Frequently Asked Questions

Anyone who has used or received work-seeking services from an REC member can submit a complaint to the REC.

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.

These would include complaints from work seekers and clients about:

• Pay including holiday pay.
• Customer service.
• How your data handled and managed.
• Certainty of Engagement and being provided terms of Engagement and Assignment Details.
• Suitability of candidates and job roles
• Agreeing terms of business before providing services
• Providing reference when requested.
• Discrimination based on a protected characteristic.

The list of complaints we handle is not exhaustive, and we may be able to assist with other issues. However, please check which types of complaints are outside our remit.

We will investigate complaints to the best of our ability. If a matter is too complex, and we think it would be better dealt with by a statutory body or an employment tribunal or court, we will say so.

There are some types of complaints we cannot deal with because they are outside our remit. they include:

• We cannot accept anonymous complaints
• We are unable to handle matters related to 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 or intervene in disputes of a legal nature
• We cannot intervene in disputes of a commercial nature or those driven by competition
• We cannot get involved in contractual disputes or disputes between members and their employees or employers
• We cannot investigate complaints about pay under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 (AWR) or AWR (NI) 2011
• We cannot start an investigation 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.

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 documentary evidence, such as: emails, letters and notes taken during conversations to support your complaint, along with supporting evidence from 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.