The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 (“the 2005 Regulations”).

These Regulations make further provision for the proper conduct of employment agencies and employment businesses; they increase protection for work-seekers, reduce certain regulatory burdens on employment businesses and also make minor clarifications to the 2005 Regulations.

Regulation 3 amends the heading and substance of regulation 5 so that an agency or employment business must ensure that a work-seeker who takes up additional services will be able to give notice to cancel or withdraw from those services without incurring any detriment or penalty.

Regulation 4 amends regulation 13 so as to require an agency or employment business to give a work-seeker a statement of his right to cancel or withdraw from additional services.

Regulation 5 amends regulation 21 to provide that an employment business intending to send a work-seeker to a hirer on a short assignment is required to provide only basic information to a hirer and work-seeker.

Regulation 6 amends regulation 26 increasing the protection available to work-seekers where agencies propose to charge fees for the inclusion of information about them in a publication.

Regulation 7 amends regulation 28(1) of the 2005 Regulations to clarify its relationship with regulation 20.

Regulation 8 makes minor clarifying changes to regulation 32 of the 2005 Regulations.

Regulation 9 amends Schedule 3 to the 2005 Regulations by inserting additional occupations.