It is that busy time of year again where there is often an influx of temporary workers over the summer months. Now is the ideal time to check that your contracts are in order to avoid the temptation to rush them.
The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 (the Regulations) govern the conduct of employment agencies and businesses, and unless you have opted out of them, you will need to ensure that your contracts comply with them.
If you have not opted out of the Regulations (or you are not permitted to), you should think about whether you need to re-work your template contracts in accordance with Regulations 18 and 21 in particular, to ensure that they have not been overlooked.
Regulation 18 refers to the ‘information required to be obtained from a hirer’; you must have obtained the following information from your client before selecting a suitable temporary worker
- identity and nature of their business
- date and duration of the work
- position available, including type of work, location, hours, health and safety risks known and steps they have taken to prevent/ control such risks
- necessary experience, training, qualifications and authorisation required
- expenses payable
- minimum rate of remuneration offered, intervals of payment and length of notice they will give to and receive from the temporary worker.
Regulation 21 refers to the ‘provision of information to work-seekers and hirers’. An employment agency or business must provide the client with all information it has obtained about the work-seeker (in accordance with Regulation 19) and provide the work-seeker with all information obtained in accordance with Regulation 18.
One approach to ensure you have all the required information from your client would be to flag it up at the front of your contracts, for example, an assignment sheet at the beginning of your contracts which sets out the key details of the particular assignment together with the other relevant information obtained in accordance with the Regulations. This should be agreed and signed by you and your client along with the more standard terms and conditions to your agreement.
Debenhams Ottaway is an REC legal business partner. We advise recruitment agencies of all shapes and sizes across the UK.
The contents of this article are intended for general information purposes only and shall not be deemed to be, or constitute legal advice. We cannot accept responsibility for any loss as a result of acts or omissions taken in respect of this article.
