sought permission from the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Tribunal to cease compensating the worker.

WRCT Chief Commissioner Stephen Carey dismissed the application in December last year, saying that while he couldn't conclude the worker suffered a skin injury at work that allowed the bacteria to enter his system, SKILLED was similarly unable to prove the worker didn't sustain such an injury.

SKILLED appealed that finding in the case at hand, arguing a worker carries the onus of proving an entitlement to compensation if his or her employer accepts liability but later decides to dispute it.

Justice Stephen Estcourt described the argument as "ingenious" but unconvincing.

When employers fail to dispute their liability to pay compensation within 84 days, they are taken to have accepted liability and that is "an enduring state of affairs", he said.

Skilled Group Limited v Anning [2015] TASSC 18 (14 May 2015)

Recruiters can't keep heads in the sand about data

Recruitment companies that aren't looking for ways to capitalise on their internal and external data risk slipping behind their competitors, according to long-time employment market analyst Bob Olivier.

An understanding of internal data can help recruiters run their businesses more effectively, and external data is equally critical in order to build client relationships, said Olivier, who is the director of employment data and analytics specialist HRO2 Research.

"HR are hungry [for data]. They've got internal benchmarks they're placing on themselves [and] they may be able to compare internally with their sister companies around the world, but a recruiter can also provide their clients with market information to supplement, to challenge, to corroborate what they're finding internally," he told Shortlist.

Data has shifted from a "peripheral issue" for recruiters to something that is now a strategic part of sharing knowledge with clients, said Olivier, who is also the co-founder of Sydney-based recruitment company Olivier Group (now Advantage Professional).

"It's moving away from being a nice-to-have to being an essential ingredient in a recruiter's armoury," he said.

"There are early adopters who are absolutely 'gung ho' for it and... there are others I feel are a little bit like the guys I remember seeing when online recruiting started and they were the ones who were last to [adopt it]; they're the laggards.

"My warning would be you can't keep your head in the sand forever on these things. Although people are not that excited by data, or they're confused by it, in the end they're going to have to get their head around it, and they're going to have to recognise it, because if they don't, they'll be slipping behind their competitors."

Shift to digital strengthens Sydney ICT jobs market

The ongoing digital transformation in the ICT jobs market is most evident in Sydney, where hiring has hit a seven-year high, according to the latest ICT Salary and Employment Index from Peoplebank.

NSW recruiters are set to benefit from this growing appetite for digital skills, which the report said is "being hailed as the fourth industrial revolution".

"The last quarter has seen demand [in NSW] continuing to grow, especially for contractors with digital skills. Overall demand is at its strongest level for seven years – since the GFC of 2007-08 – driven by the continued digital transformation of NSW business and public sector organisations," it said.

"The defining characteristic of the NSW market is that of Government and business spending on digital development – that is, new online capabilities, apps and internal systems to make the most of customer data. The surge in demand for digital skills has meant that the banking and finance sector – historically the largest employer of IT skills in NSW – now accounts for just 50% of the market."

The most in-demand ICT professionals in Sydney include business analysts, architects, digital producers, designers, developers and project managers.

"Demand is currently being met from within the local skills pool; however, with fewer experienced digital professionals coming to Australia from overseas, demand will increasingly outstrip supply in 2015-16," said the report.

Gender equality job board goes live

A niche job board for employers with a strong focus on gender equality has launched.

Diverse City Careers (DCC) only advertises roles at companies with a demonstrated commitment to creating ideal workplaces for women.

The job board is the brainchild of Gemma Lloyd and Valeria Ignatieva, who are actively involved in the diversity community, and both sit on the management committee of not-for-profit Females in IT & Telecommunications (FITT).

"The main reason behind DCC's focus on gender diversity is because that is what we know best. Our dream for DCC's future is to be broader and support the full spectrum of diversity. In the meantime, employers who advertise with us are proud of their stance on diversity and welcome all candidates to apply, regardless of gender," said Ignatieva.

She told Shortlist DCC initially planned to screen advertisers based on their inclusion on the Workplace Gender Equality Agency's employer of choice list but now uses a general checklist instead.

"We discovered some companies are not on the [WGEA] list, but they are doing some amazing things... and it's no reason not to accept them, because that list is very specific and they have to report on certain things, and we do want to help companies that are starting on the journey as well," she said.

Women at heart of CareerOne careers fair

CareerOne will launch a careers fair later this month that aims to empower women in the workplace.

The Women at Work virtual careers fair will give women access to exhibitors including Shell, Optus, Suncorp, and Bunnings, along with live webinars from companies such as Telstra, White Ribbon and the CSIRO.

CareerOne CEO Ben Foote said the event was spurred by WGEA figures showing male graduates are paid an average $3k more than their female counterparts.

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