Conduct Regs amendment will require agencies to advertise all vacancies in English to jobseekers in Britain

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Recruitment agencies that advertise UK-based jobs abroad only will be require to advertise these vacancies in English in the UK, under new regulations to be put to consultation.

An amendment to the Conduct Regulations forms part of the government’s crackdown on illegal working and recruitment, which will also see the Gangmasters’ Licencing Authority (GLA) become part of the Home Office in a move to strength its enforcement and intelligence capabilities.

New regulations will also double the maximum penalty for employing illegal workers to £20,000 from May 2014, and those paying employees below the national minimum wage will see maximum penalties imposed of up to £20,000 for each individual worker underpaid.

“The changes we are making today will help stop practices which exploit vulnerable workers and undercut local businesses that play by the rules,” said Prime Minister David Cameron.

The recruitment sector broadly welcomed the announcement. “It’s right that British agencies should be listing all vacancies in Britain and in English,” said Kevin Green, CEO of the REC. “Recruiters have millions of people walking through their doors looking for work every day and whether those people are UK nationals or EU-migrants is secondary to the ultimate goal of getting the right people into the right job at the right time.”

Adrian Marlowe, chairman of the Association of Recruitment Consultancies added that the regulations are “primarily designed to address illegal activity relating to low paid immigrant workers, but the principles that relate to all, for example, for breaches of the national minimum wage, make absolute sense”.

“We commend to the government as it is critical that rogue practices, which damage individuals and have the potential to tarnish the recruitment industry, are eradicated,” he added.

Samantha Hurley, head of external relations at APSCo said that the body would need to see the detail of the proposal to ensure there are no unintended consequences which could have a negative impact on the UK’s professional flexible market.