Senior figures in the UK recruitment industry today launched a drive to hit back at criminal activities aimed either at recruiters or at those using the industry’s services.

Executives from a variety of major agencies and job boards including Impellam, Kelly Services, Manpower, Monster and Totaljobs offered a rare show of solidarity with the official launch of the Recruitment Industry Counter-Fraud Forum, known as SAFER (Safe Advice for Employment and Recruitment).

Stephen Brewis, SAFER chair of Impellam, told an audience at New Scotland Yard in London: “Regrettably, the field of recruitment does offer many opportunities to those wishing to benefit from fraud: by obtaining a false identity to obtain state benefits while working, by infiltrating organisations’ clients for subsequent theft, by offering spurious services to jobseekers or even by duping service providers with bogus jobs.”

He continued: “The vision of SAFER is that all aspects of the industry cooperate with each other to help safeguard our wide range of stakeholders: our jobseekers, our clients, the wider public including the police and other authorities, and … our businesses and stakeholders. By being forewarned – aware – we are all forearmed and able to take action.”

The non-profit making organisation will have volunteer staffing and minimal costs, Brewis said. It will serve as a focal point for collecting information and inform the industry, clients and jobseekers of crime-related trends, issues and possible solutions.

See the 26 November issue of Recruiter for more details.