Recruitment Matters- April 2015

Recruitment Matters Issue 33 April 2015

Employee or worker?

Clarity sought on employment status

The 2-3 Intelligence and REC Talk Temporary work pays, recruiters back in profits and what is the 8th habit

an 4-5Keeping eye on Legal

research that as a result of piecemeal changes to employment laws over a period of time there is significant uncertainty on the part of many employees and workers, and among some employers on the issue of employment status and associated employment rights,” she says.

“Greater clarity on employment status and consideration of a simplified ‘one-stop-shop’ approach to enforcement will help reduce legal ambiguity and support better work and working lives.”

If any changes are recommended, it is expected they will be looked at by Parliament following May’s General Election.

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should be referred to the employment business to deal with,” he says.

“Ultimately it will be for an Employment Tribunal to decide whether an employment relationship has been created; however, you must ensure that the contracts in place genuinely and accurately reflect the actual relationship between all parties and that the actual relationship is not operating in such a way as to create a direct relationship between the worker and the client.”

The review has been welcomed by many in the industry. CIPD deputy chief executive Susannah Clements hopes it will offer clarity.

“We know from our

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With 2015 an important year for recruitment law, the head of Legal Services explains all

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Agencies are being advised to consider the employment status of candidates when it comes to disciplinary matters.

Both the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) have launched reviews into employment status.

Individuals are divided into employees, workers and the self-employed, each with their own set of rights. The review will look at whether the statuses need updating to fit with current workplace practices.

An issue that continues to arise is who is responsible for disciplining temporary workers – their agency or the organisation they’re working for?

Recruitment & Employment Confederation legal adviser Chris Cuckney says a grey area exists with workers who enjoy similar privileges to employees.

But he says agencies carry responsibility for the most part.

“If a client has any issues or complaints about a temporary worker, they

What’s inside

Conduct

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6Legal lowdown

Meet the Legal Services team and discover how the Legal Helpline can help REC members

Institute of 7 Recruitment Professionals Francesca Piccolo from Resourcing Group and Sarah Thewlis from Thewlis Graham Associates

and 8 Events Training Sign up for a legal course, check out the Scale Up Podcasts and get REC Audited

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Leading the Industry

the intelligence Nina Mguni, senior researcher at the REC, explains The latest Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) JobsOutlook data provides interesting insights into the way that temporary work may evolve, given a number of notable shifts which have surfaced in the last year.

Since January 2014, on average around 45% of employers have stated that they intend to increase their number of temporary workers.

But behind this consistent figure are shifts that suggest the changing way in which employers use temporary workers and, as a corollary, the reasons why people decide to take on temporary work.

We know that skill shortages are becoming more acute, and this is impacting on the type of agency workers employers are looking for. As part of our monthly JobsOutlook survey, employers have been asked to record the main reasons they use temporary workers.

Looking back at January 2013 and January 2014, the main reasons for use of agency worker were ‘covering shortterm staff leave’ and ‘meeting peaks in demand’. However, during the last six months, ‘providing short-term access to key strategic skills’ has become the prominent reason given month-on-month.

In January 2015, three quarters of employers (75%) identified this as the reason they use

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agency workers. This compares to 60% of employers identifying this as the main reason in January 2014.

Employers are offering more money to temporary workers.

This may reflect the increased demand from employers to quickly access sought after skills, but it also corresponds with the upward shift in pay rates in general. Nonetheless, there are greater incentives being offered to temporary workers with particular skill sets.

When looking at the pay rates of temporary workers compared to permanent workers, the REC JobsOutlook data shows there has been a steady increase in the proportion of employers stating that temporary workers earn more than permanent. Last month’s JobsOutlook showed that 36% of employers pay temporary workers more than their permanent counterparts.

This proportion was 19% in March 2014.

We know there are myriad reasons why people work as a temporary worker. Our research report called Flex Appeal shows 12% of people who have worked as a temporary worker did so to earn more money than they would in a permanent role. The same research also shows that of the GB population, 41% would consider working as a temporary worker in the future.

40

■ Upper quartile ■ Median ■ Lower quartile

30

%

20 10 0 -10 -20

Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov Dec 13 14

Fig 2: Recruiter net profit margin 12

■ Upper quartile ■ Median ■ Lower quartile

10 8 6 %

Temporary work pays

Fig 1: RIB members NDR growth

4 2 0 -2 Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov 13 14

Recruiters in profit For the last few months we have talked about the strong revenue growth that recruiters have been achieving; this month we are turning our focus to profits.

The good news is that RIB member median net disposable revenue (NDR) in the three months to December was up over 14% on a year ago, reflecting a steady acceleration in NDR growth since spring 2013.

Indeed, more than 25% of RIB members are seeing NDR 30% higher than a year ago, a trend that has been sustained for most of 2014.

Sadly, a quarter of RIB members are seeing NDR lower than a year ago, a disappointing figure given the recovering performance we have seen in the employment market, and reflecting that a quarter of RIB members have seen no growth in revenues over the last 12 months.

We would, however, caution that however strong NDR growth has been, its growth of 14% is lagging turnover growth of 18% in the three months in September, reflecting a fall in profit margins.

Net profit margins have been declining throughout 2014, with median margin falling from over 4% at the beginning of the year to around 3% last autumn. Indeed a quarter of RIB recruiters are seeing losses at the net profit level; we hope that 2015 sees a more positive environment for all recruiters.

• Chris Ansell is chief financial officer at Recruitment Industry Benchmarking (RIB). The RIB Index provides bespoke confidential reports on industry trends. See www.ribindex.com; info@ribindex. com: 020 8544 9807. The RIB is a strategic partner of the REC.

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Leading the Industry

The 8th Habit Tom Hadley, director of policy and professional services at the REC

The View

Last month saw the publication of our ‘7 Secrets of a successful recruitment entrepreneur’ report – the latest of our ‘7 Secrets’ series.

Within this veritable feast of first-hand insight into what drives success in our industry, a number of themes raised by successful business leaders can be linked to developments in the public policy and legal arena. There is also an interesting link back to the wisdom of the late Stephen R Covey – author of the original bestseller, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Key areas flagged by recruitment entrepreneurs in our report include: be different, invest in the right building blocks and be bold. But how on earth do these topics link back to public policy, compliance and legal awareness – surely complete anathema to any self-respecting entrepreneur?

Here’s how: • Being ahead of the game in terms of legal and policy developments is an increasingly important source of differentiation for high-growth recruitment businesses.

• Investing in infrastructure includes developing effective compliance mechanisms that are pivotal to sustainable growth and reputation.

• Being bold means being aware of policy developments that can create new market opportunities on both a domestic and international front.

On this last point, a great example is the number of UK recruitment businesses seeking overseas opportunities – often on the back of favourable regulatory changes – or identifying potential new sectors.

Being bold is also about being prepared to speak out on behalf of the industry as a whole in a sometimes hostile political and media environment.

This brings us back to the teachings of Dr Covey, who followed his 7 Habits opus with a 2004 sequel: The 8th Habit.

And what was this addendum? The 8th habit is: ‘Find your voice and inspire others to find theirs’. Covey talks about finding your ‘unique personal significance’ and the importance of inspiring others. This is also a recurring theme in our report on recruitment entrepreneurs.

Essentially it is about building a legacy, being selfless and being prepared to look beyond short-term business priorities. We see this every day in our industry, with recruitment leaders helping to make a difference on key social and labour market challenges such as youth unemployment, diversity and inclusion, and social mobility.

The 8th habit is also about helping to nurture the next generation of leaders. Our own ‘7 Secrets’ report includes a flurry of testimonials on the importance of surrounding yourself with good people, succession planning and giving people the opportunity to show what they can do. The next generation of recruitment leaders are in good hands and will be well briefed on the importance of keeping a close eye on external variables like public policy and legal developments.

In the run up to the election, debate around the country’s economic performance is going to become more and more heated. And our flexible labour market is going to be at the heart of that debate. When debates get heated and the stakes are high, truth and accuracy can sometimes become victims to rhetoric and point scoring.

Already negative stories have appeared in the media, criticising the use of agency workers. I’m often called upon to speak up on behalf of our industry, and I find myself repeatedly having to correct misconceptions.

For example, the idea that the Swedish Derogation (or payment between assignments) is a ‘loophole’, or that all the new jobs being created are temporary – both of these statements are factually wrong.

Temporary work is a vital element of the labour market and a mainstream part of the economy; more than one in three people in the UK have worked as a contractor, freelancer or agency worker at some point in their career.

To get this message across to the politicians in advance of the general election we need your help. We want as many members as possible to take our Manifesto for Jobs and talk to prospective MPs. We need to show politicians that people choose to take on agency work. Our research report ‘Flex appeal’ showed that people decide to be temps or freelance because it gives them the ability to fit work around other responsibilities, like children, caring responsibilities or studying. They value the opportunity to get work quickly, and to pick up skills and experience that they wouldn’t be able to get elsewhere.

We expect the political rhetoric to get worse before it gets better. We need to be clear and challenge the assumptions and myths. The recruitment industry is highly regulated, and the additional compliance process that agencies have to follow in order to be a member of the REC is more robust than any other professional body or trade body in the UK. We take compliance extremely seriously; last year we refused membership to 193 agencies that failed to meet our code of professional conduct.

I’ve published a blog post expanding on these issues, which you can view at: www.rec.uk.com/agencywork.

Please help us highlight the great work our industry does helping individuals get jobs and businesses get the people they need. We make the UK jobs market work.

• You can follow Tom on Twitter @hadleyscomment

• For recruitment industry insight and advice follow @kevingreenrec

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The Big Talking Point

Law in 2015

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Eye on Legal: Recruitment

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2015 is shaping up to be an important year for recruitment law, and the Legal Services team has broken down some of the big issues for recruiters. Recruitment Matters editor Michael Oliver spoke with the REC’s head of Legal Services Lewina Farrell about what’s on the team’s radar this year The Conduct Regulations and Advertising in EEA Countries The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations 2003 – better known as the Conduct Regulations – were tightened in early January. They now include a provision prohibiting agencies and businesses from advertising vacancies exclusively in other European Economic Area (EEA) countries.

“The government wants to create a level playing field for workers by requiring employment agencies and employment businesses to ensure that all job vacancies are advertised in Great Britain and in English,” according to a government release.

This might sound familiar, with recruiters thinking that a law like this already exists.

It does.

“Agencies and employment businesses would have already been prevented

from recruiting exclusively overseas under the Equality Act, which prohibits discriminating against any person based on race or nationality – including UK citizens,” explains Farrell.

“As far as we’re concerned, this amendment wasn’t required.”

A solicitor at REC business partner Brabners, Simon Bloch, agrees.

“The fact that there were only 31 respondents to the government’s consultation on the matter, the majority of which were unable to provide evidence of any practices of advertising exclusively in other EEA countries, tells a story as to how much of an impact this will really have,” he says.

The problem isn’t with recruiters, but with businesses approaching people directly and bringing them over to the UK. Hiring foreign nationals isn’t uncommon, and the visa system has a rigorous set of checks. It seems much less about tackling

HMRC is very clear they want this information and they’re not interested in all the commercial arrangements between the parties, and they’re not particularly concerned with the data protection issues either Lewina Farrell 4 Recruitment Matters April 2015

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wayward agencies and more about appearances. Farrell agrees it’s too easy to point the finger at recruitment agencies.

“We’re up there with estate agents and lawyers,” she says. “It’s not dealing with the bigger issue.”

At the time of writing, the REC is also waiting for new Conduct Regulations Farrell hopes will cover the rest of the recruitment supply chain.

New reporting requirements for recruiters In April 2014, changes were made to the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003, which increased the potential liability for agencies supplying temporary workers who work through an intermediary.

Things will change again on 6 April 2015, when new reporting requirements come into effect.

HMRC will want a quarterly report on all workers supplied to an end client, irrespective of who pays the individual.

They want to know who that worker is, what type of entity they’re working through, and what the intermediary has been paid by the employment business.

HMRC will then use that to check all of those entities have been paying the correct tax and National Insurance.

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H an olid d C ay om pa m y i ss io n

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combrel pan la ies

Lewina Farrell says the impact will be huge: “This is a massive issue for our members. They already report on any temps on their own payroll. But they’re now going to have to report on individuals working through any intermediary including umbrella companies, CIS intermediaries, personal service companies and partnerships.”

The reporting obligation now shifts to those who deal with workers at the end of the supply chain. This is where things could get tricky.

“The reporting party is the business with the contract with the end user client. So where our members have that contract they will have the reporting obligation, but if there’s a vendor in place, it would be the vendor that has the obligation, which means it has to get the information from further down the supply chain,” Farrell says.

It can’t be reasonable to expect businesses to be exposed to open-ended liabilities when they’ve complied with the legislation Lewina Farrell The logistics of supplying that level of information is by no means simple either. Vendors and agencies will need specialised software for compiling the information, for which HMRC has only recently issued requirements.

But it also runs into issues of data protection and access, with vendors being asked to produce information they otherwise don’t have access to.

“HMRC is very clear they want this information and they’re not interested in all the commercial arrangements between the parties, and they’re not particularly concerned with the data protection issues either,” Farrell explains.

“There are some sectors where our members will do a lot of PAYE, but over the years there has been a growth of intermediaries across all sectors. But the changes introduced in 2014 have already caused issues for our members.

“For example, some contractors are reluctant to work PAYE, in the construction sector, for instance. Yet all of the liability rests with the employment business and only with the client and the individual worker or their intermediary in circumstances where fraudulent documents have been provided.”

Farrell says the best way for employment businesses’ vendors to approach contractors for the information is to be upfront about the new legal requirements.

She says that contractors and intermediaries who do not provide the required information may find that they lose contracts because the reporting party cannot take the risk of not complying with the new obligations.

The Legal Services team has already produced a number of guides and a webinar about the changes all of which are available on the REC website.

Holiday pay and commission In November 2014 the Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled that overtime payments should be considered when calculating a worker’s holiday pay. The big question facing the tribunal this year is whether an employee’s commission should also be considered.

While the ruling is still pending, the REC Legal Services team is already considering the implications of a decision in favour of including commission in holiday pay.

“It can’t be reasonable to expect businesses to be exposed to open-ended liabilities when they’ve complied with the legislation,” says Farrell.

“Bonuses and commission tend to be paid either monthly or quarterly, but would consultants try tying their holiday in with the dates of commission? That might be administratively difficult for everybody, but it’s possible. But whether anyone would is another matter.”

Read more The fact that there were only 31 respondents to the government’s consultation on the matter, the majority of which were unable to provide evidence of any practices of advertising exclusively in other EEA countries, tells a story as to how much of an impact this will really have

The REC’s Legal Services team frequently updates members on the latest recruitment law changes.

Plus the dedicated Legal Helpline is operated by a team of legal advisors who understand recruitment law and can advise on any issue that may arise. For the latest, visit www.rec. uk.com/legal

Simon Bloch

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Legal Update

The Legal Helpline forms a part of the REC’s legal offering. Unlimited access to the legal service is a core element of REC corporate membership in 2015.

In 2014, the Legal Helpline responded to 16,500 queries, a 32% increase on 2013.

Recruitment Matters meets the advisers who help make it happen Charlotte Allery Legal qualifications: • Bachelor of Laws (LLB) Hons, University of Southampton • Legal Practice Course, College of Law (Guildford) • Currently completing a Master of Laws (LLM) in International Legal Practice, University of Law Favourite areas of law: • Family friendly rights • The Equality Act 2010 • The Agency Workers Regulations 2010 Funniest question asked: “Can I pay my workers in frozen chicken?”

Chris Cuckney Legal qualifications: • Law LLB, University of Kent • Legal Practice Course, College of Law, • LLM, King’s College London (specialising in Intellectual Property) Favourite areas of law: • General Contract Law queries • TUPE (TUPE is the recognised abbreviation for the Transfer of Undertakings [Protection of Employment] Regulations 2006 and employee dismissals) • Equality Act 2010

REC’s Legal Services team

Abena Darko Legal Qualifications: • Law LLB, University of Essex • Legal Practice Course, College of Law Practice areas on the helpline I find the most interesting: • General contract law queries, employee dismissals and restrictive covenants • Agency Workers Regulations 2010 • Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) • Tax Area I’m not particularly a fan of: Statutory maternity pay and leave

Ryan Huggett Legal qualifications: • Law LLB: First Class Honours • Legal Practice Course Favourite areas of law: • Tax: CIS, ITEPA, IR35, umbrella companies, travel and subsistence • Contract law: Introduction fees, restrictive covenants, general contractual issues • Employment law: TUPE, dismissals and employment rights • Commercial law: The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations 2003, Agency Workers Regulations 2010 and Equality Act 2010 • Data protection

The rules and regulations that govern the recruitment industry are constantly evolving. At the same time, employers look to recruiters to be highly informed about current trends and issues.

The REC’s legal resources are in place to meet this need. In addition to our Legal Helpline, our members have access to in-depth online guidance and updates. Our team is dedicated to informing members about the latest development in legislation via our legal news pages, and our Legal Guide provides easy-tonavigate information on over 50 topics relating to employment and commercial law.

Legal Services is responsible for compiling and publishing Legal bulletin, which is sent out six times every year, and has just launched Legal bitesize, which is six smaller versions to guide members in the intervening months.

Where the Legal Services team can’t help members, they are able to direct them to the REC’s Legal Partners.

Our resources also include a library of model documents and policies, a Holiday Pay Calculator, and factsheets to help you get to grips with some of the more complicated or new aspects of relevant law. These tools are designed to help our members provide an expert service to their clients and to promote best practice in all aspects of recruitment.

Access the REC’s legal resources at: www.rec.uk.com/legal-resources

Business development: Bullhorn Bullhorn is the global leader in customer relationship management software for the staffing and recruiting industries.

Since pioneering cloud-based recruitment software in 1999, Bullhorn has grown into the world’s largest provider of customer and candidate relationship management software for the staffing industry, handling one billion transactions each week and over $100bn (£65.7bn) in client revenue to date.

It recently reached 10,000 UK users and is rapidly expanding its customer base across the globe.

Bullhorn creates cloud-based software solutions that help recruiters put the world to work. As the global market leader in staffing and recruiting software, our innovations power the

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operations of fast-growing start-ups up through the world’s largest staffing brands.

Headquartered in Boston, with offices in St. Louis, Richmond, Vancouver, London and Sydney, Bullhorn provides a full suite of recruitment software including an applicant tracking system, customer relationship management (CRM) system, back office solution, VMS integration, and social recruiting product.

The company has more than 10,000 clients representing nearly 350,000 users across 150 countries.

Bullhorn is offering REC members 26 months for the price of 24 – two months free.

For more information please contact Ayla Tapper by email: atapper@bullhorn.com or by telephone: 0203 587 7313

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Inspiration

Behind the scenes at the Institute of Recruitment Professionals Francesca Piccolo won Recruiter of the Year at the 2014 IRP Awards

Congratulations on your win, how was 2014 for you?

Thank you – it was definitely a highlight of what was a remarkable year.

I was promoted, and now run the London Maintenance Division of Resourcing Group, leading a team of 14 consultants.

You’ve worked for Resourcing Group for seven years – what sectors do you cover?

Resourcing Group is a specialist recruiter operating in three core markets: construction and property, building maintenance and the public sector.

The maintenance division – which I run – is the market leader in the supply of talent to maintenance contractors working in the public sector.

What are some of the biggest challenges in recruiting for your sector?

Candidate supply. There are real shortages across the maintenance sector, this is amplified by specific skills and experience our candidates need to be able to effectively work in a social housing environment, with many involving work in tenanted properties.

What is the biggest challenge facing the recruitment industry in 2015?

As the economy strengthens, recruiters will need to increase focus and knowledge to meet client and candidate expectations. Recruiters will need to understand their markets inside and out from the latest technology developments to understanding individual client needs.

By taking the time to understand the motivations and challenges of everyone involved in the process this will assist in the creation of long-term relationships.

What I know Sarah Thewlis is the managing director of Thewlis Graham Associates Good recruitment comes in threes It’s about good processes, good diagnostic skills and good listening skills. What holds it all together is a certain amount of magic. In any one search, you’re going to be dealing with a number of people, so you’ve got to have systems that work. If you don’t manage that, you’ll fall by the wayside. The magic is about getting all those aspects and seeing what a good fit is for both clients and candidates.

Go deep When speaking to candidates, you must get underneath their CV and see what they can bring to the party in all circumstances. It’s always worth seeing where things have gone well and not so well for them. How people cope in adversity may not be the same as how people behave when things are going very well.

Three important tools Integrity, honesty and clarity. Integrity is so important. I came into this industry having had a background as a CEO for 14 years and working as a customer of recruiting, where there was a lot of pretty poor practice out there. Being straight with the candidate and telling them if they’re right or not right for the job and building up that trust is vital. You’ve got to be honest about that.

What advice would you give your younger self on her first day?

Trust your instincts. Sure, there will be knockbacks along the way but don’t be discouraged, think about the long term and it will all work out.

Also don’t be afraid to pick up the phone – no call will ever be that bad!

Clue clients in Something recruiters are going to have to explain to clients is they can’t sit around. Clients take a long time to make up their own minds about hiring someone, forcing people to jump through more and more hoops. It’s about building a relationship between the candidates and clients. You can’t keep going on first dates forever, you have to make a decision and start building a relationship.

What does 2015 hold?

It’s really only just started and job volumes are up and the confidence we saw return to the market seems to be continuing to grow. For Resourcing Group it will be a year of expansion, with two new offices already in the planning and there will be an expansion of our core offering.

Your brand is important One thing recruiters are looking more at is social media and the whole engagement side of it. Browsing LinkedIn is just one way of doing it, but partly it’s about putting your brand out.

Candidates are buying into your firm and deciding whether to use you as a passport for their next career move.

To keep up to date with everything the Institute of Recruitment Professionals is doing, please visit www.rec-irp.uk.com

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Events and training

Know the letter of the law with an RBA legal course The Recruitment & Employment Confederation is committed to ensuring all its members are compliant with employment and recruitment law.

We run four legal training courses through our Recruitment Business Academy (RBA).

For more information and to book a course, visit www.rec.uk.com/rba Recruitment Law: Understanding the Essentials This programme covers the essential legislation that everyone working in recruitment should be aware of including: Employment Agencies Act, 2003 Conduct Regulations, contractual law, candidate and client terms, data protection, health and safety, discrimination and AWR. It also covers the key insurances you need to protect your business and legislation surrounding direct marketing.

Recruitment Law: Managing PAYE Temporary Workers This programme will enable you to differentiate between employees, workers and the genuinely self-employed.

Covering the statutory rights involved with payment and benefits for both workers and employees. In addition the programme also covers family friendly and working time legal rights, the principles of employing or engaging young workers and the implications of the Agency Worker Regulations.

Recruitment Law: Supplying Limited Company Contractors This programme explains the different types of limited company contractor and the implications for contractors, the employment business and hirers, including the different types of contract terms involved in the supply of limited company contractors to hirers. This programme also discusses the practical element of IR35 and the tax implications of dealing with different types of limited company including Managed Service Companies, the obligations under the Conduct Regulations for opted out limited company contractors and how the Agency Worker Regulations apply to limited company contractors.

Employment Law: Manage your Employees and Protect Your Business This programme will help you understand the importance of having comprehensive, clear and consistent policies – such as staff handbook, social media and remuneration – in place to help you protect your business, implement and communicate them to all stakeholders. It also takes you through all of the key employment legislation you need to be aware of, from employment contracts through to termination and dismissal so you can successfully manage performance, absence and behaviour within a legal context.

Download the new Legal bitesize Following the phenomenal popularity of the Legal bulletin, the REC has launched a new by-monthly legal publication: Legal bitesize.

This two-page newsletter takes a look at an important legal issue in the recruitment industry.

Like the larger Legal bulletin, Legal bitesize is always sharp, on point and up to date.

It’s available free for all REC members.

Visit www.rec.uk.com/bitesize to download

Subscribe to the new Scale Up Podcast in iTunes As part of the Scale Up campaign, the REC has launched its first podcast series.

The Scale Up Podcasts see REC chief executive Kevin Green talk to some of the movers and shakers in the recruitment industry.

Episode one features an in-depth conversation with Phaidon International chief executive Adam Buck. Over the last 10 years, Adam has taken Phaidon from a start up in his bedroom to a multi-national juggernaut.

The podcasts will feature insights from some of the most successful entrepreneurs working in the industry today.

All episodes are available to download from the REC website at rec.uk.com/ scaleuppodcasts, or subscribe on iTunes.

Be among the best with REC Audited REC Audited is the gold standard in recruitment practice.

The audit now goes much further beyond just compliance, requiring agencies to demonstrate that they operate best practice in areas such as customer service, staff development, diversity and client management.

The process starts with an online

diagnostic and is followed by a tailored onsite audit by one of our experts, who will not just check your documentation, but will talk to you and your staff about your processes and systems, providing practical support, to ensure you truly are a best practice recruiter.

The REC also offers an audited package for agencies operating in the Education Sector. REC Audited Education ensures

Recruitment Matters The official magazine of The Recruitment & Employment Confederation Dorset House, 1st Floor, 27-45 Stamford Street, London SE1 9NT Tel: 020 7009 2100 www.rec.uk.com

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safeguarding and that agencies are undertaking all the relevant checks when recruiting teachers.

REC Audited Education will enable schools and education providers to be confident that they are using an accredited supplier, who puts standards at the centre of their business.

To find out more, visit rec.uk.com/audited

Membership Department: Membership: 020 7009 2100. Customer Services: 020 7009 2100 Publishers: Redactive Publishing Ltd, 17 Britton Street, London EC1M 5TP. Tel: 020 7880 6200. www.redactive.co.uk Publisher: Aaron Nicholls aaron.nicholls@redactive.co.uk Tel: 020 7880 8547 Editorial: Editor Michael Oliver michael.oliver@redactive.co.uk Tel: 020 7009 2173. Production Editor: Vanessa Townsend Production: Production Executive: Rachel Young. rachel.young@redactive.co.uk Tel: 020 7880 6209 Printing: Printed by Woodford Litho © 2015 Recruitment Matters. Although every effort is made to ensure accuracy, neither REC, Redactive Publishing Ltd nor the authors can accept liability for errors or omissions. Views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of the REC or Redactive Publishing Ltd. No responsibility can be accepted for unsolicited manuscripts or transparencies. No reproduction in whole or part without written permission.

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