Be wary of Employment Agencies who illegally charge for services

Employment Agencies are not allowed to charge jobseekers for recruitment but some may try

Did you know that Employment Agencies are forbidden by law to charge you for finding you a new job?  And that this also applies to ‘indirect’ charging, like refusing to offer their recruitment services unless you pay for a different service they offer such as CV writing?

Most agencies are professionally run and conform to government legislation, offering additional services on a purely optional basis.  However, some agencies will attempt to ‘build’ costs in to other services which will be stipulated as a mandatory part of the recruitment service.  Other services can include CV writing, provision of accommodation, training or help with transport.

This can be a grey area and it is important to be vigilant when engaging with an Employment Agency.  If you are in any doubt, organisations such as the Citizen’s Advice Bureau can assist in making a determination regarding an Agency’s practices.

It is important to remember that many agencies rightfully provide some potentially useful extra services.  This is fine, as long as they are optional extras.