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Responsible Recruitment Register

The IHRB Responsible Recruitment Register features recruitment agencies with a clear commitment to responsible recruitment and to advancing The Employer Pays Principle, which affirms that no worker should pay for a job and the costs of recruitment should be borne not by the worker but by the employer.

Agencies included in tiers 1 and 2 have completed or are participating in a certification programme. Agencies in tier 3 have participated in the IOM Capacity Building Programme for Recruitment Agencies, and have consulted with IOM about the development of procedures to ensure workers are not paying the costs of recruitment if that is specified in a contract. Agencies included in tier 3 of the Register may also be recommended by companies who have used their services. These agencies may not fully prohibit recruitment fees across their operations, but provide recruitment fee free services when contracted to do so.

The Register is intended as an aid to businesses seeking to work with agencies showing commitment to responsible recruitment. We hope it will enable greater transparency and accountability within the recruitment process.

The inclusion of any company on the Register is not an endorsement or confirmation of specific actions or performance. The intention is to provide information on agencies that  have demonstrated their commitment to implementing responsible recruitment practices. Those companies wishing to engage with recruitment agencies listed on the Register should still undertake their own due diligence on any agency they or their suppliers contract with in the recruitment of workers.

For more information about this register, read our FAQs.

Companies' Register Associations' Register Recruitment Agencies’ Register

Tier 1: Certified agencies following an Employer Pays recruitment model

Company Name
Location
Rationale for Inclusion
Commitment
Sectors Recruiting
Destination countries

Tier 2: Agencies following an Employer Pays recruitment model undergoing a certification process

Company Name
Location
Rationale for Inclusion
Commitment
Sectors Recruiting
Destination countries

Tier 3: Agencies with a demonstrated ability to follow an Employer Pays model when contracted to do so

Company Name
Location
Rationale for Inclusion
Commitment
Sectors Recruiting
Destination countries
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The Responsible Recruitment Register is an initiative coordinated by the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB). The Register consists of  a database listing businesses and associations with publicly available policies that prohibit the charging of recruitment fees to workers and that apply the Employer Pays Principle to their operations. The Responsible Recruitment Register features three categories: companies; business associations and certification bodies. A new category focused on recruitment agencies has been added to the Register.

The Register was developed by IHRB using certification data from certification bodies: On the Level, Clearview and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). IOM has supplied further details on agencies’ engagement in its capacity building programme for recruitment agencies.

No. The Register is free for anyone to use.

The Register features recruitment agencies whose  recruitment practices can prohibit the charging of recruitment fees to workers. Agencies listed fall into three tiers:

  • Agencies listed in Tier 1 are fully certified by recognised programmes implemented by  IOM IRIS, On The Level or Clearview.
  • Agencies listed in Tier 2 are seeking to be certified and are currently working through the certification process.
  • Agencies listed in Tier 3 have either: participated in the IOM Capacity Building Programme and have consulted with IOM about the development of procedures to ensure workers are not paying the costs of recruitment if that is specified in a contract.   And/or: been recommended by companies who have used their services. These agencies may not fully prohibit recruitment fees across their entire operations, but provide recruitment fee free services when contracted to do so.

Recruitment agencies need to provide evidence of certification (to be listed in Tier 1 and 2) or engagement with the IOM Capacity Building Programme (to be listed in Tier 3). Consideration may also be made for agencies to be listed in tier 3 if nominated by a company with whom they have placed workers, providing they show evidence of operating a contract under an Employer Pays model.

The aim of this project is to drive change in recruitment practice on a single issue: recruitment fees. Whilst we encourage companies to mitigate wider risks to migrant workers in accordance with IHRB’s Dhaka Principles for Migration With Dignity, the Responsible Recruitment Register is focused on the issue of recruitment fees only.

For Tiers 1 and 2, a recruitment agency needs to completely prohibit recruitment fees across its entire operations.  For Tier 3, an agency might not fully prohibit fees across their entire operations, but provide recruitment fee free services when contracted to do so.

  • Recruitment agencies simply organise the recruitment of the worker who is then employed by the business.

  • Employment agencies employ the worker directly. The worker has no contractual relationship with the business where they are working.

    More details on different business models can be found in this IHRB Explainer.