Call for umbrellas and intermediaries to be in new regulatory framework

An agency trade body has said that its members want the new government proposals to provide a regulatory framework to include umbrellas and intermediary companies.

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) also said that seven out of 10 of its members say 'the jury's still out' on whether Government plans to re-organise the Employment Agency Standards (EAS) Inspectorate will have a positive or negative impact on the recruitment industry.

Most recruiters (70 per cent) taking part in an REC webinar to discuss the Government's review of the Conduct Regulations felt that the splitting of responsibilities between HMRC and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) 'could prove effective' but that it would depend on how the arrangement 'works on the ground'.

Umbrellas

Another key finding was that the vast majority of recruiters polled (79 per cent) felt that the new regulatory framework should cover umbrellas and intermediaries. This reflects the fact that recruiters judge the use of umbrellas and intermediaries to be the single biggest change to the recruitment market over the past decade (33 per cent); greater than online jobs boards (27 per cent), new in-house structures and Recruitment Process Outsourcing (20 per cent) or social media (20 per cent).

Director of Policy and Professional Services at the REC, Tom Hadley said: "Our members are very clear that their two big concerns about the Government's plans for reform are that any enforcement regime must be genuinely effective and that new legislation should reflect the role played by umbrellas and other intermediaries.

"This feedback gives us very strong messages to take to Ministers as we continue our work to ensure that the future regulatory landscape facilitates industry growth and enables compliant businesses to thrive."