Over the years of acting for recruitment companies, I have come to see the legal mistakes that are frequently made, and now take the opportunity to help you learn how to avoid them.
One of the fundamental errors that are made, and I can’t tell you how often, is not to send terms of business before or at the time of introducing a candidate.
I’m not going to tell you that not sending terms of business means you haven’t introduced the candidate, but what it does mean is that your preferred terms of business are not the basis on which the candidate introduction has been made. There may still be a contract, but not on your terms.
The next two areas where recruiters make legal mistakes are very easily rectified as they are based on insufficient understanding. First of all, the Conduct Regulations. They govern everything that the recruitment company does, but not understanding them, or knowing about opting out or giving notice to opt out, can seriously affect the legal relationship with your client and candidate.
Not understanding IR35 is another area where there is a lack of understanding which can cause mistakes. If an agency recruiter wants to remain outside of that IR35, it’s really important that the recruitment consultant understands what that means and how to ensure it is affected.
The fourth legal mistake I notice is recruiters who expect a back door fee just because they have sent the CV. Is not that easy unfortunately, just sending a CV. Even if you have sent your terms of business, that will not necessarily be enough to secure a fee unless you can prove that you were the effective cause of the introduction. The way to overcome that potential mistake is to make sure you follow up the introduction, do as much as you can to be involved in the candidate recruitment process, and ultimately earn that fee.
Finally, the one mistake that still happens is recruiters not sending anonymous CVs in order to do their best to avoid a backdoor hire situation. It’s really important that the candidate’s details are not sent to the client unless or until terms are in place, and to be honest, as late as possible. This will avoid any tendency for the client to contact the candidate direct in an attempt to cut you out of the loop.
By Lucy Tarrant
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