Conduct & regulation
What are the Conduct Regulations 2003?
The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 govern how recruitment agencies and employment businesses may operate in Great Britain, setting rules on terms, charges and information.
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<a href="https://agencyoptix.co.uk/glossary/conduct-regulations">What are the Conduct Regulations 2003?</a> — diagram by
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</figure>They draw the distinction the industry runs on: an employment agency introduces a candidate to an employer who then employs them, while an employment business supplies workers who remain engaged by the business. Most firms do both, and the rules differ for each.
Much of the content is about information and timing — what must be agreed with a work-seeker before they are supplied, what must be obtained from a hirer, and what must be confirmed in writing rather than left to a phone call.
The most commercially significant rule is the general prohibition on charging work-seekers for finding them work. There are narrow exceptions for certain sectors, and they are narrow.
What goes wrong in practice
- Terms agreed with a worker after the first assignment has already started.
- Hirer information — the role, the risks, the qualifications required — gathered informally and never confirmed in writing.
- Charging a work-seeker for services outside the limited permitted circumstances.
- Treating agency and employment business activity as one process when the rules differ.