Publication of agency regulations delayed

Anna Scott

The publication of laws for replacing the existing Employment Agencies Act and the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations will be delayed, according to the Association of Recruitment Agencies (ARC).

Draft legislation expected to include intermediaries such as umbrella companies, was originally due to be published this autumn, but is likely to come early next year now, the ARC said. The government aims to remove regulatory burdens from business while continuing to protect people looking for work, according to the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS).

“The ARC recognised in its response to the consultation earlier this year that the legislation could benefit from some updating to ensure that it works for the industry in the twenty first century – after all the Employment Agencies Act is 40 years old and the regulations themselves are 10 years old,” said Ben Grover, the ARC’s external policy adviser.

BIS is thought to be considering how best to draft and implement changes it has in mind in light of the available time is has to run a new bill through parliament. The department will shortly be publishing individual responses to the consultation. It also intends to make public details of the interim enforcement regime, which will apply until any new legislation comes into force.

“The ARC has always maintained that it is important that the fundamental principles of the existing rules, which have helped create an industry where compliance and the interests of candidates and clients remain paramount, are not changed just for the sake of it,” Grover added.

“Against that backdrop we have argued that some rules need updating to reflect certain developments; for example the emergence of the RPO model has put second tier agencies and SME businesses of all sizes at serious disadvantage because of current payment terms restrictions. But a wide-scale modernisation would always in our view be an ambitious task. Given that many existing rules work well, and the importance of getting things right, the delay is not hugely surprising.”