Staffing industry bodies rally to support EAS as fears of abolition grow
18 June 2013
Bodies representing the recruitment industry have rallied to support the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS) following unconfirmed reports that it is due to be abolished.
Tue, 18 Jun 2013Bodies representing the recruitment industry have rallied to support the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS) following unconfirmed reports that it is due to be abolished.
Speaking at the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) AGM last week, Kevin Green, chief executive officer of the REC said: “We have it on good authority that they [the government] are going to get rid of EAS.” Green said the REC had “informally heard this” the day before the AGM and that an announcement to this effect is expected in July. Green said that government austerity was the reason given.
However, the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) tells Recruiter: “There are no plans to abolish the EAS.”
“The government is currently analysing responses to the consultation on reforming the regulatory framework for the recruitment sector and will be publishing a response in early July.”
Green said that on the basis of his information, in place of taking their complaint to EAS, aggrieved candidates of recruitment agencies would be able to take a claim to an Employment Tribunal. This option is contained in the government's consultation document that was published in January.
Following the AGM, Green told Recruiter that the abolition of EAS would be “a disaster for the industry and a retrograde step”. It would leave candidates and clients of non-REC member companies without proper recourse for their complaints, he explained. “Are disadvantaged vulnerable workers on minimum wage really going to take a recruitment agency to an Employment Tribunal? I don’t think so,” said Green.
Adrian Marlowe, chairman of the Association of Recruitment Consultancies tells Recruiter that anticipated savings of £700k from the abolition of EAS are “an absolute drop in the ocean in the context of policing a £24bn industry”.
EAS is a success, says Marlowe. “It is an efficient, low-cost service that delivers real results and retains an equilibrium in the industry that is absolutely crucial.”
Sam Hurley, head of external affairs at the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) tells Recruiter she is not aware of any plans to abolish the EAS. APSCo is very supportive of the EAS, she says. “There are not a lot of inspectors but they are excellent,” she says.
Azmat Mohammed (pictured right), director general of the Institute of Recruiters, tells Recruiter that the EAS’s effectiveness is limited by its lack of resources. He suggests that funding of the EAS could be put on a sounder footing. This could be achieved either by a levy taken from staffing companies’ membership fees, or by agencies doing a lot of the EAS’s administrative work, thereby reducing its operating cost. This would leave it to focus on enforcement action, says Mohammed.
“If the REC and APSCo are willing to get involved, we would be willing to start talking with them to see if there is any appetite from EAS or the government to accept these proposals,” says Mohammed.
“This is an area where we should put our resources together. We have to save it, but we have to make it more effective.”
And Marlowe says he would be happy to sit down with Kevin Green to discuss taking “a joint line”.
David Camp, director at the Association of Labour Providers, tells Recruiter that he opposes the EAS’s abolition.
Speaking at the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) AGM last week, Kevin Green, chief executive officer of the REC said: “We have it on good authority that they [the government] are going to get rid of EAS.” Green said the REC had “informally heard this” the day before the AGM and that an announcement to this effect is expected in July. Green said that government austerity was the reason given.
However, the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) tells Recruiter: “There are no plans to abolish the EAS.”
“The government is currently analysing responses to the consultation on reforming the regulatory framework for the recruitment sector and will be publishing a response in early July.”
Green said that on the basis of his information, in place of taking their complaint to EAS, aggrieved candidates of recruitment agencies would be able to take a claim to an Employment Tribunal. This option is contained in the government's consultation document that was published in January.
Following the AGM, Green told Recruiter that the abolition of EAS would be “a disaster for the industry and a retrograde step”. It would leave candidates and clients of non-REC member companies without proper recourse for their complaints, he explained. “Are disadvantaged vulnerable workers on minimum wage really going to take a recruitment agency to an Employment Tribunal? I don’t think so,” said Green.
Adrian Marlowe, chairman of the Association of Recruitment Consultancies tells Recruiter that anticipated savings of £700k from the abolition of EAS are “an absolute drop in the ocean in the context of policing a £24bn industry”.
EAS is a success, says Marlowe. “It is an efficient, low-cost service that delivers real results and retains an equilibrium in the industry that is absolutely crucial.”
Sam Hurley, head of external affairs at the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) tells Recruiter she is not aware of any plans to abolish the EAS. APSCo is very supportive of the EAS, she says. “There are not a lot of inspectors but they are excellent,” she says.
Azmat Mohammed (pictured right), director general of the Institute of Recruiters, tells Recruiter that the EAS’s effectiveness is limited by its lack of resources. He suggests that funding of the EAS could be put on a sounder footing. This could be achieved either by a levy taken from staffing companies’ membership fees, or by agencies doing a lot of the EAS’s administrative work, thereby reducing its operating cost. This would leave it to focus on enforcement action, says Mohammed.
“If the REC and APSCo are willing to get involved, we would be willing to start talking with them to see if there is any appetite from EAS or the government to accept these proposals,” says Mohammed.
“This is an area where we should put our resources together. We have to save it, but we have to make it more effective.”
And Marlowe says he would be happy to sit down with Kevin Green to discuss taking “a joint line”.
David Camp, director at the Association of Labour Providers, tells Recruiter that he opposes the EAS’s abolition.
