Is the work Christmas party really worth it?

Whether it is Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah or Happy Holidays, companies are getting festive this time of the year, but has the way we view the holiday season changed? 

The way companies view the festive season varies not only country to country, but business to business. Some companies gladly accept Christmas gifts from clients or suppliers as a thank you for the year, while others frown upon it. Some companies go all out for their Christmas party, whilst others keep it low key or don't do anything at all. The conversation that a lot of people will be having this time of year is "what's your company doing for Christmas?"

It seems that after cost cutting through the credit crunch some big companies are making their Christmas budget bigger than ever. Google employees were treated to a Ferris wheel, ice rink and a whole room dedicated to balloons! The theme was New York and they even had actors dressed as New York Cops riding round on police horses. The whole extravaganza was rumoured to cost €300,000!  While most of us would be happy with a hot meal and a glass of wine it seems some companies go all out this time of the year.

Is the Christmas party a good thing or a bad thing? I think the end of year Christmas party is a nice way of showing employees your appreciation for their hard work throughout the year, but should we need that? Should it be left to the office Christmas party to show your appreciation or is it all just about getting together as a company and letting your hair down and forgetting about stress for one evening a year?

Whatever you do this year whether it’s a buffet in the office or an all-out extravaganza enjoy it, but remember, if your outing is on a work night and the next morning you ring with "the flu" your employer might be a little suspicious!

Kubo would love to know what your doing this year! Leave your comments below!

New report shows Malaria death rate halved since 2000!

This week the World Malaria Report for 2014 was released and showed deaths as a result of Malaria have halved between 2000 and 2013, saving an estimated 4.3 million lives. 

New bed nets with insecticides that kill malaria-carrying mosquitoes have been introduced to Malaria infected areas that last up to 5 years. In 2004 only 3% of those that were at risk and needed a mosquito net had access to one, now that number has risen to 50%.

Medical advances have also played a major part.The use of rapid diagnostic tests has risen significantly from what it was in 2000. 400 million patients received the treatments last year, compared to only 11 million in 2000.

Bed nets, along with rapid diagnosis of the disease and a drug called Artemisinins, have all contributed to the achievements in this week’s report released by World Malaria. 

In sub-Saharan Africa, where 90% of malaria deaths occur, new infections have fallen by 26% from 173 million in 2000 to 128 million last year, despite a 43% increase in population.

Each year, more people are being reached with life-saving malaria interventions, the World Health Organisation says. World Health Organisation director general, Dr Margaret Chan said: "These tremendous achievements are the result of improved tools, increased political commitment, the burgeoning of regional initiatives, and a major increase in international and domestic financing. She added: "We must not be complacent. Most malaria-endemic countries are still far from achieving universal coverage with life-saving malaria interventions."

Although malaria funding totalled $2.7bn (£1.7bn) in 2013 - a threefold increase since 2005 - it is still significantly below the $5.1bn needed to achieve global targets for malaria control and elimination, says the World Health Organisation. 

The world’s first malaria vaccine is on track for a 2016 launch after British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline submitted its treatment to EU regulators this year.  

NEWS! Pharma spending to rise 30% by 2018!

IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics have released last week, that annual spending will hit an all time high this year when absolute growth will be about $70 billion, up from $44 billion in 2013 and $26 billion in 2012!

This fast growth will be driven primarily by increased specialty drug innovation, greater access to medicines and reduced impact of patent expires, says the study. 

It is forecasted that spending will rise 30% by 2018 to an estimated $1.3 trillion!
The US which leads the market will remain strong, but the five major European markets France, Germany, Spain, UK and Italy along with Japan, are expected to be at the forefront of the worlds growth. China, which is already the world’s second largest pharmaceutical market, will reach spending levels of $155-$185 billion in 2018, the report adds.

Remarkably almost 200 new drugs are expected to be launched in the next five years. Over 2,000 products are currently in late-stage development, a quarter of which are oncology drugs. However, the IMS Institute notes that the availability of new medicines to patients worldwide varies significantly by country and disease area, on average, fewer than half the medicines launched during the previous five years are now available across the major developed markets.

To read more about this study visit www.theimsinstute.org

Kubo will donate to the World Cancer Research Fund for every business card you give us!

Kubo have chosen to support "World Cancer Research UK" as our nominated charity for 2014 through to 2015. World Cancer Research UK, funds research on the effects of diet, nutrition, body composition and physical activity on cancer prevention and survival. This vital research is an important part of their vision of living in a world where no one develops a preventable cancer.

This coming Monday 17th November, Kubo Recruitment are proud to be a sponsor of the 2014 ESF conference in Brussels. The focus is on "The current status of the application of Bayesian Methods in Drug Development"

Kubo are exhibiting at the event and will be donating to the "World Cancer Research UK" for every business card we receive.

We would welcome the opportunity to meet you and discuss how Kubo can help you. If you can only spare a few minutes, please do stop by our booth and leave your business card in our WCRU bowl!


We look forward to meeting a few old and new faces at the event on Monday!

Overtime should count towards Holiday Pay rules Tribunal!

Yesterday, the Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled that overtime should count towards an employee’s holiday pay. This could see up to 5 million employees claiming back holiday pay!

In August, Kubo blogged about the differences in annual leave across the world and discovered that it varies greatly from country to country. More surprisingly, America had no official rule on holiday and it was down to the individual companies Annual Leave policy.

In the UK, it is a minimum requirement that a worker receives 5.6 weeks annual leave, so with an average working week of 5 days, that is 28 days a year (which can include bank holidays). Workers that are required to work overtime as a regular part of their job argue that they should receive extra holiday pay for the overtime time worked.

The ruling may be referred to the Court of Appeal, which means it could be years until a final decision is made. The firms involved in yesterday’s judgement have been given permission to appeal the decision at the Court of Appeal. When asked if they are going to appeal a spokesman for the firms said they are "considering their options".

After the hearing, Business Secretary Vince Cable said "Government will review the judgment in detail as a matter of urgency. To properly understand the financial exposure employers’ face, we have set up a taskforce of representatives from Government and business, to discuss how we can limit the impact on business. The group will convene shortly to discuss the judgment"

What was the tribunal about?

Yesterday’s ruling followed an appeal by Bear Scotland, a road construction and maintenance firm, against an earlier decision by an employment tribunal. The tribunal found Bear Scotland had made unauthorised deductions from the wages of two employees, David Fulton and Douglas Baxter, by failing to include overtime and other payments associated with their work in calculating the holiday pay they were entitled to.

Two separate companies, Hertel and Amec, also appealed a decision stating they had made unauthorised deductions from wages of employees working on a construction site at West Burton in England, by failing to include overtime when calculating holiday pay. As the cases raised the same issues, they were heard together at the Employment Appeals Tribunal.

All three cases centred on the right to paid holiday under the Working Time Regulations 1998, now the Working Time Directive 2003, which states: "A worker is entitled to be paid in respect of any period of annual leave to which he is entitled, at the rate of a week's pay in respect of each week of leave."

Back dated claims

There were concerns that the business sector could be crippled by pay outs on back dated claims from employees. As a result, backdated claims have been limited. The tribunal ruled that employees cannot claim more than three months after the last incorrect payment. This still means that businesses could suffer a real blow and potential job losses could occur as a result, as 23% of men and 12% of women working full time regularly work overtime.

Kate Hodgkiss, partner at DLA Piper Scotland LLP, which represented the firms said, “Those carrying out non-guaranteed overtime, which is offered by an employer on a contractual basis, are more likely to have an entitlement claim as they could argue this is normal remuneration. However, those who perform overtime on an ad hoc basis are under no obligation to do this, meaning it's not part of the normal remuneration package, therefore, they're less likely to have an entitlement to claim." 

What do you think? If your job requires you to work beyond your contracted hours should this be taken into consideration when your holiday pay is calculated? After all, if you take holiday on a day where you would normally work overtime, you would lose out on the overtime pay for that day, if it is not included in your holiday pay. Or do you think that you should see overtime as a bonus and not as part of your basic pay?

Kubo would love to hear your thoughts on this, so get in touch!

Interviews then and now! .....How have they changed?

This week Kubo looked at how the process of finding a new job has changed in the last 20 years!

Technological advances and discrimination laws have dramatically changed the way that people look for a new role. Nowadays there are even apps that allow applicants to scroll through vacancies and receive notifications as new vacancies become available.  These apps also make it possible to apply for roles on the move, all from a smart phone!

In 1994 Robert J. McGovern began NetStart Inc the first online tool for job seekers and in 1995 six major newspapers joined forces to group their job listings online and created Careerpath.com. This new revolutionary idea of people being able to sit at home and see all the jobs available to them meant it was much easier and quicker for people to apply for a new role. Previously people had to look through the jobs pages of newspapers and apply by post or deliver in person!

As a result people can see roles all across the World now and apply at the click of a button, does this mean that applicant are applying for everything and anything because it's too easy to do so? Has this changed the way companies need to whittle down candidates to find the perfect person?


Kubo Spoke to Julia Bedford a Business and Finance manager about her experience of looking for a new role recently. I firstly asked Julia how she found applying for roles " there is a lot more emphasis on qualifications now than 20 years ago. Companies want to see that you have qualifications before they will even look at your experience". I went on to ask about the interview process and how she felt this had changed, " Historically you would have a much less informal one on one interview normally with a manager, but now you get interviews with panels. At my last interview there were four senior members of staff, which followed a group interview with the other candidates, during which we were given tasks and had to research and prepare a group presentation on a given topic". 

Kubo also spoke to Kevin Gutsell a CEO of a trade association about his experience of finding a new role recently "The first interview nearly always involves some form of presentation" Kevin said " which for some is quite daunting. The trick here is to stick to the subject and stick to time! I have experienced 2,3 and 4 interviewers so the more senior the position the more likely you will be presented with a panel consisting of Board members and experts." Kevin went on to say "I was invited back for a second interview as other candidates had been discounted, yet there was still a need to confirm the decision of the panel who took the opportunity to put me under more pressure (akin to the pressure I may experience in the job) After an hour I was asked to sit downstairs while a final decision and subsequent offer was made" 

In conclusion, it seems the whole interview process has become more involved and companies are having to be more stringent during the selection process.The simple one on one interview just isn't enough for some. It is also much easier for a company to do a background check on a hopeful candidate using social media. All a company has to do is type your name in and up pops your Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin profile picture.

As mentioned in last weeks blog, Skype interviews are now very popular, so people don't need to travel miles for an interview and the company can have an informal interview with you first before taking it to that next step.

As it is so easy to apply for roles now, some companies will only use recruitment agencies as they act as a filter. Companies don't have to spend hours looking through CV's and having that first interview with a candidate. This is where engaging an agency like Kubo Recruitment can help with the process, by ensuring that the candidate and company are both suited before the first interview, reducing a lot of wasted time on both sides.

It seems to me that the process of looking for a job has been helped and hindered by advances in technology. Its great that jobs are so easily accessible to everyone now, however the fact that more people are now able to apply means that the process of securing that position is a lot tougher now. Looking for a new job can be tough, but when applying for a role make sure you only apply for roles you are really suited for. Your passion and enthusiasm will come across to recruitment agencies and employees.

To make sure that you don't miss out on that dream role read through Kubo's helpful interviews tips


If you would like to share your experiences on finding that new role Kubo would like to hear about them! 

MK Lightning Ice Hockey Update! Sad to say goodbye, but pleased to welcome....!

MK Lightning have confirmed that Kubo Recruitment's sponsored player Tom Carlon is sadly leaving  to pursue work commitments outside of the sport. He has been offered an unmissable opportunity which sees him and his wife moving to another country.
In a statement released by the club he said " This is the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make. It doesn’t feel like very long since I signed for Lightning…certainly not long enough. I wanted to become one of the core players of the club and saw myself finishing my career with MK, so I’m gutted that I can’t. But I really can’t turn down this opportunity – I wouldn’t want to let it go by and then always wonder ‘what if’. I would never have wanted to leave mid-way through a season, but I have to take the offer now, while it’s there – so I apologise for leaving everyone in the lurch.”

Kubo would like to wish Tom and his Wife the best of luck in their future endeavors and are sad to see such a talented player leave the team. 

Although Kubo are sad to be saying goodbye to Tom whom we have sponsored for the last 2 seasons, we are pleased to welcome forward Leigh Jamieson to the Kubo team as we will be sponsoring him for the remainder of the season. Leigh was born in Milton Keynes and has played for his hometown since the start of his ice hockey career. This years ice hockey season has only just got under way and Leigh has already had 6 appearances and 8 penalties for the team! 


Keep up to date with MK Lighting on Kubo's Blog and Twitter page @kuborecruitment!!

Skype interviews, How to succeed!

A latest survey by Right Management shows that 82% of hiring managers have used Skype and 18% of candidates have experienced a Skype interview, so as Skype interviews become more and more popular there are a few things you need to know before you make that Skype video call and potentially risk your chances of securing that new role! 

Skype interviews have their advantages, for example you don't need to go into work suited and booted and have everyone asking you awkward questions like "oh you look very dressed up for work today, doing anything nice?". You can communicate across countries without the cost and hassle of travelling and for more local interviews you don't have the stress or worry of getting stuck in traffic and running late. There is also the advantage that a Skype interview is a good way of you getting to know the company and the employer getting to know you a little before you have a face to face interview, but even though this isn't the formal interview there are still a few pit falls that could stop you getting to that next stage!


Look and dress the part!
Even though you are behind a computer screen you still need to act as if you are meeting face to face. The interviewer may only be able to see your top half and unless you stood up wouldn't be able to see your Mickey- Mouse PJ bottoms, but to help you get in the right frame of mind always dress smartly and professionally. It is also recommended not to wear too much patterned or striped clothing as this may be distorted and come across badly on the camera. 


Have a look at what they can see!
If you are conducting the interview at home or in a public place like a coffee shop, always have a look at what the interview can see. If you are sitting in your kitchen or home office make sure it is tidy. Have a look at what is behind you, is this what you want the employer to see? This is the first insight a company will get into who you are, so by presenting your surroundings professionally they will see you as a professional they can picture in their company. 

Technical issues
We all have them from time to time and sometimes no matter what you do, you just can't get your computer to do what you want. If this does happen then you should be honest and open about the problem, tell the interviewer if you are having trouble hearing them and if things really are not working suggest the call is rescheduled when you have resolved the problem. To alleviate these issues arising, make sure Skype is up and working before the call and try a test call with a friend first. This way you know that you have done everything to make sure you are ready for the call.

Timing
Sometimes when you are talking to someone over the internet there can be a time delay. Make sure that you don't talk over your interviewer and let them finish before you start to answer. It may feel awkward at first if there is a slight silence, but use the time to think about your answer. Better that than everyone talking at once.


Eye Contact and body language!
Its always awkward at first when you talk to someone over Skype because you are sat on your own in a room talking ever so slightly louder than normal to make sure the other person can hear you clearly, but remember this is their first impression of you, so eye contact and body language is everything! I know it doesn't always feel right and it can be tempting to look at your image on screen or down at your notes, but by looking straight into the camera and sitting up straight you are making eye contact and your body language is strong.

Use Skype to your advantage!
The fact that you are behind a computer screen doesn't have to be a bad thing. You can keep notes on the company or notes on what you want to say handy without the interviewer seeing them! Obviously you don't want to be reading your notes out like a robot word for word or looking down at them all the time, but it is good to have them there to jog your memory every now and again if required. Another bonus of a Skype interview is that you can easily attach your CV or files of previous work during your call, so there is no risk of you forgetting to bring that important file as everything is on your computer!

It looks like Skype interviews are becoming the new way for employers to speed up the interview process and are here to stay, so by making sure you have prepared yourself and your surroundings all you have to do now is win them over with your knowledge and experience! Oh and don't forget to smile!

Kubo Recruitment are proud to sponsor the 2014 European Statistical Forum!

Kubo Recruitment are proud to announce that we are sponsoring the 5th annual European Statistical Forum which will be held in Brussels on Monday the 17th of November. 

This year the forum will be focusing on "The current status of the application of
Bayesian Methods in Drug Development" 

In the last years the biostatistics community has increased its interest in the application of Bayesian methodology in drug development as it provides a framework for determining probabilities relevant to inferences from current trials and previous knowledge.

Bayesian statistics has the potential to play an important role throughout the drug/device development process life cycle and in particular in the decision-making process. Its range of applications contains early phase studies, dose- finding, safety analyses, meta-analyses, decision theory as well as the quantification of the benefits and risks essential to health economic evaluation. While the use of Bayesian methodologies has significantly increased in the recent years in exploratory clinical trials, its use in confirmatory clinical trials is still not common.

In total there will be 13 representatives at the Forum all of whom bring considerable expertise and a wide knowledge of the industry. Chairing the discussions will be Frank Fleischer who is the Global BCA at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. Giacomo Mordenti the Senior Director Compound Development & Branding-Head of Biostatistics for Grünenthal, Jens-Otto Andreas who is the Head of EU Biostatistics at UCB Biosciences GmbH and Lisa Comarella who is the Director of Biostatistics and the Senior Project Manager at CROS NT Group. 

The speakers at the forum will be;
Bruno Boulanger- CSO and Company co-founder of Arlenda.
Emmanuel Lesaffre - Professor in Biostatistics and Chair Department of Biostatistics.
Giuseppe Palermo - Statistician at F. Hoffman-La Roche.
Foteini Strimenopoulou - Senior Exploratory Statistician at UCB.
Pantelis Vlachos - Principal Biostatistician at Cytel Inc. 
Heinz Schmidli - Statistical Methodology at Novartis Pharma AG.
Eugène Cox - Vice President & Managing Director for Quantitative Solutions BV.
Nicky Best - Senior Director at Statistical Innovation Group, GSK.
Dominic Magirr - Postdoc, Medical University of Vienna, Center for Medical Statistics and Informatics and Intelligent Systems.

The day promises to be interesting and informative for all industry professionals within biostatistics. Kubo are honoured to be a part of this and look forward to meeting with you. Feel free to call by our stand and introduce yourself during the coffee breaks.

For more information about the ESF and to register visit https://2014-esf.eventify.it/registration  

The Office of National Statistics report for April - June 2014 showed UK unemployment rate at lowest for 6 years!

Official figures state the unemployment rate fell to 6.4% in June to April this year, the lowest since late 2008.

The number of people unemployed fell by 132,000 to 2.08 million and the average wage excluding bonuses increased by 0.6% in the year to June, the slowest rise since records began in 2001.

Including bonuses, wages fell 0.2%, the first fall since 2009. The Office for National Statistics said average wage rises were affected by an unusually high number of employees deferring bonus payments until after the top rate of tax was cut from 50p to 45p last year, which have skewed year-on-year comparisons.

The national statistics show that approximately 40% of the increase in employment levels in the UK over the past year was among people who were not born in the UK. The number of UK-born workers increased by 502,000 and the number of workers born overseas went up by 326,000.

Employment from ex soviet countries such as Poland, Lithuania and hungry increased by 178,000 in a year. which is an increase of more than a quarter since they joined the EU in 2004. 

New statistics show that unemployment has now fallen below the eurozone average of 11.5%, though it's still higher than the entire EU average of 10.2%.

To see all the current job opportunities that Kubo Recruitment have in the UK, Europe and the US please visit www.kuborecruitment.com

Part 2- Annual leave...what to do with it?!

This week I decided to look in  to how people spend their time away from the office. 

For many people, the thought of a long awaited holiday and choosing where to go opens up so many prospects; Shall we go to a beach? Shall we travel a bit? Shall we see a bit of culture? But not all annual leave is used up sunning ourselves on the beach. Many working families need to use their annual leave to spend time with their children during the school holidays and cover child care while there is no school or family they can call on. 

So you have used your annual leave on taking time off for personal appointments, moving house or your best friend's wedding and you have one precious week left? So where do people go?

A new survey by the European Commission found that EU residents generally stay in their home country during their time off—57% of people in the EU last year took a trip within their own country. More than 80% of Greeks, Croatians and Italians took time off close to home in 2013, while Maltese, Belgians, and Luxembourgers were much more keen to go abroad, with fewer than 30% reporting that they took a domestic holiday last year.

The image below shows where most people in Europe choice to go on holiday. Interestingly it shows that people tend to go to the next closest country to them.

During my research I discovered that 36% of Americans do not own a passport! But when you think that the USA is the size of a continent you can see why! If you want sun and sand you go to Florida or California, if you want snow, Colorado or Utah! They have every different type of terrain and climate so, practically speaking at least, there is less need to travel abroad. 

So has all this got you thinking about what you will be doing with your annual leave this year? Let us know your thoughts!

Part 1 Annual leave- How do Holiday entitlements vary across the globe?

We all enjoy taking time off to spend time with our family and friends for the odd day or a couple of weeks at a time, but how does the holiday entitlement vary between countries and how does it affect how people use their holiday?

 

 

 Finland, Brazil, France and Germany are at the top, guaranteeing six weeks of time off including some bank holidays, with most other European countries enjoying 4-5 weeks holiday off a year.

In Hong Kong the entitlement is only 7 days for your first 2 years of service and India and Japan the entitlement on average is 10-12 days a year!

What I found most surprising was America have 0 yes that's ZERO days statutory minimum! It is left to the employers to offer paid holiday as part of the benefits package. Larger companies will typically offer between 10 and 20 working days, depending on the company and years of service. In addition to this some may offer a number of paid public holidays, typically 6-8, although smaller employers may offer no holiday at all! The average number of paid holiday days offered by private employers is 10 days after 1 year of service, 14 days after 5 years, 17 days after 10 years, and 19 days after 20 years!

So how does this affect how people take their holiday entitlement?
Some U.S. companies don't like employees taking off more than one week at a time. Others expect them to be on call or check their e-mail even when they're lounging on the beach or taking a hike in the mountains. In Europe its common for people to take off 3 consecutive weeks during the summer. Having said that some companies in Europe still have the summer shut down during the hot months and employees are told when to take time off.

The way America views annual leave and the way Europe sees it poses lots of questions. Is it healthier for staff to take a break and relax for a couple of weeks and come back refreshed, or is it better to take odd days here and there and avoid the build up in work (and therefore stress) that awaits you when you arrive back in the office after 2 weeks away?

The other question that springs to mind when thinking about the way people take holiday, is that if you are constantly thinking about work and not taking genuine time off, does your home life suffer? Or are you more likely to burn out quickly professionally?

In part 2 of my blog I will be investigating how different people across the world choose to spend that precious annual leave.

www.kuborecruitment.com

Kubo are proud to sponsor Tom Carlon at MK lightning for the 2nd year running!

As we approach the upcoming new hockey season Kubo Recruitment are proud to sponsor Tom Carlon at MK Lighting following his success last year!

Last year Kubo Recruitment sponsored Forward Tom Carlon as he debuted after signing with MK Lighting in 2013




Last season saw Tom Carlon scoring crucial goals for the team and playing a major part in the team’s success placing them 4th in the premier league at the end of last season!







Kubo look forward to continuing to support the team next season and wish them every success for the start of September!

Guest writer Thomas Zwingers part II- Ask the Experts: Late Phase Oncology Trial Design

Prinicipal Biostatistician Thomas Zwingers hosted Part II of his German-language webinar "Statistical Considerations in Oncology". Part II focuses on statistical methods for early decisions in Phases II and III.

 

According to expert biostatistician Thomas Zwingers, how can adaptive trial design be a method for the future of cancer research? 

 

During Phase III development, efficacy of the drug should be confirmed. Many new products have to find a very specific mechanism of effectiveness, so therefore subpopulations are necessary. Flexible study designs that allow for early termination and the use of fewer patients can be a successful solution for determining clinical efficacy. In oncology trials, we need to take into consideration differentiating factors such as slow patient recruitment, the importance of patient genotype, the use of various treatment combinations and the fact that the primary endpoint is overall survival time or time to progression. 

 

Adaptive Designs in late phase cancer research offer the possibility to make modifications to a study while in progress on the basis of new information pulled from accumulated data. While it is well know that there is the possibility to re-estimate the number of patients needed for a study based on observational data in interim analysis, it is less known that design can allow objectives to be achieved in one study that would normally require the scheduling of two distinct studies, so called "seamless Phase II/III designs".

 

Seamless Phase II/III designs combine two sequential and separate studies into one study and allows the use of collected information in the first stage to adapt the design in the second stage. The advantages of in this design are a reduction in overall time in the development of a drug, fewer patients required, and the early availability of long-term safety data. 

 

Another interesting possibility of an adaptive design is to select the right target population for the drug. This is of special interest in the development of highly specific cancer drugs, which are only effective in selected patient populations - for example, monoclonal antibodies. An adaptive study in Phase II/III may allow for the selection of the most promising target population in the first stage for the second stage.

 

Based on CROS NT's experience in oncology trials, their expert biostatisticians recommend the following for late phase adaptive trials:

- Budget more time for planning of an adaptive design as compared to a standard design
- Interact with regulatory authorities in the planning phase especially for Phase II/III studies
- Use simulations to calculate the power of the sample size and the probability of success
- Evaluate whether or not to stop the recruitment of patients for the interim analyses
- Schedule frequent monitoring visits in order to provide as much data as possible for the interim analyses

About Thomas Zwingers

In Thomas' current role, he provides pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies with statistical methodology advice pertaining to trial design, conduct and reporting including regulatory submissions. Thomas has been working in the clinical trial environment since 1980 in project team management and statistical analysis. He has particular expertise in Adaptive Designs and Bayesian Framework, Meta-Analysis and Non-Inferiority trials with therapeutic expertise in Oncology, Respiratory and Dermatology.

How have our attitudes to life and work changed through the Generations?

I came across the above on Linkedin a couple of weeks ago and it got me thinking about how our expectations have changed through the generations. 

When you look at the attitude towards careers you can clearly see how much peoples views on work have changed and people are no longer loyal to one company. But why is that? is that because people feel they are worth more and want to work for a company that can see that or is that because loyalty isn't rewarded as much anymore by companies? Maybe we all strive for change and progression and we need a bit of variety in our lives? What ever the reason, it seems the days of people staying with a company for 30 years are a thing of the past. 

One thing that stood out to me was the communication preference (above). Generation Y which is the generation that is now entering the work place for the first time are more likely to send an email or text message then have a face to face meeting. You can't really grasp someones tone over an email and things can get misconstrued and problems can arise with how different people can take an email, which was not intended to cause offence, but does. There was that case years ago where someone took their boss to a tribunal over his use of capital letters in an email, but then with an email you do have an email thread so can keep a record of what was said and when, so i guess there are benefits to the old and new way of doing things. 

I think one thing that you can take from this when you look at our "Aspirations" (above) is that whether its in bricks and mortar or careers, our home life and the feeling of security is still the most important thing to us. 

www.kuborecuitment.com

Introduction to Adaptive Trials in Oncology: What makes oncology different from other areas

Adaptive Designs have been increasingly gaining attention during the past years. These designs provide greater flexibility for Investigators/pharmaceutical companies by using an iterative process of:

- Collecting Data
- Analyzing the collected data
- Making decisions on the study design parameters according to the outcome of the analysis; and then
- Collecting additional data

More and more, Investigators and pharmaceutical companies use the advantages of adaptive designs over traditional, fixed designs in order to:

- Decrease the necessary sample size in trials
- Increase the probability of success in each trial
- Shorten the development process time of a new drug

The application of adaptive designs in oncology trials can prove challenging which is due to the nature of this medical field and its unique characteristics which makes it different from other therapeutic areas. It is not a single characteristic which makes oncology different, but rather the simultaneous occurrence of the following items:

- Long timelines to reach clinical endpoints. The ultimate endpoint for registration of a new drug is still the "Overall Survival Time". Surrogate endpoints like "response rates" or "time to progression" are often used but mostly as secondary endpoints or in earlier phases of the development process.

- The use of treatment combinations. Many oncology indications are treated using a combination of either surgery or radiotherapy and chemotherapy where most chemotherapy treatments are composed of various drug combinations, e.g in leukemia up to 8 different drugs are used.

- The number of partially related diseases. Although all cancers share the common trait of "abnormal growing cells", the heterogeneity of histological and immunological features of each disease is extensive.

- The importance of disease sub-types and/or genotypes. Even within each disease entity, different genotypes of immunologic surface makers can determine or rule out treatment success.

- Regimen modifications during treatment. As anti-cancer drugs are highly toxic, treatment modifications due to adverse reactions is very common and make it difficult to create a population of homogenously treated patients. This also has an impact on the interpretation of the clinical outcome.

- The high impact of the disease on patient life.

- The high costs of treatment. The average cost of cancer treatments range from approximately $5,000 USD per year to over $100,000 USD per year for patients with brain tumors.

- Slow Recruitment. Except for the most common tumor types - breast cancer, colorectal cancer and lung cancer - in most other indications, the number of patients is usually low within each center, thus resulting in slow recruitment of trials with a multitude of centers. 

In this highly diversified area of drug development, adaptive designs offer features which enable Investigators to find effective drugs more quickly for the benefit of the patients.

This blog was guest written for Kubo Recruitment by Thomas Zwingers, Senior Director for Consultancy Services and Senior Biostatistician for CROS NT.

About Thomas Zwingers

In Thomas' current role, he provides pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies with statistical methodology advice pertaining to trial design, conduct and reporting including regulatory submissions. Thomas has been working in the clinical trial environment since 1980 in project team management and statistical analysis. He has particular expertise in Adaptive Designs and Bayesian Framework, Meta-Analysis and Non-Inferiority trials with therapeutic expertise in Oncology, Respiratory and Dermatology.

Tribunal rules commission must be included in holiday pay

Workers whose total pay package relies heavily on commission will have this reflected in their holiday pay, following a ruling in favour of an employee in a tribunal.

In the case of Lock vs. British Gas Ltd. and others, the Court of Justice for the European Union (CJEU) ruled that the employer must take into account Mr Lock's full remuneration package, including commission, when calculating holiday pay. 

Lock was represented by Unison in the case against British Gas. Unison general secretary Dave Prentis hailed the ruling as "extremely important".

"This will assist workers across the European Union to argue that they should be entitled to their normal pay, including any commission payments they normally receive, for periods of annual leave," he said. 

Ben Gorner, employment partner at DLA Piper said the ruling could put companies under serious financial pressures, especially SMEs. "People can backdate their claims, in some instances by up to 10 years," he said. "For a small company with several employees who have worked on commission for some time, this could spell serious trouble."

Brief details of the case

Mr Lock is a sales consultant for British Gas receiving a basic salary and variable commission on a monthly basis. His commission makes up about 60% of his pay. The amount of commission varies depending on the number and type of sales he achieves, paid at the time the sales contract is entered into and not when Mr Lock actually carries out the work to achieve the sale.
Mr Lock took holiday from 19 December 2011 to 3 January 2012 during which time he was paid basic pay and the commission he had earned on sales contracts entered into in the previous weeks. However, as he did no work during his holiday, he did not generate any sales and therefore his salary was lower in the months following him taking holiday as he received no commission, and therefore he "lost" income by taking his holiday. Mr Lock brought a claim for his "lost" holiday pay in the Employment Tribunal. The question of whether commission should be included in holiday pay and, if so, how this should be calculated, was referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union ("CJEU") by the Employment Tribunal.
The CJEU has now confirmed that the holiday pay required under the Directive is to enable a worker to actually take the leave to which he is entitled, and that commission such as that received by Mr Lock should be included in the calculation of holiday pay, since it is directly linked to the work he normally carries out. Although the amount of Mr Lock's commission varies on a monthly basis, it is nevertheless permanent enough to be regarded as part of his normal monthly pay. However, the Court has left it to Member States to decide on how that holiday pay should be calculated.

Will this make a big difference to how you take time off? Will it make it easier for you to take annual leave knowing you are not going to be financially worse off the following months? Kubo would love to know your thoughts on this!

UK Salaries on hold as job opportunities continue to rise!

• First quarter salaries show no growth on previous quarter

•  2014 salaries remain at the same level as Q1 2013

•  Number of new jobs available grows 10% during first quarter and is up 30% year-on-year

UK salaries continue to stutter, with zero growth during the first quarter of 2014, whilst the number of new jobs available is still rising, according to new figures release by reed.co.uk

 Renewed economic confidence has continued to prompt growth in new vacancies, but rates of pay remain flat. In the first quarter of 2014, the number of new vacancies being advertised grew by nearly 10% compared to the last quarter of 2013 and by more than 30% annually. There are now nearly twice the number of jobs on offer as there were in March 2010.

March: Top 5 sectors year-on-year

• 1. Legal +78.9%
• 2. Transport & Logistics +73.1%
• 3. Construction & Property +67.4%
• 4. Strategy & Consultancy +55.7%
• 5. Motoring & Automotive 54.1%

March: Top 5 regions year-on-year

• 1. Wales +44.7%
• 2. Yorkshire & Humberside +34.9%
• 3. North West 33.1%
• 4. London 31.7%
• 5. East Anglia +31.5%

For all Kubo Recruitment's latest roles please visit www.kuborecruitment.com

Statistical information from reed.co.uk