Passport, utility bill, p45 etc...

[Wirefan]

GUIDANCE ON THE CONDUCT OF EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES AND EMPLOYMENT BUSINESSES REGULATIONS 2003

Regulation 19 – Confirmation to be obtained about a work-seeker
Provides that an employment agency or employment business must not
introduce or supply a work-seeker to a hirer unless it has obtained
confirmation:
(a) of the identity of the work-seeker. This will mean seeing any
document which provides evidence of the work-seeker’s identity,
such as his/her passport, driving licence, birth certificate.By virtue
of regulation 32(6) this will extend to those persons provided
through limited company contractors, where the notice under
regulation 32(9) to opt out of the scope of the Regulations has not
been given;
(b) that the work-seeker has the experience, training, qualifications
and any authorisation which the hirer considers are necessary, or
which the worker needs to have by law or by the requirements of
any professional body, in order to carry out the work. This
obligation can be properly discharged by the agency or
employment business when registering a work-seeker. During the
registration process it should request sight of evidence of training
received, qualifications and authorisations such as certificates,
and registrations with professional bodies. Again by virtue of the
provisions of regulation 32(6), the requirements here must be
extended to those persons supplied through limited company
contractors, which have not given notice to opt out of the
Regulations; and
(c) that the work-seeker is willing to work in this position.

[Wirefan]

Amiguity surrounds the wording and considered meaning of "introduce" or "introduction". Does one assume that this means CV submission stage, Interview, or Start Date? There is no case law, so is a grey area as to when this needs to be carried out. I believe this is a step which should be carried out prior to CV submission.

[Hex]

The full sentence that is relevant in your quote is:

"By virtue of regulation 32(6) this will extend to those persons provided
through limited company contractors, where the notice under
regulation 32(9) to opt out of the scope of the Regulations has not
been given;"

So this means that you only have to carry out checks on Limited Company Contractors where they have opted in to the agency regulations. All agencies I have worked through have been extremely keen for me to opt out of the agency regulations - in these cases there is no requirement for the agency to carry out identity checks.

Do you carry out identity checks only on limited company contractors who have opted in?

[Wirefan]

Personally, I ask for it regardless of opt in or opt out at CV stage, and to be honest, in the last 4/5 years, I have not had one person who has rejected the request to supply a copy of passport/Visa/other eligability documentation (WRS etc) by scanned email or fax.

Where I learned my trade; AlexMann, they were extremely hot on process and eligibility checks etc. and you were 'instructed' to carry out these checks regardless.

When I was looking for my last role however, I was suprised by the amount of agencies who didnt even bother to gain permission to represent emails, let alone do eligability status checks.

Never had to ask for P45, or a utility bill though. (With the execption of when candidates go through screening within the financial sector as part of the entire pack)

[Paddy]

Personally, I ask for it regardless of opt in or opt out at CV stage, and to be honest, in the last 4/5 years, I have not had one person who has rejected the request to supply a copy of passport/Visa/other eligability documentation (WRS etc) by scanned email or fax.

Where I learned my trade; AlexMann, they were extremely hot on process and eligibility checks etc. and you were 'instructed' to carry out these checks regardless.

When I was looking for my last role however, I was suprised by the amount of agencies who didnt even bother to gain permission to represent emails, let alone do eligability status checks.

Never had to ask for P45, or a utility bill though. (With the execption of when candidates go through screening within the financial sector as part of the entire pack)

There was a programme on R4 last year about this. When prospective employers have reported irregularities they have not been followed up by the authorities as there is no mechanism to do so. The result of this legislation is:
1. Too much personal data is kept on file insecurely.
2. If you were born in the UK you are treated like a alien.
3. If you are an illegal worker, as long as you have a forged or stolen passport you are OK.

I have done work for AM and the only documentation I sent them was a letter from my Ltd Co and that was fine by them. AM are big and that is all, I certainly would not brag about them especially knowing how the company started and by whom.