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 arrives.
1. Have your say on guaranteed hours. The consultation on how guaranteed-hours rights will apply to agency workers closes on 25 August. This is the biggest structural change coming to temp work, and the detail is being written now. BIOR is submitting a formal response — send your views to support@ior.org with the subject “Guaranteed hours” by 15 August and we will reflect real desks in it.
2. Update your client terms for the harassment duties. From 30 October, employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, including by third parties. For agencies this covers workers you place on client sites — responsibility needs to be written into client terms before October, not argued about after.
3. Check your umbrella chain. Agencies can already be held jointly liable for unpaid PAYE in their payroll chain. If you cannot name every intermediary you use and show the checks behind each one, close that gap first.
4. Run the 12-point health check. Our free self-audit covers the areas the Fair Work Agency actually inspects. Thirty minutes, honest answers — ior.org/fwa-compliance-checklist
5. Read the market like a buyer, not a seller. Vacancies are falling more slowly and candidates are easier to find, which means clients are choosing between agencies more carefully. The winning pitch this quarter is quality-of-hire and compliance confidence, not headcount. The full picture is in our monthly data note — ior.org/reports
Agencies that do these five things in August will start the autumn selling season ahead of the pack. If you want the documents behind points 2 to 4 ready-made, BIOR Agency Membership includes the full Agency Compliance Pack.