If you’ve ever been tempted to take home a couple of envelopes from your employer’s stationery cupboard, you may want to think again. The consequences could be far heavier than you realised, says Philip Landau, employment law solicitor and partner of London law firm Landau Zeffertt Weir.

The Daily Express reported in March this year that a recent survey showed more than half of Britain’s employees have admitted to stealing from their employer. It was also reported that nearly one in twenty confessed to taking valuable items such as mobile phones or computer hardware.

If you steal from your employer, the starting point is quite simple – this can, and often does, amount to gross misconduct. This means that you can be dismissed immediately and without notice. This won’t look good when it comes to convincing a future employer to take you on. You may be able to bluff the reason why you left at interview stage, but all will come out in the wash when the job references come in.

Let’s now go back a stage. Say your theft from work amounts to little more than a few envelopes, a stapler, or some stamps – in other words a mini-raid on the stationery cupboard. Whilst this could lead to gross misconduct, an employment tribunal would consider wider factors such as:
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Getting staff on side is essential for new managers but it’s not always that easy. Business coach, Marielena Sabatier, explains how new managers can make the right first impression.

Marielena Sabatier, CEO - Inspiring Potential

1. Take the initiative

Don’t wait for other people to set up introductory meetings for you when you first start a job – take the lead instead. Introduce yourself to your colleagues; meet with your team and your manager. You will settle in far more quickly and make a great impression by being proactive and showing your enthusiasm for the company and its people.

2. Fact find

Use your meetings to find out everything you can about your role and the company. Work out the remit of your role, your responsibilities and your objectives. Getting a clear understanding of your job from the word go will ensure you can achieve your objectives without stepping on anyone’s toes.

3. Learn from your team

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Calling all job seekers! If you haven’t already been engulfed by the social media phenomenon which is Twitter, then let us tell you about it. Not only is twitter a great way to keep in contact with mates, celebrities and breaking news, it’s quickly becoming a great tool for job hunters too.

Looking for a job can always be a daunting thing, so we thought we’d put together this handpicked list of the top 20 tweeters all job seekers should follow. Whether you’re looking for career tips, interview advice or your next job, our top 20 tweeters for job seekers is bound to tick all your boxes.

Whether you’re a Job seeker, recent graduate, budding entrepreneur or just looking for tips on self improvement, you can rely on our top 20 list to bring you what you need.

How did we choose them? It’s not all about how many twitter followers each has (although that is a good sign); it’s also about how often they tweet and the quality of the tweets. We like dedicated twitter users.

So if your currently looking for a job or planning your next strategic career move, have a look through our list to find something useful.

@getmeoffthedole – This is a UK based tweeter who tweets about essential news in the employment and jobs industry across the length and breadth of the UK. With over 7000 followers, @getmeoffthedole will keep you up to date with national and local news.

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Recruitment agencies are worth their weight in gold when you’re looking for a job. Many will take you through the whole job seeking process from start to finish and can prove an invaluable source of career advice. Here’s how to make the most out of your relationship with your consultant.

When you first start looking for work, chances are that, after registering with Jobsite, signing up with a recruitment agency will be high on your to-do list – and with good reason. Recruitment agencies often have links with some of the biggest companies in their field and the recruiter’s experience will soon have your dusty old CV and rusty interview techniques up to scratch.

Not that you can sit back and let your consultant do all the work– for the greatest chance of success, you have a major part to play as well.

Phillip Hodson, Kensington Consulting

This begins with how you decide which agencies to register with. “Before embarking on your journey, you must do your research,” says Phillip Hodson from Kensington Consulting. “Find out what the recruiter specialises in and ask yourself whether it matches your discipline. Look on their website to find out what roles they are recruiting for and in what sector. Also find out what locations they operate in.”
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The title of this blog may sound like I’ve been collared by the police and am now serving my penance but it’s far more innocent than that. Sorry if that’s disappointed you but at least it got your attention!

It actually refers to some great stuff we’ve been doing lately with various groups in the local community. As a Hampshire based company we’ve always been proactive about getting involved where we can. For example, we provided the lifeboat to the Portsmouth & Southsea Voluntary Lifeguards, sponsored the Havant cricket team, the Chichester under 8s rugby team and the Havant Lip-reading service to help local people to learn how to manage their hearing loss, plus we work with local schools to provide practical career advice.

The recent activity we’ve been getting involved in is through our sponsorship of Portsmouth FC, which has been fantastic in helping us identify community projects that we can help with. In the last few weeks we’ve partnered with the Portsmouth Supporters’ Club – Main Branch, which is made up of over 1500 dedicated Portsmouth fans. We’ve provided them with some funding to help with their newsletters, website etc. Their Chairman is landlord of the Newcome Arms pub in Fratton, so it would have been rude not to share a pint with some of the members!
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