FTW opened the proverbial
can of worms when we
learned that that some
recruitment agencies
operating within the freight
sector were including a
Candidate Liability Clause
(CLC) in a candidate’s
contract with the agency. This
effectively allows an agent to
institute legal action against
a job seeker for reneging on
an offer of employment, or
resigning within 30 days'
of starting a new job. The
CLC does not fall within
the Federation of African
Professional Staffing
Organisation's (Apso)
Code of Ethics and
is prohibited
for Apso
members.
Jill Scott
of Jill
Scott &
Associates
told FTW
she was
aware of the
CLC employed
by some agencies
specialising in
freight sector
recruitment
but strenuously
argues that
it cannot be
considered
general practice.
“This does not
create a good
impression of our
industry. I believe
mutual trust and
loyalty should
prevail and a candidate
with a genuine problem
should be open and honest
in discussing it with the
agent who placed them.”
She adds that some agencies
also restrict candidates from
pursuing opportunities with
their competitors. “What
kind of standards are we
setting as an industry?” she
asks.
Richard Raphael,
managing director of Blue
Oak Personnel, desn’t believe
this is common practice
among freight recruiters
but adds that it is general
practice in other industries.
“It has proven effective in
decreasing the risk of counter
offers,” he says. “We can see
the need for the clause. We
spend our time representing
a candidate in the job market
who is not necessarily serious
about changing companies,
whereas we could be
investing our time and energy
in an individual who is really
intent on moving on,” says
Raphael.
Anne Roets of Roets
Management Recruitment
says she can also
understand why some
agencies feel this clause is
necessary due to the work
involved, promises made
and the resulting client
dissatisfaction. “It has to be
understood that in our
industry we often
do a lot of work
with no reward.
Recruitment
agents who
start up
nowadays seem
to think that
recruitment
is easy
money –
and when
things
don’t go
according
to plan, they can
go the legal route.”
However, says
Roets, the client’s
interests should
always come
first. “They pay
us to supply a service and
this includes managing the
complications,” she says,
noting that an experienced
consultant should be able
to prevent candidates from
reneging
or leaving
a position
through
in-depth
questioning
and reference
checking.
Lee Botti,
managing
director at
Lee Botti &
Associates,
says that her
concern about
the CLC is that
the candidates
often don’t
understand the
implications
of what they’re signing. “They
will sign something in good
faith not realising that they
could be sued for thousands,
if not hundreds of thousands,
of rands if they leave the
company within a month,”
she says.
Botti adds that the CLC
clause can affect the client as
well. “If a candidate stays on
in a new position simply to
ride out a guarantee period,
it can cost the client far more
than if the candidate was
free to renege, especially
if resources are spent on
training,” she told FTW.
Natalie Singer, chief
operating officer of Apso,
says the CLC is banned by
the industry body which
promotes and ensures
adherence to high ethical
and professional standards
of business. Candidates are
encouraged to report any
Apso member using a CLC.
“The industry
has been
under extreme
pressure over
the past few
years and the
use of clauses
like this would
not help in
promoting the
industry as a
profession,”
she says.
To protect
themselves
from unfair
agency
practices,
Singer says
clients should
ensure that they have a
good retention programme
in place in order to keep
their employees happy. They
should also ensure that they
work only with agencies who
subscribe to a Code of Ethics
(such as Apso) where they
can seek recourse through
the complaints mechanism.
Standard recruitment
industry practice dictates
that agents will earn a
percentage of the candidate’s
annual salary as commission
for a successful placement.
Singer explains that if a
candidate fails to start or
leaves within the guarantee
period (usually 90 days), the
agency has to refund any fees
paid by a client.
INSERT & CAPTION
If a candidate stays
on in a new position,
simply to ride out a
guarantee period, it
can cost the client
far more than if the
candidate was free to
renege.
– Lee Botti
