Employment / Agency problem

[red_slr]

Looking for some advice...

If an agency has a 6 month none engagement policy in their contract but on supplying staff they don't give you any information about the person they are supplying how is the customer meant to prevent breaching their contract later down the line?

Would the agency have some obligation to provide at least NI number or something?

So for example agency supplies an unskilled labourer for 8 hours 5 months ago, how do we prevent him from applying for a job today?
Or another agency supplying him for that matter...

Considering that said labourer may work remote to our office etc etc... i.e they turn up on a construction site do 8 hours work and we never see them again (for example).

[vxr8mate]

When an agency supplies a worker the hirer will know the name of the individual (plus other details such as CSCS card details). Therefore should such a worker be resupplied or apply directly the hirer must ensure there is a 6 week cooling off period before engaging said worker.

This protects the agency (being the original introducer) for a limited period should the hirer simply ask another agency to introduce said worker at a lower charge rate or just engage the worker directly without paying an introducers fee.

It's not the original agencies duty to ensure YOU keep track of who is working on your premises and under your control and if you think about it, you are obliged to keep such records in case various organisations need to know in the future i.e. HMRC, H&E etc.

[red_slr]

Sorry was just using construction site as an example.

Let me use a better example.

Agency worker arrives at Glasgow to move a vehicle to Leeds. One off job. They move the vehicle and we get invoiced 4 weeks later for a driver for 8 hours.

Our office is in London.

[vxr8mate]

The same applies. You will have the name of said driver, tacho records and his licence details for insurance purposes.

My advice would be to create a central data base to avoid the possibility.

Are we talking hypothetical s here?

[red_slr]

vxr8mate said:

The same applies. You will have the name of said driver, tacho records and his licence details for insurance purposes.

My advice would be to create a central data base to avoid the possibility.

Are we talking hypothetical s here?

Its not hypothetical but I don't want to post the actual circs for obvious reasons.

I was trying to make it easy to understand using the driver example!! It was just an example.

Ok, lets say they are an extra on a film set. Just to make it easier...
They turn up on set, do 8 hours as a "dead zombie 35" or whatever and leave.

The production company are our client, and we are in London and the film set is in Leeds. We use an agency to provide 20 extras for one day.
Then 5 months later one of the extras applies for a job with our company. Goes on set as "man in taxi" working for us on another film and someone from the original agency happens to say oh hi hows it going and then they say were you not "dead zombie 35" 5 months ago in Leeds.... and it goes from there.

IYSWIM... I hope...

[vxr8mate]

This can and does happen, be that unintentional or as a way for a hirer to cut out the agency and hire people direct.

I take it from your comments that you are referring to the unintentional event, but be that as it may, you could still be liable if you hired a temp worker before the cooling off period has elapsed.

I'm no legal expert, but I know something about this having taken on hirers who have done exactly as I have described and they usually concede even when it's unintentional.

Not sure where the 5 month rule comes from that you're quoting as the 6 week cooling off rule overrides contracts as I understand.

it may be different for the entertainment industy, but here is a link that should explain it further;

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/3319/regul...

[esxste]

How hard is it to make sure you get a name of who's working for you?

Perhaps unintentionally breaking your contract with the agency will suggest that you need to treat people with the quite common courtesy of asking their name and acknowledging them as human beings.

[red_slr]

Perhaps you did not read the part about not seeing the temp as they are working in another place. I cant ask their name, they don't see me. Their agency does not provide their names and even if I ask for the names they are generally wrong.

Anyway, I think I need to seek some legal advice locally... thanks chaps.