Contractors - Your Turn!!

[privateeye]

how many CVs have the words copyright on it???? I've never come across one!

Mine does and several other contractors I know of have this, and yes it did and does stop a lot of people copying.

So tell me what the DPA has to do with it? DPA only comes into effect if you request your information to be taken off the database - or if you ask to see the information we have about you. The DPA, I believe, doesn't stop us from talking to clients about yourself

You really do need to read up on the law, DPA just about removal!!!! DPA is about the whole process of obtaining, storing, and use of data relating to people. What you are stating is that you can use anyone's personal data as long as they don't know about it!!. You are definately very wrong and really have discredited yourself on this point. I am DPA registered and also have a CCL which licences me to act on very sensitive data issues, I do have legal experience here.

And yes a CV is able to be copyrighted even if not a work of fiction. If you redistributed my CV without permission you would have to completely re-word it so it did not look like my work in anyway. It could not in anyway resemble my CV apart from just the facts. True facts cannot be copyrighted but the words to describe them can.

[Town&CityConsulting]

DPA is about the whole process of obtaining, storing, and use of data relating to people..

He is correct here, you can store information about people but this is at your own risk.
To send the CV on to a 3rd party is what agencies do and in the "registration" process this is usually covered with a disclaimer stating that the contractor allows his CV to passed onto a 3rd party organisation for the use of finding work..
If contractors did not want to have their CV forwarded onto companies then they more thank likely would not register with an agency in the first place and find a contract on their own steam...

[Mordac]

He is correct here, you can store information about people but this is at your own risk.
To send the CV on to a 3rd party is what agencies do and in the "registration" process this is usually covered with a disclaimer stating that the contractor allows his CV to passed onto a 3rd party organisation for the use of finding work..
If contractors did not want to have their CV forwarded onto companies then they more thank likely would not register with an agency in the first place and find a contract on their own steam...

Wrong. I'm more than happy to have my details forwarded, I'd just like to know who they're being forwarded to, and far more importantly, for which specific project and at a rate agreed beforehand. FFS how difficult is this for you people to understand?

[IT contract agent]

Wrong. I'm more than happy to have my details forwarded, I'd just like to know who they're being forwarded to, and far more importantly, for which specific project and at a rate agreed beforehand. FFS how difficult is this for you people to understand?

there are reasons why we don't tell candidates who the end client is

[privateeye]

He is correct here, you can store information about people but this is at your own risk.

You're at risk of breaking the DPA is what I know but not sure if this is what you are saying here.

To send the CV on to a 3rd party is what agencies do and in the "registration" process this is usually covered with a disclaimer stating that the contractor allows his CV to passed onto a 3rd party organisation for the use of finding work..

What disclaimer is this - the one that arrives after you have forwarded your CV to a fake job. That disclaimer is invalid. If you look on JobServe and other boards you will see no disclaimers with any of the jobs.

The vast majority of contractors/permie's will forward a CV for a specifically advertised job. If a recruiter or anyone else uses it for anything other than that job then it is breach of the DPA and probably other laws.

[DaveB]

You're at risk of breaking the DPA is what I know but not sure if this is what you are saying here.



What disclaimer is this - the one that arrives after you have forwarded your CV to a fake job. That disclaimer is invalid. If you look on JobServe and other boards you will see no disclaimers with any of the jobs.

The vast majority of contractors/permie's will forward a CV for a specifically advertised job. If a recruiter or anyone else uses it for anything other than that job then it is breach of the DPA and probably other laws.

The disclaimers are there, generally they appear at the point at which you fill in the form to send the CV off to the recruiter. They usually require the checking of a box or radio button to say you are happy for the recruiter to use your CV in order to promote you to a client, or legal words to that effect.

[privateeye]

there are reasons why we don't tell candidates who the end client is

..because they don't exist is the only reason you need to hide it, if you really are on the clients PSL then why are you scared of a candidate knowing the client name.

I think you will find that if you bothered to read the regs you will find that the candidate is entitled to know the name.

[Mordac]

there are reasons why we don't tell candidates who the end client is

Yes, and those reasons lie within your own industry practices. For instance, you tell a candidate the name of the client, and he gets a call from Jezz tulipferbrains at Futures or MSB or whoever asking whether he's been put forward for any roles. Mr Green Contractor promptly spurts out all the details, Jezz rings the client and uses every weapon in his armoury to secure the role for himself. So the reason you can't tell us who you are sending our details to is because you don't trust (some) rival agencies. And for that reason I'm supposed to agree to my company (and personal) details being blanket-mailed to half the Yellow Pages?

[privateeye]

The disclaimers are there, generally they appear at the point at which you fill in the form to send the CV off to the recruiter. They usually require the checking of a box or radio button to say you are happy for the recruiter to use your CV in order to promote you to a client, or legal words to that effect.

What form is this, there are many jobs on Jobserve that just simply give you the recruiters email address - there is no form there. Even if there was a checkbox it would have to default to unchecked so I specifically would have to check it. I'm sure I would remember doing this. The only time I see disclaimers is if I get a reply from the recruiter - by this time the disclaimer is invalid.

[IT contract agent]

..because they don't exist is the only reason you need to hide it, if you really are on the clients PSL then why are you scared of a candidate knowing the client name.

I think you will find that if you bothered to read the regs you will find that the candidate is entitled to know the name.

I work very few PSL roles - on the occasions that I work on a PSL then yes I will often give out the client name.

the vast majority of my work is all new business - real sales - not just sourcing candidates for business somebody else has won.