Employers

As an employer of staff in the UK, you are subject to a complicated series of responsibilities and rights; obligations and entitlements. No doubt you have some understanding of how they relate to the permanent staff you employ, but what about the temporary staff who work for you through an agency? You also need to consider your relationship with the agency itself and the hiring process for new staff.

Did you know:

In some circumstances, employment tribunals have determined that agency temporary workers are actually employees of the client employer – with consequences including unfair dismissal rulings and maternity leave rights.

Advertisements that specifically request extensive experience, or “dynamic” candidates may be in violation of the 2006 Age Discrimination act. Advertising language needs to be carefully crafted not only to refrain from excluding applicants based on age, but even to avoid suggesting that a particular age group would be better suited for the job than another.

Agencies have a responsibility, when placing temporary workers at your organisation to ensure that:

• They have checked the health and safety of the workplace.
• They have taken up references for the candidate
• They have given you all information relating to the candidate that may be relevant

The REC is the membership organisation dedicated to improving recruitment practice in the UK, both by setting standards for recruitment businesses to adhere to and by improving the knowledge and professionalism of individual consultants.

What are the benefits of working with an REC Member Agency?

1. Access to the REC’s Complaints and Disciplinary Procedure. This provides you
   with a route through which you can take action if the agency fails to live up to its
   promise under the Code.
2. Your agency recieves regular briefings and updates on changes to the law and to best practice in recruitment, so you can be assured their knowledge is up to speed with the changing environment.
3. Member agencies are regularly, independantly inspected so you can be sure that their basic practices have been approved as safe and legal.
4. Member agencies sign up to a code of practice, mandating that they must live up to the principles of:
• Respect for Laws
• Respect for Honesty and Transparency
• Respect for Work Relationships
• Respect for Diversity
• Respect for Safety
• Respect for Professional Knowledge
• Respect for Certainty of Engagement
• Respect for Prompt and Accurate Payment
• Respect for Ethical International Recruitment
• Respect for Confidentiality and Privacy