Last year the private recruitment industry grew by over 20 per cent and had a turnover of more than £20.8 billion, generated in sectors including IT, entertainment, construction and caring and medical support.

The regulations will:

* establish a hiring extension option as an alternative to employers
having to pay agents a fee when they wish to offer temporary staff
permanent employment to 'ensures a guaranteed return for agencies
and give employers and temps greater flexibility';

* introduce clearer contracts so that temps know they are engaged by
their agency. This will 'end confusing arrangements and will stop
elderly or vulnerable people from finding themselves responsible for
ensuring their carer's contract complies with minimum wage and other
regulations';

* protect workers from having their CV's circulated indiscriminately
either on the Internet or by other means;

* toughen controls on bogus advertisements, both in print and on the
Internet, such as those which advertise non-existent jobs

* ban agencies from charging models and entertainers before they have
arranged work for them;

* ensure agents use properly controlled client accounts when handling
workers' earnings, for example when receiving entertainers' wages;

* stronger protection for parents using nanny agencies. Nanny
agencies will be required to take all reasonably practicable steps to
confirm a work-seeker is not unsuitable and must offer parents copies
of at least two references obtained.

Announcing details of the new regulations Industry Minister Alan
Johnson said: "Temporary workers play an important part in our economy, working both in and out of the public eye. These reforms will curb the
activities of agencies that prey on vulnerable work-seekers, as well as
giving more flexibility and contracting three separate sets of rules
into one.

"These measures provide a clear legal framework which give a further
competitive boost to a thriving industry. I'm sure the industry will
welcome these much needed reforms, they know that a disreputable
minority can smear the entire industry.

"There is evidence that some agencies have used transfer fees as a
means of blocking entry into permanent employment. The new
regulations will help hirers and workers without damaging the
legitimate concerns of agencies who need to ensure that they are not
being used as a recruitment service.

"Where a hiring has lasted more than 6 weeks before finishing, an
agency will not be able to charge a transfer fee if the worker is
employed permanently by that employer, more than 8 weeks after the
original hiring ceased."

The new regulations provide that an employment agency cannot
enforce any contractual term contingent upon a worker taking up
employment with an employer (e.g. a transfer fee) unless the hirer
has the option of an extended hire period. Where a hiring has ceased
no contractual term can be enforced after the later of either 8 weeks
from the day after the last day of hire or 14 weeks starting from the
first day of hire.

Welcoming the revised temp-to-perm proposals Tim Nicholson, Chief
Executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, said: "We welcome the Government's announcement on temp-to-perm. It is a significant step forward from the original proposal of four weeks. It demonstrates that good working relationships have developed between
the REC and government, and that the industry's case has received
careful attention."

These new regulations are available on www.dti.gov.uk/er Comments
are invited by 16 March and the regulations are expected to come into force in the summer.

The new regulations replace the Conduct of Employment Agencies and
Employment Business Regulations 1976, the Employment Agencies Act
1973 (Charging Fees to Workers) Regulations 1976 and the Employment
Agencies Act 1973 (Charging Fees to Au Pairs) Regulations 1981.

--
Susie Hughes