Gareth Tomkins Summer 2025 Update

Gareth Tomkins's 6 month Review: July 2025 

Although the first half of the year has again been challenging, I am pleased to say we have had a better start to the year than we did in 2024. The year has been sluggish, but as we move into the summer months we are seeing more encouraging signs and at the half way point we are showing 20% growth on this time last year, which in the current climate we are delighted with. 

In general the first half of this year has been full of uncertainty for businesses who are still trying to navigate the cost pressures, government regulation and global risks that exist. It appears that employers have been holding back on hiring and in May 2025 the number of jobseekers increased at the steepest rate since 2020.  

The signs of encouragement are coming from temp billings with perm still a little stagnant across the board. In my opinion as the economy is starting to see encouraging signs now is the time to revisit your recruitment strategy with the aim of bringing the best talent on board that is currently available on the market in preparation for the forecast upturn. 

Fresh data for the construction industry is suggesting that the industry is back on a growth trajectory. The recent 2025-2027 forecast by Glenigans reveals that project starts are expected to grow 24% over the next three years with stronger performance predicted in both private and public sectors. This is of course really encouraging news for ourselves and our clients. The standout insights are as follows and are all sectors that Linear work in so it is extremely promising news:       

• Private housebuilding is forecast to rise by 18% by 2027, driven by improved consumer finances and lower interest rates
• Industrial and commercial sectors are regaining momentum, supported by increasing business investment
• Public sector activity is set to rise significantly, with the Government’s Spending Review injecting new funding into schools, hospitals, transport and utilities
• Infrastructure and civils are also forecast for sustained growth, including a major boost in water and environmental projects

All this is underpinned by improving economic conditions and a sharp increase in market confidence across both consumers and investors. As a company Linear is perfectly set up to help clients navigate and take advantage of the forecasted upturn so we are really excited about what the future will bring and are looking forward to working with our current and new clients to ensure they have their labour needs fully covered.

As always at Linear we are continually looking at opportunities and areas where we can improve. One big subject on the agenda this year is Social Value and how we can improve our social value presence. As a company we have always given back to the community in various ways, whether that be our annual charity event, sponsoring local sporting teams or working with local organisations helping to get people back into work, to name just a few. This year we are committing to more activities, for example all of our staff are to partake in volunteering for various local charities in the second half of the year. The plan going forward is to take this to the next level and record/measure what we do and we are also planning to have a full Social Value section on our website so please keep a look out for that.

Behind the scenes we have also been working hard preparing for the impending umbrella company legislation that is due to be introduced in April 2026. The change in legislation will impact all agencies or end clients that pay workers through an umbrella company. From April 2026 the responsibility for PAYE and National Insurance is shifting from the umbrella company to recruitment agency or the end client. This means that if an umbrella company fails to meet its tax obligations, the liability could fall on the agency or client, rather than the umbrella company itself. Due to this impending change in legislation we have reviewed our PSL and re-audited all our suppliers on there, which we do every year as a matter of course. However, we have now taken this one step further and introduced a monthly audit procedure along with the annual audit which will protect us and our clients moving forward. I would urge any company that engages with umbrella companies to do the same and if you need any advice or assistance with this please feel free to get in touch and we would be happy to help.

Finally I do hope you enjoy the newsletter and find it informative. If you require any further information or advice please feel free to contact one of our offices.