In the gig economy, recruitment agencies are the gangmasters

[Admin]

“Recruitment agency: an organisation that matches employers to employees and vice versa; an intermediary in the labour market” – or so the dictionary tells us. But, given recent findings that agencies are using aggressive tax avoidance schemes at a time when new benefit caps are driving single parents into poverty; that some agencies have conned low-paid temporary workers into buying worthless accident insurance; and, from my own research, that agencies are enabling the undercutting of workers’ rights and wages by pitting migrant workers against local people, it would be truer to life if we described recruitment agencies as arbiters of capitalism and the mass exploitation of workers.

It is estimated that recruitment agencies employ 1.2 million people every day. Agencies are now the vehicle by which desperate workers are driven into the arms of exploitative employers, and they are fundamental to understanding the new age of precarity in the labour market and the “gig economy”.

There are hundreds of examples – from Sports Direct to NHS cleaners – of agencies actively undermining the rights of employees. One recent case was brought to light by the trade union GMB. Agency workers at an Asos warehouse in Grimethorpe, South Yorkshire, are being subject to a “flexing clause”, which employers argue was introduced to help manage peak times and quiet periods.

What it actually means is that workers can arrive at the warehouse only to be told they will be starting two hours later (with these two hours unpaid), or indeed work two hours later in the evening. When workers refuse, they are disciplined. This practice can cause a great deal of stress – particularly for those with childcare commitments. These flex contracts are likely to be in breach of employment law because it means workers aren’t actually being paid the minimum wage.

READ FULL ARTICLE:

https://www.theguardian.com/comment...conomy-recruitment-agencies-employment-rights

 

[Vanguard]

Why spend money on recruiting and training when you can get an agency worker who's on a zero hour contract? It makes economic sense. Any company that hires agencies to do their dirty work is telling the employees "we don't give a f*ck about your rights as a worker. if you don't get the work done, we'll get someone else to do it."

What I find shocking is the fact that some agencies are allowed to hire exclusively from Poland and Hungary.

 

[Admin]

Why spend money on recruiting and training when you can get an agency worker who's on a zero hour contract? It makes economic sense. Any company that hires agencies to do their dirty work is telling the employees "we don't give a f*ck about your rights as a worker. if you don't get the work done, we'll get someone else to do it."

What I find shocking is the fact that some agencies are allowed to hire exclusively from Poland and Hungary.

In my experience, agencies are owned by Brits but the recruitment consultants are from Eastern Europe. They are not required to hire British workers over EE. Somalis should similarly set up recruitment agencies for the high unemployment in London. Working on a Sunday, you get 18 quid at DHL but you only take home 11 if you are at an agency. It's a profitable business.

Eighty-five percent of UK recruitment agencies met or exceeded their revenue goals in 2014 and 93 percent expect their revenue to increase this year, according to Bullhorn, the global leader in customer relationship management software for service-based industries.

The Bullhorn 2015 UK Recruitment Trends Report, based on data from 217 UK recruitment agency professionals, also reveals that 89 percent of agencies plan to increase headcount in 2015.

Peter Linas, international MD of Bullhorn, comments: “The UK recruitment industry is enjoying a period of sustained growth and this year’s report reflects just that. It’s fantastic to see such ambitious growth plans being set by agencies, both in terms of revenue and employee numbers, and at Bullhorn we look forward to helping facilitate this growth. There’s no doubt there are challenges ahead but as an industry we are well positioned to overcome them.”

Key findings:

• Expansion plans increase: 36 percent of agencies plan to expand into new offices representing a ten percent increase on last year.
• Fill rate falls, hit rate improves: industry-wide, fill rate fell from 52 percent in 2013 to 46 percent in 2014, however hit rate increased from 39 percent in 2013 to 40 percent in 2014.
• VMS is on the rise: only five percent of agencies reported using VMS for more than 50 percent of job orders in 2013, but that number more than tripled to 16 percent in 2014.
• Good year for manufacturing: manufacturing and industrial had the first and second-best fill and hit rates among industries, respectively.
• Skills shortage still a major concern: 80 percent of respondents indicated a skills shortage in the industries for which they recruited in 2014.
• Social media and CRM: the top sources of qualified candidates in 2014 remained unchanged from 2013: existing candidates from recruitment CRMs and social media.
• Repeat business is key: 84 percent of agencies generate 50 percent or more of their revenue from repeat client business.
• Remuneration increase expected: 86 percent of respondents expect an increase in their remuneration in 2015, a three percent increase from last year.

 

[Vanguard]

In my experience, agencies are owned by Brits but the recruitment consultants are from Eastern Europe. They are not required to hire British workers over EE. Somalis should similarly set up recruitment agencies for the high unemployment in London. Working on a Sunday, you get 18 quid at DHL but you only take home 11 if you are at an agency. It's a profitable business.

That is true, but at the same time, only hiring eastern Europeans is a form of discrimination. I've seen this in Amazon where I used to work. One of the Romanian agency staff used to offer inductions to the Romanians the same day they sign up. He would even help them pass the numeracy and literacy test. It is no wonder why the English voted for Brexit.

It is a profitable business, but you have to recruit ruthless admins to do the dirty work man. Somalis don't have that cutthroat mentality.

 

[Admin]

That is true, but at the same time, only hiring eastern Europeans is a form of discrimination. I've seen this in Amazon where I used to work. One of the Romanian agency staff used to offer inductions to the Romanians the same day they sign up. He would even help them pass the numeracy and literacy test. It is no wonder why the English voted for Brexit.

It is a profitable business, but you have to recruit ruthless admins to do the dirty work man. Somalis don't have that cutthroat mentality.

Working class Romanians are very tight-knit. A kid I worked with was 19, he had been in the UK for 2 months and he was given a permanent position. So I asked him if he was moving on given he has better skills. He was apparently setting his whole family who are in Romania up with jobs via the agency. You are paid 7.20 minimum wage after 3 months it usually rises to around 11 as required by "equal treatment" law. However Romanians stay for less than 3 months to get their money up and return to Romania. They are bussed in and out. You have to respect the hard work but you are right sometimes they are given advantages.