Members of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation's (REC) recruitment-to-recruitment group could face expulsion if they do not meet soon-to-be-introduced quality standards.

The upgraded criteria for membership to the group will include following ethical procedures — a ban on headhunting from clients. Agencies will also need to obtain candidates' permission to send out their CV to prevent the emailing of such material to the entire market.

Group chairman and joint managing director of McCall, Nick Bancroft, told Recruiter: "The [rec-to-rec] market is still tarnished with an image that needs to be improved. There are still too many agencies that use rec-to-recs as a last resort rather than a first choice.

We want to give the group some clout rather than it just being a nice logo for advertising. We are trying to attract companies who are committed to improving the standard of the sector not those who just want to make a quick buck.

The upgraded criteria will be monitored through the REC's complaints procedure which is open to candidates and clients.

Bancroft says another key focus of the rec-to-rec group will be attracting more people into the recruitment industry who want to follow it as a career. "We will do this by attending job fairs and forming closer relationships with universities," adds Bancroft.

• The rec-to-rec group has revealed the latest six-month figures, for March to August 2006, from its diversity study. The number of females placed in the sector rose by 4%; they now make up 49% of all placements.

Also the number of placements in positions earning £25-50k increased by 9%. "It's a candidate-short market and companies are paying more to attract candidates," said Bancroft. The sectors which saw the most placements were commercial (22%), IT (16%) and finance (16%).