More recent technological advances in online recruitment mean companies are now testing the ability of candidates online. This progression reflects the market’s desire to run more of the process online.
Many businesses are still cautious about using online testing for fear of the possibility of cheating — how do you know if the people taking the test really are who they say they are? This should no longer be a concern because techniques have been introduced that absolutely verify the identity of the candidate. Combined with data forensics and web patrolling, this should give employers the confidence to broaden their use of the internet as a recruitment tool.
Kevin Kerrigan
managing director, SHL
Thames Ditton
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Tax point: David Smith comments on the Liberal Democrats’ proposals to finance income-tax cuts partly by squeezing the capital gains and pensions of the super rich (Economic Outlook, last week). Smith rightly says that if it was this easy, Gordon Brown would already have done it himself. Perhaps surprisingly, the valuable capital-gains tax (CGT) sweetener apparently in the Lib Dems’ sights — CGT taper relief — was Brown’s own brainchild when it was introduced in 1998. This relief — which can cut the CGT bill by 40% on the sale of a second home, and by 75% on the sale of a business — is now worth about £5 billion a year to taxpayers, according to Treasury figures. Ironically, this is broadly the same annual amount suffered by pension funds — and therefore by their 20m or so members — as a result of Brown’s withdrawal of reclaimable dividend credits from pension funds in 1997.
Maurice Fitzpatrick
senior tax manager,
Grant Thornton UK, Slough
Food value: I write in response to your article “Can new boss make Morrison a winner?” (Business, last week). As a fairly discriminating shopper I have the choice of Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Morrisons, Aldi and Lidl as well as some good local shops. Morrisons is the only supermarket today where it is possible to buy many traditional foodstuffs.
Tesco and Sainsbury’s appear to have bred cattle, pigs and sheep that do not have kidneys or livers, but on the occasions they offer such rarities they charge ridiculous prices for them. Morrisons offers uncooked gammon hocks at very sensible prices and, judging by the people at the counter, they sell a lot of them. Tesco and Sainsbury’s instead offer only “added value” items.
I imagine when the City gets its way Morrisons will become just another Tesco clone, and I will need to go mainly to Lidl for good value.
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David Walton
Peterborough
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