Candidate compliance checks for recruitment agencies

Key takeaways

Recruitment agencies must check candidates before introducing or supplying them. The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 require checks on identity and that candidates have the experience, training, qualifications and authorisations the client says are needed. Right to work checks come before work starts. The checking, chasing and filing are repetitive admin.

• Identity and right to work checked before placement.
• Qualifications and authorisations verified.
• References requested and recorded.
• Compliance file complete before the candidate starts.

What checks do agencies run?

The checks depend on the role and client, but the core list is the same for most placements. Each check has a standard method and record.

• Identity confirmed against documents.
• Right to work checked by the prescribed method.
• Qualifications, licences and registrations verified.
• References requested and recorded.
• Any sector checks the role requires.

• How UK SMEs can use outsourcing to handle repetitive tasks
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What does the compliance routine look like?

Start checks as soon as a candidate is shortlisted, not when an offer is made. Track each candidate on a checklist, chase missing items every two days, and release the candidate to start only when the file is complete. Recheck time-limited permissions before they expire.

• Decision tables: turn judgement calls into clear rules
• Training records admin: track certificates and renewals

What does compliance admin take?

In an illustrative example, a temporary staffing agency with 40 new placements a month spends about 1 to 1.5 hours of admin on each file, mostly chasing references and documents: 40 to 60 hours a month. These are example figures. Delays here delay start dates and fees.

• Timesheet processing: collect, check and pay on time

What must stay with the agency?

Decisions on suitability, anything unusual in a check, and the final decision that a candidate can start stay with the consultant or compliance lead. Right to work checks have strict methods and civil penalties for getting them wrong, so follow Home Office guidance exactly. Candidate data needs a processor contract and secure access.

• GDPR and offshore outsourcing
• Rule-based vs judgement tasks: what to hand over

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: consultants spend their afternoons chasing references instead of filling roles. A compliance routine run by a team frees them to recruit.

• See client work
• BPO Solutions for UK businesses

Candidate compliance checklist

Complete these before any start.

• Identity confirmed.
• Right to work checked correctly.
• Qualifications verified.
• References recorded.
• Expiry dates diarised.

• Job advert posting: one routine across every job board

Next step

Send us your compliance checklist and monthly placements. We will suggest a routine and say plainly what a team could run under your sign-off.