Employment agencies and employment businesses: record keeping

There are certain records you must keep when running an employment agency or business about applications from work-seekers.

However, you are not required to keep the details of a work-seeker if you take no action to find them work. For example, if you receive a high volume of speculative CVs, which are not used, records need not be retained on each work-seeker whose CV is not used.

Records data you must keep

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

• the date their application was received
• their name, address, and, if under 22 years old, their date of birth as well
• any terms which apply, or will apply, between the agency or employment business and the work-seeker
• any document recording variation to the terms between the employment agency or business
• details of their training, experience, qualifications, and any authorisation to undertake particular work (and copies of any documents provided to you relating to this)
• details of any requirements specified by the work-seeker in relation to taking up employment
• names of hirers to whom the work-seeker is introduced or supplied
• details of any resulting engagement and the date from which it takes effect
• a copy of any contract between the work-seeker and a hirer that you entered into on the work-seekers behalf
• the date any applications are withdrawn or contracts are terminated
• details of enquires about the work-seeker and the position concerned - with copies of all relevant documents and dates they were received or sent

Charging fees and records you must keep

If you are permitted to charge fees to work-seekers (ie agencies in the entertainment sector), 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, or
• statements of dates and amounts of sums deducted from the money you received on the work-seekers behalf when you operated a 'client account' to hold the work-seekers money