Guidance

Making a complaint to the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS) about your recruitment agency

Published 22 August 2024

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

• Publication for Northern Ireland

The Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS)

We are the government’s regulator for private recruitment agencies in England, Scotland and Wales.  

We are part of the Department for Business and Trade (DBT).

We:

• inspect recruitment agencies to check they comply with the law
• investigate complaints about recruitment agencies that we get from agency workers and others

We are responsible for ensuring recruitment agencies comply with the following laws:

• the Employment Agencies Act 1973 (as amended)
• the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 (as amended)

View guidance for recruitment agencies on these laws.

We have the power to consider enforcement action where we find serious or repeat non-compliance.

EAS do not charge fees for the services they provide, including investigating complaints made by agency workers.

Recruitment agencies based in Northern Ireland

If your recruitment agency is based in Northern Ireland, then the Employment Agency Inspectorate (EAI) based in Northern Ireland is likely to be their regulator.

Find out more information about the EAI.

Issues that EAS can investigate

We investigate all complaints that allege a breach of the laws we enforce.

For example, we can help an agency worker if their recruitment agency:

• is withholding pay for hours they have worked
• hasn’t given them a contract
• hasn’t given them a Key Information Document
• hasn’t given them written assignment details when they offer them the position
• is charging them fees to find them work
• is forcing them to purchase additional goods or services from them or third parties
• is stopping them from working elsewhere
• has told the work-seeker’s current employers they are looking for new work
• is forcing the agency worker to tell them the identity of any future employers

Please note, this list is not exhaustive.

Complaining to EAS as your recruitment agency has not paid you for your work

The most common complaint made by agency workers is that their recruitment agency has not paid them for the hours they have worked.

If you contact us to complain about not being paid, we can investigate the complaint if you give us permission to disclose your name to the agency.

• we need a brief summary of the complaint
• we might request this by email or discuss it over the phone
• we then approach the agency to investigate the complaint

We cannot investigate the complaint if you do not want us to disclose your name.

• it is your right to not give permission to disclose your name but this may mean we are not able to take your case any further
• we may not be able to help recover unpaid wages – in this situation, we log the complaint as information

How EAS investigate claims

When EAS gets a relevant complaint, or information which needs to be followed up, we investigate and try to understand:

• the causes of the complaint
• any non-compliance with, or breach of, the law
• the seriousness of any non-compliance or breach of the law
• the action that the recruitment agency needs to take to comply with the law
• an appropriate and proportionate response to any identified breach of the law
• that compliance with the law has been achieved

To gather this information, we contact the person who made the complaint and the recruitment agency they complained about.

Useful information for investigating your complaint

If you are an agency worker making a complaint, it is useful to give us evidence, where it exists, to support your complaint.

For example:

• any written communication with the recruitment agency or hirer regarding your complaint, for example, texts, social media messages or email correspondence
• any contract or terms you have been given by the recruitment agency
• any documents given to you by the recruitment agency about your assignment or pay
• any relevant timesheets and payslips
• any other evidence that supports your complaint

We will still investigate your complaint even if you are unable to provide evidence as the recruitment agency is required to keep certain records relating to your assignment and we will ask to see these.

EAS impartiality

We aim to protect all agency workers.

We take an impartial and objective approach to investigating any complaint and will give the recruitment agency the opportunity to present their information.

We make a judgement based on the evidence presented by both parties.

Actions EAS can take against a non-compliant agency

We have no formal powers to recover money from the recruitment agency. 

However, we are very successful in encouraging the recruitment agency to release payment for a worker where the recruitment agency has withheld wages.

We have a range of enforcement options we can consider when a recruitment agency fails to comply with the law after we have issued the agency with a warning letter.

This can include prosecution and, if a person is found guilty and convicted of an offence, they are liable to a fine by a court.

Where an offence has been committed, we can consider a “Labour Market Enforcement Undertaking” for a period of up to 2 years.

If an undertaking cannot be agreed or, once in place is not complied with, we can consider applying for a “Labour Market Enforcement Order” for a period of up to 2 years. If a person fails to comply with the order, they could be fined or imprisoned for up to 2 years.

We can also consider applying for a “prohibition order” against a person from ‘carrying on or being concerned with the carrying on’ of a recruitment agency for up to a maximum of 10 years ‘on the grounds of misconduct or unsuitability’.

Complaining to EAS whilst remaining anonymous

You can remain anonymous because we will never disclose your details to the recruitment agency without your permission. 

However, we need your permission to disclose your details to proceed with the investigation of certain cases. For example, if you complain that you haven’t been paid by your recruitment agency. In that situation we will need permission to disclose your details because the agency will need to check specific records that relate to you.

If you want to remain anonymous but still report information discretely to us, we will use this as supplementary information when planning future inspections.

Timescales for EAS complaint handling

The typical timescales are that:

• we aim to acknowledge all complaints received within 5 working days
• we aim to resolve your complaint case within 6 weeks of receipt
• an EAS inspector will investigate your complaint and keep you informed of progress
• if the complaint takes longer to resolve, we will provide you with an update every 6 weeks until it is resolved

Complaining to EAS whilst making a claim to an employment tribunal

EAS can still investigate your complaint if you are making a claim to an employment tribunal or considering your own civil action.

Issues EAS cannot help with

Complaining about a claim for equal treatment under the Agency Worker Regulations (AWR)

EAS are unable to help if your complaint relates to the AWR 2010. 

You should contact Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) for advice.

Complaining about an umbrella company

EAS do not regulate umbrella companies.  We can help umbrella company workers who have issues with the recruitment agency that has found them work but we cannot take any direct action against umbrella companies.

If you have not been paid by an umbrella company, we can check that the recruitment agency has passed payment to the umbrella company. 

View further guidance on working through an umbrella company.

Agency workers in agriculture, horticulture, or shellfish gathering sectors

EAS protect agency workers working in almost all recruitment sectors.

However, it is the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) that protect workers working in the agriculture, horticulture, and shellfish gathering sectors along with any associated processing and packaging. 

Find out more about the GLAA.

Making a compensation claim against your recruitment agency

EAS cannot help you claim compensation. 

If we were to prosecute your recruitment agency in addition to a fine on conviction, a court can make discretionary “ancillary orders”. One such is a compensation order for, for example, unpaid wages.

EAS and legal advice

EAS cannot give you legal advice.

You may wish to consider seeking further advice.

You can contact ACAS for confidential, free advice by calling the ACAS Helpline on 0300 123 1100. You can visit the ACAS website Visit the ACAS website for more information.

You can also seek your own independent legal advice. You can do this through your local Citizens Advice Bureau or Law Centre.

Contact us

If you need to contact EAS to make a complaint, or if you have any questions:

• you can make a complaint by completing the online form on the gov.uk website
• email us at eas@businessandtrade.gov.uk
• telephone us on 020 4566 5333
• you can also reach EAS by contacting the ACAS Helpline on 0300 123 1100