Guidance for members
How to respond to a complaint made against your agency.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you're thinking of making a complaint against an REC member, or if you’re an agency that has had a complaint made against you - read this guide before contacting the REC.
In particular, take a look at our guidance about complaints we cannot deal with.
Who can complain to the REC?
Anyone who has used or received work-seeking services from an REC member can submit a complaint to the REC.
What sort of complaint can you deal with?
We can investigate complaints against our members if they breach our Code of Professional Practice. The REC Code focuses on the outcomes and effects of our members' behaviour while providing work-seeking services as part of their business activities.
We may be able to look at activity which whilst not a breach of our Code, may bring the industry into disrepute.
Complaints we cannot deal with include:
- We cannot deal with anonymous complaints
- We cannot deal with matters of compensation
- We cannot make an agency or an individual apologise
- We cannot investigate the conduct of an agency that is not a member of the REC
- We cannot offer legal advice
- We cannot intervene in disputes of a legal nature
- We cannot intervene in disputes of a commercial nature
- We cannot intervene in disputes driven by competition
- We cannot get involved in contractual disputes where there are ongoing or imminent legal proceedings
- We cannot investigate complaints under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 (AWR) or AWR (NI) 2011.
- We cannot decide disputes between members and their employees or employers
- We cannot instigate our procedure whilst any legal, tribunal or court action is ongoing or unresolved. Please refer to the legal factsheet for further details.
- We cannot suspend or expel a member; this decision can only be made by the REC's Professional Standards Committee.
Do I have to complete the Complaint Form?
Yes, we ask that you complete the complaint form so we can gather all the necessary information to determine whether we will investigate your complaint.
Please answer all the questions and include as much detail as possible. This should include the date of the incident, an outline of the events in date order and the full names of any individuals involved if known
Please also include any relevant documents as evidence, such as emails, letters, and notes taken during conversations to support your complaint.
Be sure to include any supporting documents, such as emails, letters, or notes from conversations at the initial stage of making your complaint, as this may affect our decision to investigate if we do not have all the information.
If you need help completing the form, please contact our Customer Engagement Team at 020 7009 2100.
Please answer all questions thoroughly and include as much detail as possible. a timeline of events, and the full names of anyone involved, if known.
How can I find out if the agency is an REC member?
Look out for the REC logo on the agency’s correspondence, website, advertising or other promotional material. You can also check membership status in the Member Directory. In addition, the Customer Contact team can carry out a check for you via our database.
Can I complaint to the ICO or EAS at the same time as the REC?
If a complaint is referred to a statutory body, such as the ICO or EAS, either before or during our investigation, we will always put our action on hold. We will resume once the other proceedings have concluded. This allows us to consider the decisions made by the relevant authority and ensure our actions align with their findings.
How long will it take for my complaint to be resolved?
Once we receive your complaint form, we will acknowledge it and forward it to our Complaints Team for review. Our goal is to provide an initial response within 15 working days. However, the time needed to resolve the complaint may vary depending on factors such as the complexity of the issue and how quickly we receive responses from all parties involved.
As a general guideline, we request that all additional responses be submitted within 10 working days. We will keep you updated throughout the process.
Who can I complain to if the agency is not a member of the REC?
We are unable to investigate the conduct of agencies or individuals that are not REC members.
If you have a complaint regarding a non-member you may wish to contact the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS) which has statutory authority over all recruitment agencies.
I am a client of an REC member can I make a complaint?
Anyone who has used the services of an REC member can make a complaint. However, the Code of Professional Practice does not cover contractual or commercial disputes, and we cannot handle issues of this nature.
We recommend reviewing the Terms of Business provided by the agency, as this may clarify your concerns. The agency should have given you these terms at the start of your business relationship. If they did not, we can investigate this..
If, after reviewing the terms, you remain unsure, we suggest seeking legal advice from your company's solicitors or an independent legal advisor. Please note that the REC cannot mediate disputes of this kind.
If your complaint concerns a refund, agencies are not legally required to offer them. However, if a refund is offered, the terms should clearly state when and how it will be provided. We can investigate complaints where these terms were not properly communicated.