The BIOR blog

The opt-out file. What the Fair Work Agency asked an agency to show, and what every temp desk puts on file this week

Somewhere in your agency there is a folder, or a CRM field, that says a contractor has opted out of the Conduct Regulations. Last week the Fair Work Agency showed what happens when that folder is...

Agency Advice

11 November 2026

The union statement for every temp from 1 January 2027. What a recruitment agency puts in the registration pack now

Eight weeks from now a new duty arrives that costs nothing, takes five minutes to set up, and will be checked long after everyone has forgotten it. From 1 January 2027 every employer in Great...

Agency Advice

4 November 2026

Budget 2026. The ten lines a recruitment business should act on, and the three it can leave alone

Wednesday's Budget carried no new cost on employing people and one number that every temp desk will price the year on. Here are the ten lines that reach a recruitment business or an in-house...

Agency Advice

29 October 2026

Five things to say to every client about the 30 October duties

Published 28 October 2026 and kept as it...

Agency Advice

28 October 2026

The in-house recruiter has a professional home now. Here is what it is, what it is not, and what the letters mean

A Talent Acquisition Partner asked me this in September, after a hiring manager told her in a kick-off meeting that recruiters “aren’t really a profession”. She had eleven years...

In-house recruitment

21 October 2026

Non-compete clauses are on notice. Six questions to ask about your own recruiter contracts this month

Every recruitment agency owner has a story about the consultant who left on a Friday and was placing the same candidates with the same clients from a rival’s desk on the Monday. It is why...

Compliance

14 October 2026

Ten checks before you sign with an umbrella company

The salesperson from the umbrella company was polite, the margin was good, and three of your temps asked for them by name. None of that is due diligence. Since 6 April 2026 an agency...

Compliance

7 October 2026

From January, every new temp gets a third document. Here is what goes in the registration pack now

When a temp registers with an agency today, two documents change hands before any work is found. The Key Information Document, which says how they will be paid and by whom. And the written...

Agency Advice

30 September 2026

"What actually changed?" Short answers for when a client asks

Published 23 September 2026 and kept as it...

Agency Advice

23 September 2026

Fifteen days to 1 October. The 15-minute file audit every agency should run this week

Published 16 September 2026, two weeks...

Agency Advice

16 September 2026

How to check a recruitment agency or recruiter is a BIOR member or certified, in one minute

A logo on a website is not a check. Anyone can put a logo on a website. Here are three checks that take a minute between them and tell you whether a recruitment agency, or an individual recruiter,...

Agency Advice

16 September 2026

Is a recruitment industry body membership worth it? An honest answer

People type this question into Google every month, and almost nobody answers it plainly. So here is our attempt, from a body that would obviously like you to join, but would rather you joined for...

Agency Advice

9 September 2026

The regulator with more than one way to knock on your door

Published 3 September 2026 and kept as it...

Compliance

3 September 2026

The jobs market just hit a decade low on vacancies. Here is what it means for your desk.

If it has felt harder to fill roles this summer, the official numbers now agree with you. The Office for National Statistics published its latest labour-market figures on 18 August....

Agency Advice

19 August 2026

The Fair Work Agency has a plan. Here is your two-minute version.

When a government agency publishes a “delivery plan”, most people scroll past. Fair enough. The phrase sounds like paperwork about paperwork. But the Fair Work Agency’s first...

Compliance

17 August 2026

Five things every agency owner should do in August

August is traditionally the month recruitment catches its breath. This year it is the month that decides how ready you are for the autumn. Five things worth doing before September...

Agency Advice

31 July 2026

The ten interview questions worth asking in 2026, and the ones you can no longer ask

Three years ago this page listed ten interview questions, and most of them asked about the person rather than the work. In 2026 that is the wrong way round. Since 1 October a candidate who...

Recruitment

14 March 2023

Top 10 Professions in the UK with Staff Shortages: Salaries and Live Vacancies

Published March 2023 and kept as a...

Recruitment

9 March 2023

UK skills shortages in 2026. The sectors and jobs in high demand, and where demand has cooled

The UK had 691,000 vacancies in July to September 2026, the first time the total has been below 700,000 since the spring of 2021, and there were 2.4 unemployed people for every one of...

Recruitment

9 March 2023

Unlocking the Secrets to Winning Business: Top 5 Things Clients Look for in a Recruitment Agency

Published March 2023 and kept as a...

Recruitment

9 March 2023

One in Five Hiding Social Media From Employers

Published May 2022 and kept as a...

Recruitment

26 May 2022

What does the cost of recruitment look like in 2022?

Published May 2022 and kept as a...

Recruitment

26 May 2022

Undervalued Care Workers

Published February 2022 and kept as a...

Recruitment

9 February 2022

Hospitality and airlines to engage in recruitment drives

Published February 2022 and kept as a...

Recruitment

1 February 2022

Why Company Culture is Important for Recruitment Agencies

Published February 2022 and kept as a...

Recruitment

1 February 2022

Launch of UK four-day workweek

Published February 2022 and kept as a...

Employment

1 February 2022

The Great Resignation is pending

Published January 2022 and kept as a...

recruitment

25 January 2022

Recruiting and retaining tech talent

Published January 2022 and kept as a...

recruitment

25 January 2022

Homelessness while working

Published January 2022 and kept as a...

recruitment

25 January 2022

2021 is a record hiring year

Published December 2021 and kept as a...

Recruitment

22 December 2021

Candidate Experience: Reconsidered

Published December 2021 and kept as a...

Recruitment

14 December 2021

The Lessons of AI Recruitment

Published December 2021 and kept as a...

Recruitment

9 December 2021

Major recruitment drive by Accenture

Published December 2021 and kept as a...

Recruitment

7 December 2021