Running an employment agency or business

You must not arrange work for a work-seeker (except in situations where they are given a contract of employment by the hirer) if in order to take up that work the work-seeker must live away from home, unless you have taken all reasonable steps to ensure that:

• suitable accommodation will be available before the work-seeker starts work
• the work-seeker has been informed of details of the accommodation including any cost and the arrangements to travel to such accommodation

Where the work-seeker is not the employee of the hirer or the work-seeker is under 18 years of age, and free travel or payment is arranged for the work-seeker's journey to work, you must, if the work does not start or when it finishes either:

• arrange free travel for the return journey
• pay the work-seeker's return fare, or
• obtain an undertaking from the hirer that he/she will arrange free return travel or pay the return fare

You must set out these arrangements in writing for the work-seeker.

Where a hirer does not comply with its undertaking to arrange free return travel or pay the return fare, you must bear this cost for the work-seeker.

You must not introduce or supply a work-seeker who is under the age of 18 for a position if they are required to live away from home, unless you have obtained direct written consent from a parent or guardian.

If you issue a loan to a work-seeker to meet their travel or other expenses to take up a position, you cannot require the work-seeker to repay a sum greater than the sum loaned.

Au pairs

Where the work-seeker is an au pair you must not arrange employment for them if they are required to repay either you or the hirer for the fare between the au pair's home and place of work.

You can require that the au pair pays their own fare from their home to the place of employment but neither you nor the hirer can require that the cost of the fare comes out of the au pair's pay.