Confusion delays code of conduct for consultants

By ASHLEY CAMPBELL

Recruitment consultants will soon be covered by a new code of conduct, but confusion over New Zealand regulations is stalling it.

The code was approved by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission last month.

Julie Mills, Recruitment and Consulting Services Association chief executive, says it is now lodging the code with New Zealand's Commerce Commission to get authorisation that "if we take action against companies, we will not be challenged on trade practice or fair trading matters".

The commission says it needs no such authorisation.

The main thrust of the changes is to prevent anti-competitive behaviour, says the association's New Zealand president, James Cozens. But they will also formalise disciplinary procedures, such as fines and suspension, if consultants breach the code.

Because the code is not yet being applied in New Zealand, these sanctions cannot be used.

Change can't come too soon for one disgruntled former job hunter who complained to the RCSA about an agency.

The man, who does not want to be named, says he applied for a job that was advertised at a certain salary and conditions. When interviewed, the employer told him the salary was about half that advertised and the conditions were different.

The man believes the agency deliberately made the job sound more attractive to inflate the number of CVs and applicants on its books. After he complained to the agency it apologised but denied the mistake was deliberate.

The man approached the RCSA and says he got "a warm response". He was shown a "code of ethics", and understood breaches could bring a $10,000 fine, which could be awarded as compensation.

After making a formal complaint accusing the agency of breaching the code, the man says the RCSA promised a follow-up call. A year later, he says that call has not come and he doesn't know how to resolve the situation.

Mills says the delay in dealing with complaints as authorisation for the new code is gained has been "difficult for all concerned" but "the candidate was made aware of the reasons for an inability to take action".

"The association stopped making commitments as to when matters could be dealt with as this became embarrassing after 12 months," she says. New Zealand complaints will be dealt with under "interim procedures".

But as well as saying the association does not need its approval, the Commerce Commission also says it does not authorise codes of conduct. The ACCC does have such a role in Australia.

Communications adviser Gail Kernohan says the commission is happy to talk to the association to "increase its understanding" of the Fair Trading and Commerce Acts, but it cannot offer legal advice or authorisation. She is not aware of being asked for advice.

Mills says the draft code says " members must be honest in all dealings with clients and candidates". She hopes it will be applied here within a year.