Summary

In the recruitment industry, managing workforce compliance is critical to ensure that all workers are eligible to work and have the necessary licenses and qualifications to carry out their roles effectively. However, managing compliance can be challenging, especially when dealing with a large number of workers. Thankfully, Quadzu's Workforce Management Platform makes it easier to manage workforce compliance.

Quadzu's compliance management module is an essential part of the platform that enables users to ensure that workers managed through the platform are eligible to work and carry out their assigned roles. In this blog post, we'll discuss the challenges of managing compliance and how Quadzu's Workforce Management Platform provides a solution.

Problem Addressing and Solution

Employers in the UK who fail to comply with the Prevention of Illegal Working Legislation may face severe consequences. The Immigration, Asylum, and Nationality Act of 2006 outlines the primary legislation on illegal working in the UK and provides for tough sanctions for non-compliant employers. Under section 15(1), employers who are found to be employing individuals without the appropriate immigration permission to work may be hit with a civil penalty of up to £20,000 per breach and have their details and the details of the breach made public.

Employers can avoid this penalty under section 15(3) of the IANA by demonstrating that they have carried out a compliant right to work check. However, failure to do so can result in criminal liability under section 21 IANA. This means employers could face a maximum of a 5-year prison sentence if they employ an individual who requires, but does not have, the right to work in the UK, or if the employer knew or had reasonable cause to believe that the individual was disqualified from employment. It is therefore crucial for employers to carry out compliant right to work checks to avoid the severe consequences of non-compliance.

In 2019, a UK-based car wash company was found to have employed 21 illegal workers without conducting proper right-to-work checks. The company was fined a total of £265,000, which included a £10,000 fine for each of the illegal workers. The Home Office investigation found that the company had failed to carry out the required checks and had also provided false information to the authorities.

The director of the company was also disqualified from acting as a director for a period of six years. The case serves as a clear reminder to employers of the importance of complying with the Prevention of Illegal Working Legislation and carrying out proper right-to-work checks.

It is important for employers in the UK to ensure that they are complying with the legislation to avoid severe penalties and criminal liability. Employers should make sure that they are carrying out compliant right-to-work checks and keeping accurate records to demonstrate compliance.

Ensuring that workers are eligible to work and have the relevant licenses/qualifications to carry out required roles is a significant challenge to recruiters. Additionally, ensuring that upcoming expirations of ETW and other compliance elements are monitored, and that the relevant alerts are raised, is crucial. 

Quadzu's Workforce Management Platform provides an in-built function which manages and monitors compliance requirements, both legislative and those standards set internally. The compliance management module enables users to track worker compliance from the point of registration without any additional configuration. Moreover, the platform notifies relevant users to renew eligibility items when necessary, making it easier to manage compliance requirements.

The compliance alerts section on the Quadzu dashboard displays all upcoming and expired licenses, qualifications, and ETW documentation. The platform tracks effective and expiry dates for all licenses, qualifications, and ETW evidence added, and notifies users 42 days prior to the expiry date. Ad-hoc checks of the status of licenses, qualifications, or ETW documents can also be carried out using the Training Management module and the Qualification Expiry report included in the Reports area. Furthermore, the compliance status of all workers in the platform – the client's own and those from labor suppliers/panel agencies – is checked as part of this function.

One of the standout features of Quadzu is its ability to notify users six weeks before any ETW documentation, license, or qualification expires. This gives users enough time to notify workers and clients of upcoming expirations and organise the relevant renewal processes.

In summary, Quadzu's Workforce Management Platform offers a comprehensive solution for managing workforce compliance. Its compliance management module is an essential element of the platform that enables users to ensure that all workers are eligible to work and carry out their assigned roles. The platform's ability to track effective and expiry dates for licenses, qualifications, and ETW documents and notify users prior to their expiry date makes it easier to manage compliance requirements.

Conclusion

Managing workforce compliance can be a daunting task for Recruitment professionals, especially when dealing with a large number of workers. However, Quadzu's Workforce Management Platform provides a solution that simplifies the process.

If you want to learn more about how Quadzu's Workforce Management Platform can help manage your workforce compliance, visit www.quadzu.com to book a free demo or contact dparry@quadzu.com 

Experience the platform's full potential for yourself and see how it can streamline your workforce management processes.