Tue, 11 Feb 2014 International staffing companies should use no more than two or three models globally of how workers are recruited, how their pay and tax is administered, and their work measured, according to Kevin Barrow, a partner in Osborne Clarke’s recruitment team.

Speaking at an event in London last week, Barrow said that to mitigate the various risks to their business recruiters should aim for no more than two or three models. These should cover 85-95% of all their supplies of workers, and could be “tweaked” for conditions in local markets, said Barrow.

Barrow warned that staffing companies that used more than two or three models of supply “don’t have the resources” to deal with them, and risked being overwhelmed by the complexity involved.

Some of the different models discussed at the event were personal service companies, umbrellas, managed service providers and statement of work. The latter refers to charging on the basis of project-based outcomes rather than time-based.

Among the risks to staffing companies operating in the UK and around the world identified by Barrow were:

-    the Bribery Act
-    tax
-    Agency Workers Regulations
-    various recruitment regulations and laws

Barrow said that of all these risks, liability for tax was “clearly the biggest”, for those who are interested in buying a recruitment company.