Plan B - RecruitCOP

[privateeye]

I have been contracting for about 10 years now, and something which I always found problematic was the handcuff clauses in contracts. I have never believed that an agency should be permitted to take a margin in perpetuity.

RecruitCOP could be a springboard for providing information about a contractor's rights and what the Conduct Regulations 2003 mean for the contractor, particularly with regards to handcuff clauses. All too often I hear that someone is being told that they should opt-out because the person will otherwise be caught by IR35 - this is simply not true.

As with seatbelt legislation or mobile phone legislation, times change, and what was once possible is no longer the case. With conduct regulations it is no longer possible to prevent a contractor from going direct - it's that simple. It allows only that the agency covers this eventuality in the end-client contract in the form of a transfer fee, or a final extension - but it does not prevent a direct relationship being born.

With the help of sites like RecruitCOP, the agency industry could change dramatically where it is normal that the agency is able to take a margin for 1 year maximum, and that contractors go direct or switch agencies.

Anything which attempts to provide more information to the individual contractor and enable him to see through what the agent is trying to hide, has to be a good thing.

Many thanks for that feedback, there are some good pointers in there. What I don't want to do is become biased only in favour of the contractor but provide all parties with the facts and their rights - and let each party know about each others rights. I will look into completing the suggestions that you have for contractor rights to all parties.

[ladymuck]

There's a few minor grammatical errors and typos on the home page. Nothing major but it reduces the professional image. I personally tend not to fully trust sites where a service is being offered but the copy is poorly written.

For example, point no2 in the 'bad practise' list reads

advertise no-existent jobs to obtain sales leads from job hunter CVs

Perhaps should read:
advertise non-existent jobs ...

Like I said, pretty minor stuff. Happy to proof-read your copy for a small fee!

Wish you all the best of luck with the site though - fantastic idea.

[DodgyAgent]

RecruitCOP was not designed to exclude recruiters or a clients right to use a recruiter that they wish. It is designed to simply enforce a code of practice and even rogue recruiters will be forced to abide by the rules. RecruitCOP can actually help recruiter companies keep their staff using a code of practice - it is often the case that the recruiter company is honourable but the tactics used by some of their staff is less than desirable.

RecruitCOP does not filter out the recruiters - RecruitCOP allows a client to register and set up a PSL including any recruiter they wish. When the client enters a new job only those on the PSL may be assigned to it. When the recruiter contacts you they can point you to the area on RecruitCOP that proves the client has put them on the PSL and included them for a specific job requirement. Any recruiter pretending to be on the PSL will not be able to do this. You will also see the job description as given by the client so a recruiter cannot change it or miss-sell the job.

The client actually enters the most important parts of the job - for example contract length, is it likely to be extended, are references required and when etc etc so the recruiter cannot miss-sell the job. If a recruiter says they have submitted you, you will receive an email stating you have been submitted and you can see it on RecruitCOP. This information will also be viewable by the client so they can query the recruiter if they have not received the CV and you can query them if you have not received the email etc. Each time the recruiter submits a cv a counter is incremented that is viewable by applicants so you know if they have reached their maximum quota and prevent them them pretending to have submitted you.

In effect what RecruitCOP achieves is forcing even the worst recruiters out there to abide by a Code of Practice if the client is using RecruitCOP. You will also get notified if the client changes the status of your application - rejected, interview or the job is closed.

RecruitCOP only fillters out recruiters on PSL/job basis.

It is a bit like ID cards, speed limits and all other statutory well meaning laws that are introduced; they inconvenience the majority of people who are honest and law abiding, they give those that create the laws something to do and they have absolutly no effect whatsoever on the real rogues and criminals.

[privateeye]

There's a few minor grammatical errors and typos on the home page. Nothing major but it reduces the professional image. I personally tend not to fully trust sites where a service is being offered but the copy is poorly written.

For example, point no2 in the 'bad practise' list reads

Perhaps should read:
advertise non-existent jobs ...

Like I said, pretty minor stuff. Happy to proof-read your copy for a small fee!

Wish you all the best of luck with the site though - fantastic idea.

Thanks for that, will correct ASAP. I should have given my proof reader more back up.

[Fleetwood]

There's a few minor grammatical errors and typos on the home page

There are

[Xenophon]

There are

Fleetwood strikes again!

[ladymuck]

There are

Bollocks.

[Fleetwood]

Nope.

There is a problem (singular)
There are a few problems (plural).

[ladymuck]

Yes, I know!

I wasn't exactly awake at the time of posting, in my defence your honour.

[vetran]

good idea

However the offering seems a little confrontational, were I a recruitment agent then I would find it offensive. May I suggest something like 'Post Clarity' or similar for the name and work from that.

The recruiters need to come on side as they will sell it to the clients, most of whom have no time and just want a warm body that will make it all go away. So sell the benefits to them, individual agents that do as they are told, streamlining their business process, getting better cv's improving returns on PSL's etc. They may be sharks but the only way you get across the water is by stepping on their fins (apologies Dodgy).

Maybe look at something like encouraging the candidate to put the cv in an xml format to aid searching and transition.

http://www.hr-xml.org/hr-xml/wms/hr-...php?language=2