Employers recruiting staff through an agency should take care since the issue of who actually is employing the individual will arise i.e. is it the agency or is it the placement company? Clearly, an individual that has ‘employee’ status will receive certain protection under legislation. Employers should also be aware of the Agency Regulations which provide additional rights to agency workers similar to those enjoyed by the employees of the hiring company. The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations 2003 came into force in April 2004 and protect those using the services of employment agencies and cover: Restriction on agencies and employment businesses. Requiring work-seekers to use additional services, restrictions concerning remuneration etc. Requirements to be satisfied before a work-seeker is introduced or supplied to a hirer.
Circumstances in which fees maybe charged to work-seekers and deal with other matters such as advertisements, confidentiality and records. Care must be taken not to include discriminatory statements in job advertisements and discrimination legislation should be borne in mind e.g. Equality Act 2010, along with the Codes of Practice from the Commission for Racial Equality and Equal Opportunities Commission. In particular, employers should take care not to breach the law relating to the following:

Discriminatory job advertisements
Discriminatory advertisements
Placing of advertisements
Lawful discrimination
Who can complain
Liability

Discrimination through other methods of recruitment
Recruitment through employment agencies
Informal recruitment methods (word of mouth etc)
Recruitment from a pool of unsolicited letters received by the employer
Selective recruitment
Recruitment from a particular geographical area
Internal recruitment

Job requirements
Qualifications
Experience
Tests and application forms
Codes of Practice
Age limits
Children
Hours of work
Mobility requirements
Health requirements and disability law
Short-listing
Interviewing (discriminatory questions)
The selection process
Transparency in the decision making process
Terms of the offer must not be less favourable