Reforming Employment Agencies?

[minestrone]

It's all about control. People can not be trusted to make their own decisions in a free market, an army of bureaucrats and lawyers are required to make sure everyone is protected and makes the 'right' decisions. Rather than give poor people a cheaper alternative to loan sharks, lets spend our energy banning badness and greed.
Lets not make the agency industry a free market, lets use the weight of the state to ban badness and greed. Next week we will show you how to nail a jelly to the ceiling

[administrator]

Hello all,

Wouldn't it be amazing if the law was changed to make it mandatory for all agencies to declare their Full Commision as well as the Employer's min/max offer for every role advertised so that Contractors can decide if they want to accept a lower rate knowing that it is a true market value rather than being ripped off? Estate Agents declare this upfront before they sell houses so why not employment agencies?

1) Will this make contracting more secure and less exploited, or will it make it even harder to find contracts?
2) Will it clean up the industry, or will they find ways to get round it? (say via Agency registration fees?)
3) Perhaps only an ePetition can bring the spotlight on this shark infested business?

Please feel free to contribute to this open post any way helpful, impartial or other wise with a flame thrower. Perhaps you work as an agency drone and would like to defend your position and/or expose the rogues in the business? But just be careful and diplomatic as we don't really want to upset the website's advertising sponsors... Now do we?

Go on have your say, I am sure the Mods will have the fire extinguisher on stand by if it gets too hot.

Enjoy!!!

I have never heard an EA disclose their fees to me before being shown around a house or buying one, that is a private deal between EA and punter, same as when you take on a contract.

Did you watch The Apprentice last night? Should shops be declaring what their margin is on the gear they sell on in case anyone gets ripped off? Are all shop owners therefore sharks because they make an undisclosed profit?

Are you new to contracting?

[minestrone]

If half the board could not stop the bouncing football advert...

[administrator]

If half the board could not stop the bouncing football advert...

Fruck me that was two years ago

[minestrone]

Fruck me that was two years ago

I was in a gig in Edinburgh...

Half the office could see I was not coding but arguing with spod about grave digging rabbits.

[Android]

Not really..

Although he's a) got a grudge against this board and b) never bothered reading it if he thinks we're worried about our 'advertising sponsors'.
I've banned one or two of them on occasion.

Grudge against this board? Quite the opposite actually, I have visited the forum for a long time now but I only recently joined because the help guides, support and resources here are pretty thorough in content and AAA, It has been a major help to me and my other contractor friends So let's kill this wrong assumption.


Worried about advertising sponsors? Absoloutely not, I don't believe for one minute that it makes a blind bit of difference what is said here by whom nor should it does. I have no idea about the number of agencies out there at the last count, but it is a fact that contractors talk about their experiences, both to warn or recommend So there is no issue or implication here about any influence as this is clearly makes no sense, it was just a humor tease


Grudge agains agencies? Well that is nonsense, every Contractor has a good and bad relationship with all sorts of agencies, On my first contract back in 1997 I went for a job interview for a £22 role, but not did I only get the job but the agency "Computer People" increased that to £24.50 (Yes UP) without me asking for it because they represented me. WOW. Can any of you honestly expect this to happen today? NO. Sadly the business has changed and the filtering is now seldom face to face, we now have reduction to agreed rates, less interviews if you are not cheap enough, demanding more skill than actually needed, and I am hardly the only one here who hasn't been lied to or shafted by some drone or another if the forum here is to be believed? Leveling the field will only hurt those peddling contracts for as low as £9 P/H because they know that first timers are desperate to break into the industry and are ripe for exploitation.

Don't take my word for it, just check out the different rates advertised by different agencies for the exact advertised contract.

[doodab]

Next week we will show you how to nail a jelly to the ceiling

Cool. I've always wondered how to do that.

[EternalOptimist]

[B]

Grudge agains agencies? Well that is nonsense, every Contractor has a good and bad relationship with all sorts of agencies, On my first contract back in 1997 I went for a job interview for a £22 role, but not did I only get the job but the agency "Computer People" increased that to £24.50 (Yes UP) without me asking for it because they represented me. WOW. Can any of you honestly expect this to happen today? NO. Sadly the business has changed and the filtering is now seldom face to face, we now have reduction to agreed rates, less interviews if you are not cheap enough, demanding more skill than actually needed, and I am hardly the only one here who hasn't been lied to or shafted by some drone or another if the forum here is to be believed? Leveling the field will only hurt those peddling contracts for as low as £9 P/H because they know that first timers are desperate to break into the industry and are ripe for exploitation.

dammit.

it is very rare that I have to admit that I have been so badly wrong.
and luckily, this is not one of those occasions

A law to prevent the agents lying to the contractor would also have to prevent the agency lying to the client
and the client lying to the agency
and the contractor lying to the client
and the client lying to the contractor
and the contractor lying to the agency

maybe we just need a law to stop people being people

[Sands of Time]

dammit.

it is very rare that I have to admit that I have been so badly wrong.
and luckily, this is not one of those occasions

A law to prevent the agents lying to the contractor would also have to prevent the agency lying to the client
and the client lying to the agency
and the contractor lying to the client
and the client lying to the contractor
and the contractor lying to the agency

maybe we just need a law to stop people being people

Perhaps we should extend this to all business / government / education / charities / military / religion / etc etc...

I think this a new episode in human evolution...

and it all started here...


Hurrah!



Tone

[Android]

my constructive opinion is that regulation is a waste of time and a solution to a problem that is either temporary or does not exist.
The way the agents operate may be unpalatable but will only become a problem if they form into a cartel, or organise in some other way. I dont see it at the moment, I see agencies going bust and I see guys working direct. I see new agencies and I see new paradigms. like brollies

Your , lets have a load of rules that will increase costs in order to reduce costs, and 'enjoy' attitude leave me cold

the world is full of intefering do gooder busybody know nothings who are full of solutions to problems that only exist in their own minds. I have you tagged as one of them

Yes I agree paperwork "Regulation" is a criminal waste, but lets put this in context; A job advert disclosure of the actual min/max rate that the client has allowed for the contract is hardly regulation? An extra line of typing takes no more than your email signiture, so why be negative?

Last week I had an agent who impled that the Client would not go above a certain rate, when in fact it was advertised elswhere for £200 p/w more. That would have been a loss of £2400 in 12 weeks, or £9600 in 48 weeks. Sorry but this money is not peanuts in my book.

Busy Body doesn't even come into it, but thanks for the post.