We welcomed April’s enforcement of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003. We maintained that the inconvenience of a little more paperwork would result in greater standards of professionalism and better protection (and fewer disputes) for both clients and candidates – a good trade.
We, like many of our competitors, took advice, dedicated someone to implementing systems (most of which thankfully mirrored existing practice) and expected standards to rise. Have they? Well, partially.

In due course, we still contend that the legislation will benefit ethical recruiters, job seekers and employers. So far, some improvement in the way recruiters inform and act for candidates has been noticeable. However, the regulations primarily affect the actions of recruiters, and recruitment is a three-party process. Once the other parties make use of the opportunity we have with this legislation, we will see more dramatic changes.

To illustrate this point, firms have historically put in place systems to protect themselves from agency disputes – a first-past-the-post system to deal with duplicate CV submission. The legislation in theory removes the need for this by obliging recruiters to gain candidates’ consent before submitting their CV. A basic requirement, it seems to me, but one not universally adhered to.

Increasingly, we are seeing law firms adapt systems to put the onus on recruiters to prove their professionalism, and if this trend continues, the knock-on effects will result in great improvement. Candidates are now given a clear undertaking of what they can expect from a recruiter in the form of a contract. They should make the most of this, expecting a high level of service from their consultant and in return growing to trust them and value their expertise. Frankly, if a candidate cannot trust their recruiter, they should find another one.

This is an opportunity for the legal recruitment market to take a significant step forward. Most recruiters relish this opportunity; the others should not be in the market anyway. Law firms that encourage agents to adopt the spirit of the legislation by demanding a knowledge and understanding of their candidates (and the law firms themselves) will allow competition to work hand in hand with integrity and boost the quality of the service they get immeasurably.

Candidates, who are the least informed of the parties involved, need to take stock of the contract they enter into (after all, they are lawyers) and also enter into the spirit of it, demanding and entrusting in equal measures. The best recruiters have a wealth of knowledge and want to make most use of it.

Thus far, the legislation has improved the protection for candidates and clients, but if properly and enthusiastically embraced, it can have a fundamental and positive effect, improving the marketplace dramatically and not only significantly protecting candidates and clients, but making the process smoother too.

John Sacco is a director at Sacco Mann Legal Recruitment consultancy