Compliance is Order of the Day for the Education Sector

Last month the REC hosted the first education sector group meeting of 2016. It was great to see so many of our members at the meeting - with almost 90 in attendance it was certainly cosy at REC HQ! We hope to see you all again at the next education meeting, which will be held at a slightly larger external venue.  

Here are a few of the key highlights from February’s meeting.

Tax compliance

Lewina Farrell, head of professional services at the REC, and Kareena Prescott, employment services senior manager at Dains Accountants, presented some of the changes to travel and subsistence that will be enforced from April.

Many of you aired concerns, from commercial risks to the impact on your candidates and the education providers you supply. The REC legal team have released a briefing for clients and a briefing for candidates to help your discussions with both. The REC legal team have also updated the Travel and Subsistence factsheet to keep REC Education members up to date with the most recent developments.

Compliance and teacher shortages

Outside of the tax bubble, the subject of compliance proved to be just as popular. REC Education members are often at the forefront of the campaign for compliance in the recruitment industry. At a time of teacher shortages, we have seen compliance become even more important.

In our 2015 education survey, 80 per cent of education agencies had persuaded a teacher to remain in the profession in the last year. This is such an important point to make - from teachers moving abroad to the lack of places for pupils, there’s a new education story doing the rounds every week. While the recruitment industry may not single-handedly hold the answers to the many issues currently causing difficulties within the education sector, figures like this show just how important REC Education members are and will be over the next couple of years.

Compliance test reminder

Meeting attendees were reminded that the Compliance Test is back! If you took the Compliance Test between January 2013 and December 2014 and haven’t done it since then, you need to take it again. Make sure you retake your test as soon as you can - the REC Education sector can lead by example in 2016, so let’s make it the sector with the most Compliance Test savvy members. You can find more information on the REC compliance pages.

Education sector legal update

Lorraine Laryea, solicitor at the REC, presented on a number of important legal updates for the education sector. This included an update on information relating to EEA teacher sanctions via NCTL, the High Court’s recent decision on criminal records and a notice from the Information Commissioner’s Office. Further information on these updates is available in the meeting slides and make sure you keep up to date with all the latest legal news by checking the legal resources pages.

And finally, not sure if you’re not getting our REC Education email updates?

If you or a colleague are concerned you might not be getting our education updates please email marketing@rec.uk.com.

If you have any feedback from the 10^th February meeting, please send this to events@rec.uk.com and remember to book for the next education meeting on 18^th May 2016.