Before starting an employment agency or business
Actions that should be taken before opening an employment agency or employment business.
If you are operating as an employment business you must agree written terms and conditions with work-seekers and hirers before you undertake any work-finding services. For more information see employment businesses - content of terms with work-seekers and employment businesses - content of terms with hiring companies.
Additional services
If you provide any additional services, such as CV writing, accommodation, transport etc, this should be covered in a separate document and issued to work-seekers before providing these services - see employment agencies - providing additional services and goods.
Additional rules apply to employment agencies and businesses operating in the entertainment or modelling sectors - see entertainment and modelling agencies.
Advertisements
You must not advertise a vacancy unless you have obtained full details of the specific position advertised and the authority of the hirer to find work-seekers for that position or the authority of an agency or employment business which has the authority to issue the advertisement.
Every advertisement must include the full name of the agency or the employment business and confirmation of whether the vacancy is 'temporary' or 'permanent'.
Where the rate of pay is included in the advertisement it must also include the nature of the work, the location, the minimum experience levels and details of any training required.
More than one employment agency or employment business involved
If you agree with another employment agency or employment business to facilitate the provision of work-finding services to a work-seeker or hirer, you must make enquiries to establish that the other agency/business is suitable to act as such and there must be satisfactory answers to those enquiries.
You must also agree in which capacity each of you will act - ie as an employment agency or an employment business. For details about records of enquiries see employment agencies and employment businesses: record keeping responsibilities.