Keep Calm and Carry On (...recruiting)

Legal issues are cropping up all too often in recruiting these days.

In fact, the folks over at Menzies Law reckon legal disputes about recruitment fees are up 25% on last year.

So, what’s occurring? Are recruiters just being a little too quick to turn to the courts? Or, is it because falling candidate numbers have made hiring super competitive?

Let us give you the low-down on the current situation, and how you can dodge a day in court.

What's the beef?

It all boils down to competition. In today's world, companies are desperately trying to find enough staff with the right ingredients to get on board.

The job market in numbers:

The newest stats show 748,000 vacancies across the UK.
This is the highest number in 15 years, 74% higher than the mid-recession low.
About 1.67 million people aren't in work, making the unemployment rate 5.1%.
2.2 unemployed people are available for every job vacancy (the lowest since before the millennium).
In 2011, there were 5.9 unemployed people for every vacancy.
If this trend keeps going, there will only be 0.8 unemployed people per vacancy by 2019.

*Thanks to the stat masters at the ONS for these lovely numbers

Recruiters are in it to win it

All this has made recruitment super-competitive. With these extra pressures, recruiters can slip into bad habits.

Here are some of the legal trapdoors to watch out for:

'Back-door' hiring: A recruiter introduces a candidate to a client. The candidate isn't hired until later on, when the company approaches directly to dodge the fee.
The 'fee fight': 'Charlie's Agents' introduces a candidate to a client, but no hire happens. Later, 'Joberoo' swings by with the same candidate, who they hire for a fee. Charlie's Agents aren't happy and demand a fee too.