Resources /Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
You’ll have questions, so we’ve answered some of them here. If your question doesn’t appear, please feel free to get in touch. We’ll happily provide the answer.
What makes Lawspeed different?
Lawspeed was the first UK law firm to specialise exclusively in recruitment law. Since 1997, we’ve supported agencies with legal advice, contract management and compliance. We’re still one of very few firms with deep expertise in both recruitment and law.
99.9% of our work is in the recruitment sector. We’re specialists, not generalists — and proud of it.
Recruitment law is complex, with unique obligations and risks. We help you stay compliant, protect your revenue, and avoid unexpected liabilities — from tax to disputes.
We founded ARC (Association of Recruitment Consultancies) in 2010. It’s run by recruiters for recruiters, and lobbies the government on your behalf.
If there’s unhelpful, fee-draining legislation coming around the corner, we do something about it. Several notable successes include arguing against inappropriate elements of Agency Workers Regulations.
Contracts & Proterms
We provide contracts for virtually any sector, and for every kind of recruitment placement — whether temporary, permanent or direct hire. For example:
- Temporary PAYE candidates
- Company contractors, whether inside or outside IR35
- Self-employed or CIS
- Umbrella contracts
- Consultancy and Statements of Work (SoW) or projects
The contract can be tailored to a specific service, or it can cover all services in one combined document.
Back in the day agencies commonly cut and pasted terms from other contracts, and this practice still continues today. However, a piecemeal approach is often a recipe for disaster, may not have been thought through, and may be non-compliant in a host of different ways.
Whilst trust is always a live issue, clear well worded and up to date terms will be what gets you over the line.
We designed our contract management platform Proterms specifically for recruiters. It features no-sign technology, so there’s no need to wait ages for e-signatures. Clients click and it’s done.
All documents are held on your dashboard, at your fingertips, and each activity is automatically recorded so you can track (and prove) that the terms have been viewed.
The platform makes the process effortlessly scalable because you can use one contract multiple times, adapting it within minutes. And, there’s no need to wade through pages of legal language because Proterms allows you to split the document between the commercial elements and the legal stuff.
- Create and adapt contracts in minutes
- Reuse templates and customise easily
- Track all activity and acceptance
- Keep legal and commercial terms separate
- Store everything securely in your dashboard
Very! It’s hosted on AWS, one of the world’s most secure hosting platforms, and access is via protected login.
We did. Lawspeed lawyers and developers built Proterms specifically for recruiters — it’s unique in the market.
Our contracts have been developed over the last 30 years to address every type of issue you’re likely to face — and every kind of service that recruitment businesses provide. They are robust, industry-tested, proactively updated and specifically designed to deliver commercial protection for your business.
Plus, all recruitment contracts come with access to our purpose-built dashboard, Proterms. We designed it ourselves to make life easier for recruiters.
Legal Advice & Helpline
Yes, we’re just a phone call away on 01273 236 236. If you prefer, send us a message.
Yes. After nearly 30 years in recruitment law, our knowledge of employment status is legendary. It’s part of our DNA.
Absolutely. The legislation is eye-wateringly complex, so we’re here to protect your interests and make things easier. We advise on IR35, PAYE, umbrella, SoW, and contractor setups, plus the contracts you need to make sure you stay compliant and avoid HMRC fallout.
Yes. We offer discounted packages and guidance to help startups launch safely and compliantly.
Compliance & Regulation
Recruitment law is a term given to how agencies and employment businesses operate; and the rights of work-seekers and agency workers. Lawspeed was the first firm to treat this as a specialist area.
Employment law is the broad expression used to relate to all laws relating to the employment or engagement of individuals. There are a very large number of lawyers who practice employment law, but few law firms such as ourselves specialise in recruitment law.
The Employment Agencies Act 1973 is the current defining legislation under which regulations are made. This Act for example prohibits the charging of fees to candidates (defined as ‘work-seekers’) for finding them work.
The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 set out the main rules relating to acting as an Employment Business. Since the name is a bit of a mouthful these regulations are often referred to as ‘the Agency Conduct Regulations’ or just ‘the Conduct Regulations’. Candidates on temporary supply are often referred to as ‘agency workers’ and there is specific legislation that gives agency workers rights against an EB that supplies them and also against clients that hire them.
They are there to stop exploitation of people who are looking for work, and also to prohibit unfair actions which can block individuals from obtaining work.
The Employment Agency Standards (EAS) Inspectorate regulates recruitment compliance. The EAS has powers to enforce the legislation and deals with complaints about conduct. We can help you prepare for inspections and avoid issues.
Yes. As well as all the usual data protection rights, and employment rights if they are actually employed, candidates are entitled to information about the service being provided and jobs offered to them including around health and safety.
In particular if they are looking for temporary work they are entitled to information about payment, and depending on the arrangements when a placement is made, they will be entitled to pay and worker rights as a minimum. If their work is the same as other employees or workers on a client site, they may be entitled to the same pay and conditions as those workers.
Terminology & Jargon Buster
- Employment agency = perm placements (candidate employed by client)
- Employment business = temp/contract supply (worker engaged by you)
- Recruitment business = a broad, non-legal catch-all
A payroll intermediary that pays contractors on behalf of recruitment agencies. Choosing a compliant umbrella is essential.
A document outlining payment and engagement details for agency workers — required before an assignment starts.
FAQs for Start-Ups
Recruitment in the UK is governed by regulations that use specific terminology to describe typical types of business. A brief description is as follows.
An ‘agency’ is where you introduce an individual who contracts directly with the client, for example as in an employment contract.
An ‘employment business’ is where you introduce and supply a candidate to a client. There is no direct contract between the candidate and the client. Instead there are two contracts, one between you and the client and the other between you and the candidate who is an agency worker or could be a contractor.
An ‘agency worker’ is an individual who is supplied by you to a client where your function is as an employment business.
A ‘contractor’. This is a general term not used in regulation. It is used to refer to an individual operating through a company.
‘Conduct Regulations’. Again a general expression, which is used to refer to the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003. These are sometimes also referred to as the Agency Regulations, the Agency Conduct Regulations or the EAA Regulations. These regulations and the Employment Agencies Act 1973 contain the rules for running an Agency or Employment Business. How to operate under these regulations is set out in our manual, “The Recruiter’s Bible – a manual on the EAA Conduct Regulations” – please ask us.
‘Work-seeker’. This is the technical term used in the Conduct Regulations to refer to an individual looking for work – your candidate.
‘Agency Worker Regulations’. These are rules that entitle agency workers to certain comparable pay and working conditions as other workers already hired by a client.
‘IR35’. This is the general non technical name that refers to tax rules relating to contractor pay. The name refers to Inland Revenue Notice 35 which announced the rules in year 2000. These specific tax rules apply when you supply a contractor to a client, and can affect how you pay the contractor.
‘Opt-out’. The Conduct Regulations can be disapplied by an individual operating through a company (except in certain sectors) by providing a written agreement. This agreement is known as an Opt Out. Withdrawing that agreement is known as opting in. There are rules that apply for the opt out to be effective.
‘Agency Tax Rules’. This is the general non technical name for tax rules that you must consider whenever you supply anyone to a client. They affect how you pay someone who is being supplied.
‘Umbrella company’. This is the general non technical name given to businesses that employ and payroll agency workers who are being supplied.
‘Service Provider’. Another non technical name used to refer to any business that contractually sits between you and an agency worker who is being supplied.
‘Contingency recruitment’. This is where you are hired by a client to fill a vacant position.
‘Contract of service’. This is reference to an employment contract.
‘Contract for services'. This refers to any other kind of engagement contract (i.e. not an employment contract) of a worker or business.
‘RPO’. This acronym stands for Recruitment Process Outsourcing and refers to business that work for hirers to engage recruitment businesses to find contractors or staff. They are sometimes also referred to as ‘vendors’.
‘Back door hire’. Where you have introduced a candidate to a client and the client then conceals the hire of the candidate from you so avoiding payment of your fee. Here it is critical that your terms of business are in place and cover all the potential circumstances when this could arise.
‘Temp to perm’. When a temporary worker you have supplied to a client becomes permanently employed by the same client. This would normally entitle you to a transfer fee.
‘Transfer Fee’. The fee you should be entitled to if the Client takes your candidate after having hired the candidate temporarily. There are regulations relating to entitlement and it is important that your terms of business address this to ensure you get your fee.
‘KID'. Stands for Key Information Document, which is the document you must provide to a temporary candidate that spells out how payment to the candidate will be made. This should be given to the candidate before you provide any services as such, sometimes quite difficult to do, but failure to comply with this is a regulatory breach and is the No.1 failure that the EAS finds on its inspections of recruitment agencies.
Every business should have its own terms rather than rely upon terms copied from somewhere else. This is to ensure that your mode of operation is properly reflected, all risks are covered off and very importantly your fees are protected!
You should have business terms with both your clients and your candidates. Depending on your business model the client terms can be for your services as an “agency”, where your candidate contracts directly with the client (for example as in an employment contract), or for the supply of agency workers or contractors where you act as an “employment business”. Where you operate both services, it can be advantageous to have the terms combined as provided for by Lawspeed.
See more on Lawspeed terms here.
A document outlining payment and engagement details for agency workers — required before an assignment starts.
