Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2015 to Question 228233, which potential breaches of the (a) Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 and (b) Employment Agencies Act 1973 were identified in the inspections of employment businesses conducted by the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate in February 2015.

Across the agencies visited in Sheffield in February, the following potential breaches of the Conduct Regulations were found:

Regulation 5 – Cannot make the provision of work-finding conditionally upon buying goods or services supplied by the agency

Regulation 10 – Transfer fees for a temporary worker moving to a permanent position with a hirer or third party

Regulation 13 – Information to be given in writing about goods or services provided by the agency

Regulation 14 – Terms to be agreed with a work-seeker

Regulation 15 – Specific information to be contained in the terms agreed under Regulation 14

Regulation 17 – Terms to be agreed with the hirer

Regulation 18 – Information to be obtained from the hirer in relation to the work to be undertaken

Regulation 19 – Confirmation to be obtained about a work seeker

Regulation 21 – Confirmation of information to be passed to both the work-seeker and hirer about each other

Regulation 24 – Covers where a work seeker is required to travel and/or live away from home to undertake an assignment, and loans

Regulation 28 – Confidentiality and use of the information provided to the agency by the work-seeker

Regulation 29 – Maintenance of records to show compliance with these Regulations

Regulation 32 – Changes that need to be made to terms to reflect the fact that the work-seeker is incorporated

There was also one potential instance of charging for work finding services which is a breach of Section 6 (1) of the Employment Agencies Act 1973.