Recruitment Services

Commercial Contracts

To work effectively with clients and contractors, staffing companies need to have robust but fair contracts that smooth the business relationship and comply with the recruitment industry regulatory regime. We have extensive experience of drafting such contracts for staffing companies. We prepare and update terms and conditions for permanent recruitment, temporary assignments and executive search. We also review and negotiate client-imposed contracts, identifying key areas of risk. Our pragmatic approach meets the commercial needs of our staffing company clients. 

Corporate Tax

Our tax lawyers are experts in a wide range of tax issues, including tax-efficient structures, restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate finance transactions. We implement the most robust legal structures and agreements for our clients. We advise on tax matters specific to the recruitment services sector, including IR35 and the off-payroll working rules.

Commercial Contracts

Our expert team includes technical specialists in cyber security and data protection who understand the interplay between data, transparency and privacy which is key for businesses in the recruitment services sector. 

Commercial Contracts

We have one of the UK's largest and most comprehensive dispute resolution offerings. We help staffing companies resolve a range of disputes which can cross multiple jurisdictions. 

Employment

Our expert employment lawyers handle complex, high-profile and high-value disputes, including breach of covenant, breach of confidence, and team moves. We also tackle significant legal issues such as diversity, gender pay, employment status and the gig economy.

Incentives

Our experts assist staffing companies with corporate governance, tax structures, CGT, shareholders, reporting, regulatory matters and trust deeds. We will assist you in ensuring your EOT is built with a strong structure that complements your goals.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Whether it's a complex international acquisition or a smaller UK-based transaction, our corporate lawyers have the experience to navigate you through the deal process seamlessly. Our deal experience within the recruitment services sector spans buy-side and sell-side, domestic and cross-border, as well as public and private M&A. 

Outsourcing

Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) and managed service provision (MSP) continue to be areas of growth within the recruitment services sector. We can advise on all phases of the outsourcing transaction lifecycle, including structuring, negotiating and implementing RPO and MSP contracts. We also advise on preferred supplier contract tenders or removal from a preferred supplier list, including advising on the potential for contractor migration on termination. 

Private Equity

Our private equity lawyers expertly guide recruitment founders and management teams through the structuring and negotiating of complex transactions, always focusing on the individuals behind the deal.

Public Procurement

We provide advice on public procurement procedures and how to respond effectively to tender requests. We advise bidders on how to deal with challenges to tender processes, devising suitable solutions and getting bidders successfully reinstated when they have been unreasonably excluded from a tender process. We also advise on the contractual aspects of public procurement, including reviewing, amending and negotiating contracts and identifying key areas of risk.

Regulatory

Regulatory compliance is key to running a successful recruitment business. Our experts help staffing companies and online platforms navigate compliance with the recruitment industry regulatory regime in their terms of business, processes and procedures.

Areas on which we advise include how to ensure Conduct Regulations opt outs are valid, ensuring temp to perm and other transfer fee clauses are enforceable, and how to resist contractor migration on contract termination. We have extensive experience of helping businesses under investigation work with the regulator to achieve compliance and, where appropriate, successfully challenge allegations of breach. In addition, we advise on the equal treatment rights given to agency workers under the Agency Workers Regulations and when these Regulations apply.

Reputation Protection and Crisis Management

We help staffing companies both with crisis response and proactive reputation protection. We assist with horizon scanning – often by way of a holistic reputation audit - to identify and address internal and external vulnerabilities; preparing robust crisis protocols; and creating tailored crisis simulations.

Where there is an immediate reputational challenge, we advise on any appropriate legal response, including complaints or claims in misuse of private information, defamation, blackmail, harassment and data protection. That may include seeking an emergency injunction to prevent the spread of damaging material, including fake news; handling pre-publication enquiries in the context of a threat to publish personal and/or corporate affairs; and mitigating the impact of disinformation campaigns and social media attacks.