ëBest intentionsí cause problems for recruitment agencies

The fact that ëpositive discriminationí is now illegal is posing problems for some niche companies in the recruitment industry. Market intelligence providers Key Noteís new report ñ Recruitment Agencies (Temporary and Contract) ñ examines the market for temporary and contract recruitment, including the development of niche recruitment consultancies.

The growth of niche companies that recruit staff from particular age or ethnic groups has been a noticeable feature of the market for temporary and contract recruitment. However, legal issues continue to be a cause for concern. In the light of recent anti-discrimination legislation, these organisations need to be extremely careful in their marketing and operations. The exclusion of applicants outside their specialist offering may lead to them being seen to be acting illegally.

New age discrimination legislation is worded in such a way that if a recruitment consultancy which specialises in older workers prevents younger workers from being considered for a job, they are deemed to be acting outside the law. As such, some firms that have been set up with the best intentions must adopt the utmost caution in both their advertising of positions and in the promotion of their organisation.

In overall terms, the UK temporary and contract recruitment market has experienced significant growth in 2006 ñ in the year to March 2006, it increased both in value and in terms of the number of appointments made. The market was worth 21.56bn*, which represents a rise of 6.4% on the previous year. The key reason cited for the rapid rate of growth in recent years has been growth in the UK economy, which has served to increase the number of jobs during 2006.

Whilst common sense may tell us that this is unfair, if when a recruitment company focuses on one type of person, others are excluded from the firmís recruitment activity, this is illegal. The exception to this rule is candidates with disabilities ñ the Disability Discrimination Act does not cover those who are not disabled, whereas the Sex Discrimination Act covers both men and women, etc. It is also possible that potential clients may be deterred from working with niche recruiters for fear of being accused of acting in a discriminating way themselves.

For the industry as a whole, Key Note forecasts continued steady growth between 2007 and 2011, based on recent growth in the UK economy and the recruitment market. As such, Key Note forecasts that, in the year ending March 2007, the total value of the temporary and contract recruitment market will increase by 6% to 22.85bn, rising to a value of 27.77bn in 2011.