REC Expels Apex Resources Ltd Following Allegation of Non-payment

 

Apex Resources Ltd has been removed from Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) membership for repeatedly breaching the REC Code of Professional Practice by failing to respond effectively to a serious allegation of non-payment to a temporary worker.

The REC has revealed that it resolved 116 complaints against recruitment agencies in 2015:

 

• Forty-two were resolved before a formal investigation was required.
• Forty-two enquiries were either not valid complaints, or fell outside of the REC’s remit. In these instances, the complainant was referred to a relevant statutory authority such as the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS), the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) or the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS).
• Twenty-eight complaints resulted in formal investigations. Where wrongdoing was found, members were compelled to provide evidence that corrections had been made to policies or processes that breached the REC Code of Professional Practice. In two cases, member agencies were put under review and warned that they could be expelled from the REC should further concerns be raised regarding their conduct.
• Four cases are pending decisions to investigate.

 

All recruitment agencies must adhere to the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 and the Employment Agency’s Act 1973, which are the main statutory rules governing the conduct of recruiters. REC members go beyond these statutory requirements and commit to follow a Code of Professional Practice.  

 

Last week Minister of State Nick Boles MP revealed that the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS) received 603 complaints against employment agencies in 2014/15.

 

REC chief executive Kevin Green said:

“It is beholden on every recruiter to uphold the highest ethical and professional standards, because what we do has a huge impact on businesses and on people’s lives. There are well over 3,000 businesses in REC membership and the vast majority of them behave impeccably, so when we do receive a complaint we treat it very seriously because it only takes a few unprofessional agencies to tarnish the reputation of the whole industry.

“We work with our members to ensure they are fully compliant, but we will expel agencies when they fail to follow our rigorous Code of Professional Practice. This means that when clients and candidates see that an agency is an REC member, they can be assured that the company has been quality-checked and endorsed by the professional body, and that if things do not go according to plan they have recourse to the REC.”

Ends

Notes to editors:

1. To qualify for REC membership applicant companies must be employment agencies or businesses which fulfil one or more of the following criteria:

• they have been trading for at least one year in the UK;
• they are owned or operated by one or more individuals with more than one year of experience working in the recruitment industry;
• they are owned or operated by one or more individuals who have attended the REC 3-day ‘Start up your own agency’ course.

2. All corporate members are required to agree to adhere to the Code of Professional Practice, which is enforced through the REC’s complaints and disciplinary procedure. All corporate members must pass an online compliance test every two years to demonstrate sound understanding of relevant industry legislation.

3. The REC is unable to investigate the conduct of agencies or individuals that are not REC members. Complaints regarding a non-member should be referred to the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS) at the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS). EAS has statutory authority over all recruitment agencies.

4. On January 12 2016 Tulip Siddiq MP asked the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many complaints the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate has heard since the establishment of the inspectorate. http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-12-14/19954/