Why are agency labour audits essential for your organisation?

It is critical to ensure that you ensure legal compliance while selecting new suppliers or even managing trusted vendors. It can be tough to assess the stability and quality of new suppliers because it is difficult to make a judgment call without practical experience and a benchmark upon which to measure. Agency labour providers may be supplying you with the greatest quality individuals, however it is entirely possible that they are not totally compliant with all the legal requirements required to operate in the UK.

To ensure that you are not falling foul of the law, your suppliers must be monitored and audited on a regular basis.

Why should you audit your recruitment agencies?

We believe that everyone should have total confidence that their agency workers are engaged in accordance with current regulations and recruiting best practices - and that recruitment firms should have the tools and expertise necessary to uphold these standards.

Benefits of recruitment agency audits:

Protect your reputation

Audit checks protect your brand and its reputation by ensuring all legal and best practice checks are frequently taking place.

A consistent brand image

Ensure your brand is presented correctly by your agencies so you can attract the best talent and promote a consistent brand image.

Eliminate legal risks

Rule out any legal risks such as illegal workers, employees without contracts and false self employment and payments made via umbrella companies.

Prevent operational delays

From registration to certification and completing relevant checks prior to employment, ensuring the right processes are in place means no surprise hold ups.

Significant cost savings

By reviewing and cross-referencing workers’ pay slips, you can identify any overpayments and credit them back so you’re not out of pocket.

Stand out in the market

Demonstrating credibility and improving working standards can help to boost your reputation and give you a competitive edge.

What problems could develop if agencies are not audited?

When we first do an audit of agency labour providers, we find that 80% of them will fail their first audit. Not all of them are for major non compliance but some of them can be cause for concern.

These issues can include:

• Missing or unsigned criminal conviction declarations
• No retained copies of qualifications, certificates or licenses
• Missing application form
• No evidence of reference checks (unless there is evidence of reference requests)
• Missing or unsigned 48 hour opt out agreement
• No health and safety or risk assessment in place
• No insurance or insurance that is not in line with contract
• Lower pay slip pay rate than listed on the online portal record
• Pay type mismatch (for example listing as PAYE but paying limited)
• No record of a face-to-face interview
• Absence of a medical questionnaire
• Missing pay slips
  

Download Now: 'Why You Should Audit Your Recruitment Agencies eGuide'