Workplace incident investigations dropping

20.03.08

The 2007 Annual Complaints Report by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) revealed that the number of serious cases investigated in 2007 totalled 24, compared to 94 in 2006.

However, the number of enquiries and complaints rose by 20%, from 685 in 2006, to 820 last year.

The main group of complainants was temporary workers, who accounted for around 30% of queries – a significant drop on the 50% received from that group in 2006. The majority of complaints were about pay, terms of engagement, holiday pay, or poor communication and customer service.

Queries from permanent candidates grew to 21% last year, with most relating to communication problems with their agencies, including lack of responses when applying for posts through jobsites.

Helen Reynolds, the REC’s acting chief executive, said the figures were an indication of the increasing awareness of the group’s standards role among employers and jobseekers.

“But the overall figure remains extremely low in relation to our membership numbers,” she said. She added that the sharp decrease in formal investigations was encouraging.

“This is an excellent sign that our decision last year to focus on working alongside members, providing them with support and guidance, before any complaints against them came before us for review, has been a tremendous success.”

© Crimson Business Ltd. 2008