Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC

Recruitment and Employment Confederation –

Compliance

In an industry as highly regulated and controlled as asbestos removal it is important to ensure the most stringent standards are maintained. This applies within the temporary workforce, so it is important that clients, workers and agencies are all aware of their responsibilities to ensure high quality in the supply chain. It is also important for trade associations like ARCA and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) to tell their members in the simplest terms what compliance is necessary.

One of the most important roles that an agency plays in the recruitment process is making sure that the candidates they introduce to the client have the required skills and qualifications to do their roles safely and compliantly. In the world of asbestos removal this would mean that evidence of appropriate training or ARCA ARMI Skills Cards would need to be shown to, and checked, by the recruitment business before those workers do any work for their clients. This is a requirement for the employment business under the Conduct Regulations, which is the main legal rulebook for the recruitment industry. These state that an employment business has to confirm that all workers have “the experience, training, qualifications and any authorisation which the hirer considers are necessary, or which are required by law or by any professional body, to work in the position which the hirer seeks to fill” before letting that candidate do any work for a client. This helps to make sure that standards within the recruitment industry are maintained and only the best candidates are put into work. This is especially important for asbestos removal given the hazards involved.

For a labour supply business to be a part of ARCA, they also have to be a member of the REC. This means that all of the REC’s resources and guidance are available for those businesses to take advantage of. The REC has a whole range of contracts, templates, guidance and a free legal helpline that can be used to make following the rules as easy as possible. These resources are used by employment businesses to help them keep up with changing legal and compliance requirements and keep standards high. The REC demands a robust approach to compliance from its members who must pass a test every 2 years to demonstrate their commitment to high standards.

As well as this the REC has its own Code of Professional Practice to ensure recruiters work ethically and promote good practice. This is enforced by the REC’s Complaints and Disciplinary Procedure which allows the REC to investigate complaints against members by workers and clients. The Code ensures that REC members operate to a higher standard, which in turn leads to high-quality candidates. The complaints team’s investigation process can result in cases being escalated where necessary to our industry-led Professional Standards Committee (PSC), of which both the TUC and CBI are members. The committee has the power to sanction or in extreme cases expel members. It is this process of maintains client trust in our members.

This all shows the commitment that agencies have to helping the asbestos removal sector maintain the highest standards by recruiting the best candidates. The REC and ARCA both recognise the importance of good compliance, and together with agencies, we can demonstrate this to clients in the industry.

Patrick Milnes of REC www.rec.uk.com