Registration
It is proposed that in the future employment agencies and employment businesses should be required to place their company details on a central record if they wish to trade in the UK. It is suggested that instead of licensing or registration, which have cumbersome connotations, employment agencies and businesses, which are recorded in this way, are referred to as Registered.
Compulsory
The scheme is intended to be compulsory and enforced through secondary legislation by the Employment Agencies Standards Inspectorate at the Department of Trade and Industry although the administration and maintenance of the Register could be outsourced. Whilst we would seek contributions from Government to fund such a system, it is likely that those registering would also pay part of the costs through an annual fee system.
Emblem/Certificate
In return for paying a fee annually and verifying the company details held on the Register, in accordance with the criteria set out below, each employment agency and employment business entered on the Register will be issued with an emblem for use on company stationery or promotional material and/or a certificate for display at their company premises.
This emblem and/or certificate must be displayed and will serve to inform their markets and competitors that they are a bona fide recruitment enterprise. Each emblem and/or certificate should show the year it was issued and a number or code that is peculiar to the employment agency or business holding it.
Records to appear on the Register
Each employment agency and employment business will be required to provide the following details for entry onto the Register:
Company name as registered at Companies House and trading name (if different);
Registered company address and telephone number and trading address and telephone number [if different];
Names of all company directors and the company secretary;
The date on which the agency/business commenced trading;
Whether it operates as an Employment business/employment agency or both;
Annual turnover;
Number of temporary workers/permanent candidates on the agency/businessís books or number of temporary and/or permanent placements per year;
The sector[s] the agency/business operates in;
Date of last DTI inspection and the outcome i.e. whether the agency/business was ordered to make changes to their operation; and
Any fines or prosecutions made against the agency/business within last 10 years.
These criteria will be updated annually when the fee becomes payable and a new emblem/certificate issued at that time.
Enforcement
Entry on the Register will not be pursuant to any formal audit. The system will instead be self-certifying and enforced by the DTI where an agency or business is found to be in default. A publicity campaign should be launched in advance of the official Register becoming operational so that the industry and its markets are made aware of it. Employment agencies and employment businesses appearing on the Register, their clients and work-seekers will be encouraged to report any situation where they have reasonable grounds for believing that a recruitment enterprise is trading while unlisted. It is suggested that this can be done by telephone, by email or by some mechanism via the DTI website.
Compulsory
Having a correct entry on the Register will be compulsory for all employment agencies and employment businesses. Any failure to provide the correct details for entry on the Register or any failure to record the company details at all will be an offence.
Self-Certification/Oath
It is further proposed that each employment agency/business should be required to sign an oath stating the following:
ìI [name and title] hereby certify on behalf of the directors of [company name [trading as]] that the details we have provided to be held on the Central List of Employment Agencies and Businesses are true and correct and that [company name] holds at its trading premises a copy of The Employment Agencies Act 1973 and the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2004 and that all relevant members of the companyís s staff are familiar with and abide by their provisions.î
Draft scheme for statutory registration of employment agencies and employment
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