Entertainment and modelling agencies: client accounts
When an employment agency receives money on behalf of a client the money must be paid into a client account.
Where you operate as an employment agency and you receive money on behalf of a jobseeker (client), the money must be paid into a client account. The account must be in the name of the agency, and its title must include the word 'client' and, if the account contains money for a single client, the name of that client.
You must get the jobseeker's consent to make payments out of the client account except where:
- the payment is to repay the money used to open or maintain the account
- the money has been wrongly put into the account
- the money is that which is required by law to be deducted from earnings before it is paid to the client
In these cases, the money can be withdrawn, provided that the amount to be withdrawn does not exceed the total amount held in that account for the client.
Payments
Any money that you receive on behalf of a jobseeker and paid into a client account must be paid out to the relevant worker within ten days of you receiving the payment, less any agreed or statutory deductions.
Payments can only be held longer than ten days if you have obtained an agreement in writing with the jobseeker. Any agreement must be agreed upon before the money has been received.
If you hold on to any money with the agreement of the jobseeker they can request the money to be paid to them from the client account, and you must pay this money to them by the end of the second business day from the date of the request.
In addition, where you hold on to money longer than 30 days, you must issue a statement to the jobseeker by day 32 and every 30 days thereafter detailing how much money you are holding in the client account for the jobseeker.