The British Institute of Recruiters (BIOR) has launched an online documentary audit designed to give recruitment agencies a publicly verifiable record of checks on their compliance processes.
Available to BIOR Agency Members, the audit costs £895 plus VAT for two years. The membership fee is separate. BIOR says the cycle includes a free declaration at 12 months, when the business confirms that its documents and declarations remain current.
Policies and placement files
According to BIOR, the assessment has two parts: a 15-point review of the business and a sample of five placement files from the previous six months. BIOR selects the files rather than allowing the agency to choose which placements to submit.
The business review covers areas including terms issued to work-seekers, Key Information Documents, payroll and umbrella-company arrangements, right-to-work checks, agency workers’ rights, data protection and complaints. Each sampled placement is assessed against a ten-point checklist, including whether terms were issued before work began and whether payslips match the Key Information Document.
BIOR says its standard is published before evidence is uploaded and carries a version number, which is retained with the agency’s record. The process is completed online without a site visit, meeting or call.
Results and public verification
The institute says it will issue an outcome within 10 working days of submission, showing each assessment line as met or not met alongside the relevant legal provision. Where a gap can be addressed, further evidence can be uploaded within 20 working days.
Clients and tender panels can check an agency’s current audit status and expiry date through BIOR’s public verification service. BIOR also provides a certificate and a website or email badge linking to the live record. It says a status that is not renewed, or where membership lapses, will appear as lapsed.
Azmat Mohammed, Director-General of the British Institute of Recruiters, said: “We built an audit that an agency does online in its own time, that we mark line by line against the law, and that puts the result where the client can see it.”
Employment law context
BIOR says the standard covers the employment law changes introduced in April and October 2026. The April changes should be understood as specific entitlements: HMRC guidance confirms that paternity leave and unpaid parental leave became available from the first day of employment on 6 April 2026, subject to the applicable notice rules. Eligibility requirements for statutory paternity pay were unchanged.
Separately, commencement regulations brought into force on 30 October 2026 the strengthened requirement for employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, together with provisions on harassment by third parties.
The BIOR audit is a professional-body assessment, not government certification or a guarantee of legal compliance. It examines the stated standard and a sample of records; it does not establish that every placement complies or that every obligation outside the standard has been met. Agencies remain responsible for their legal duties, and clients should undertake their own due diligence.
Further details are available on BIOR’s audit page.
