If you're running an employment agency or employment businesses you must keep proper records on the work-seekers and hirers you do business with.

You must keep the records for set amounts of time and make them easily available to Employment Agency Standards (EAS) inspectors.

If an inspector finds you're breaking the rules they can:

• send out warnings
• recommend you’re taken to court
• seek a prohibition order through an employment tribunal

You only have to keep records of work-seekers if you take action to find them work.

For example, if you get sent speculative CVs and don't use these work-seekers, you don't have to keep the CVs.

You must keep the following records on work-seekers you either find work for, or try to find work for:

• the date you got their application
• their name, address and, if under 22, date of birth
• any terms which apply, or will apply, between the agency or employment business and the work-seeker
• any document recording changes to these terms
• details of the work-seeker's training, experience and qualifications and any authorisation to do particular types of work (and copies of any documents provided to you relating to this)
• details of any requirements specified by work-seekers in relation to taking up employment
• names of hirers the work-seeker is introduced or supplied to
• details of any resulting engagements and when they start
• a copy of any contract between the work-seeker and a hirer that you entered into on the work-seeker’s behalf
• the date any applications are withdrawn or contracts are terminated
• details of enquires about the work-seeker and the position concerned (including copies of all relevant documents and dates they were received or sent)

Records of fees

If you are allowed to charge fees to work-seekers, you should also keep records of either:

• the dates of requests for fees from the work-seeker and receipts of fees or payments, with copy statements or invoices, numbers and amounts
• statements of dates and amounts of sums deducted from money you received on the work-seeker’s behalf, which was paid into a ‘client account’ to hold the work-seekers money

You must keep the following records about any hirers who contact you with vacancies:

• the date you get their application
• the hirer’s name and address, and location of employment
• details of the position(s) the hirer wants to fill
• duration or likely duration of work
• experience, training, ability, qualifications, and authorisation required either by the hirer, by law or by any professional body
• any other conditions to the position(s)
• the terms offered for the position(s)
• a copy of the terms between the agency or employment business and the hirer, and any document recording any changes to these
• names of work-seekers introduced or supplied to the hirer
• details of enquiries about the hirer and the position they want to fill, including copies of all relevant documents and dates of their receipt
• details of each resulting engagement and date it starts
• dates of requests by the agency or employment business for fees or other payment from the hirer plus copies of statements or invoices of these when they're paid

If more than 1 employment agency or business is involved with the hirer or work-seeker you also need to keep the following records:

• names of any other agencies or employment businesses that the agency or employment business uses
• details of enquiries about that agency or employment business’s suitability, including copies of all relevant documents and dates the enquiries were made and answers received
• date and copy of any agreement with the other agency

Client account records

Records for entertainment and modelling agencies have to be kept for at least 6 years.

Records of applications

Records of applications from hirers and work-seekers have to be kept for at least 1 year from when the agency or business last provided its services for them.

Where to keep records

It doesn't matter where you keep the records as long as they can be accessed easily.

Requests for records

If an Employment Agency Standards (EAS) inspector asks to see your records they must be provided by the end of the 2nd business day after the request was made.

For example, if records are requested on Monday, they must be provided by the end of Wednesday.

Records can be kept in electronic form as long as they can be reproduced and read easily.

The Employment Agency Standards (EAS) Inspectorate checks that employment agencies and businesses are following the rules.

Its main way of checking is by sending out inspectors.

What EAS inspectors can do

EAS inspectors investigate complaints, follow up allegations of misconduct, and make targeted checks of employment agencies and businesses.

Inspectors have to carry official ID. They can enter domestic or commercial premises they've got reason to believe are, or have been, used as an employment agency or business.

Inspectors can inspect records and documents to make sure the agency or business is following the rules.

They can:

• ask to see documents and financial records
• copy these records
• remove the records to copy them
• request in writing that any record, document or information is provided to them at a time and place of their choice so they don't have to go back to the premises

Enforcement of the rules

If your employment agency or business is breaking the rules you'll be sent a warning letter saying how and what you have to do to fix this.

There might be a follow-up inspection.

In serious cases you might be prosecuted or referred to an employment tribunal and you could get stopped from working as an employment agency or business.

Most breaches of the rules are criminal offences. You could be tried in a Magistrates' Court with a maximum fine of £5,000 or even taken to the Crown Court where the fine is unlimited.