ITA Code of Conduct for Recruitment Consultancies

1. GENERAL

a) This Code of Conduct applies to all ITA RCS members in all categories of recruitment in addition to the ITA Code of Ethics.

b) An RCS shall maintain the highest ethical standards of conduct in all respects of the Recruitment Consultancy Services profession.

c) RCSs shall operate within the law in accordance with statutory requirements and will strive to provide quality service.

d) ITA RCSs do not condone the use of bribery, kickbacks and similar activities as means of conducting business.

e) RCS members shall display their ITA certificate of membership in a prominent position.

 

2. ADVERTISING

a) All advertising must be clear and truthful and must not misrepresent facts, to either prospective clients or prospective applicants.

b) A prospective applicant must not be committed to anything by replying to an advertisement.

c) An RCS shall not publish any advertisement, which, because of similarity of format, may be confused with that of any other recruitment company.

d) Display advertisements must make reference to the ITA membership in such form as the ITA approves.

e)  An RCS shall not advertise a position, which does not exist.

f) An RCS shall not place an advertisement on behalf of a client without the permission of the specific client.

g) Remuneration and job titles quoted in advertisements should be honestly stated and not exaggerated to stimulate interest in the position being advertised.

 

3. RESPONSIBILITY TO APPLICANTS

a) The RCS shall observe the courtesy of acknowledging receipt of each application.

b) ITA RCSs do not condone head hunting.  ITA RCS members will not approach any individual working in the IT industry to discuss any positions for which the individual might be considered suitable unless the approach was initiated from that individual.

c) An RCS shall not exert undue pressure on an applicant to gain his/her interest, to cause him/her to attend an interview, or to accept a job offer.

d) Information in respect of each applicant must be regarded as confidential and shall only be used with the full permission of the applicant within the guidelines of the Labour Relations Act of 1995 and any amendments to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and any other relevant legislation.

e) An RCS shall accurately describe positions and clients being considered with each applicant and shall not knowingly withhold information which might affect the interest of the applicant in the position.

f) An RCS shall not submit an applicant’s details to a client without the applicant’s prior agreement.

g) The applicant should be kept informed of the status of his/her application at all times and has the right to withdraw such application at anytime.

h) An applicant may not be forced to sign any document giving sole agency/exclusive rights to an RCS member.

i) Every effort shall be made to preserve the applicant’s privacy and confidentiality and an RCS shall at all times avoid jeopardising an applicant’s current position.

j)  An RCS shall not denigrate job offers made to applicants via avenues other than their own efforts.

k) No fees may be charged by the RCS to the applicant for marketing his/her services.

l) The “Right of Applicants” document should be made available to all applicants.

 

4. RESPONSIBILITY TO CONTRACTORS

a) An RCS shall refrain from encouraging contractors of other RCS companies to terminate a contract prematurely.

b) Contractors shall be kept informed regarding relevant legislation that affects the IT contracting industry.

c) RCSs shall fulfil all legislative and statutory obligations to their contractors.

d) RCSs shall keep their contractors informed of future work prospects.

e) RCSs shall ensure that the contractor has read and understood the contractual agreement between the RCS and the contractor.

f) Any benefits or attractions advertised or offered externally or internally must be genuine, and not subject to conditions that would in practice make it unlikely that they would be given.

 

5. RESPONSIBILITY TO CLIENTS

a) An RCS shall fulfil all legal and statutory requirements with regards to the applicant and contractor.

b) An RCS shall ensure that the client is au fait with its Terms of Business before doing business with the client.

c)  An RCS shall only submit CV’s to a client after the client has agreed to conduct business with the RCS.

d)  An RCS shall only introduce candidates who after interviewing and screening are considered suitable for the client, and substantially meet the client’s requirements.

e) Candidate information shall be presented in confidence without distortion or omission.  An RCS shall not knowingly withhold any information on a candidate, which may affect the client’s interest in the candidate, other than as legislated by current SA law.

f) An RCS shall treat as confidential any privileged information given to it by its clients and only discuss such information with applicants with the permission of the client.

g) It is the opinion of the ITA RCS that a placement fee of 18% of the annual package of the applicant is reasonable.

 

6. RESPONSIBILITY TO OTHER RCSs

a) Each RCS shall respect the right of others to compete and shall refrain from disparagement of other RCSs.

b) Any complaint raised against an RCS will be mentioned at ITA RCS meetings.

c) Any RCS shall refrain from knowingly bringing disrepute to the ITA or the RCS industry.

d) Any RCS should raise any issues or incidents contrary to the Code of Conduct, if another RCS is involved, either at an ITA RCS meeting or to the chairperson of the ITA RCS committee.  The matter may then be referred to the ITA for disciplinary action.

 

7. INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANTS EMPLOYED BY RCSs

a) RCSs shall employ qualified consultants who have sufficient experience in the IT field to enable them to accurately assess the suitability of an applicant.  Sufficient experience is considered to be 5 years’ practical experience, or a relevant recognised IT qualification plus 2 years’ practical experience.

b)  Consultants employed by the RCSs shall be made aware of the contents of this Code of Conduct and of their obligations to work within its parameters.

c) RCSs shall be obliged to keep themselves informed of all advancements and changes in statutory and legal requirements in the industry.

 

8. FEE LIABILITIES

The ITA has drawn up a set of guidelines as set out below, under which any disputes relating to fee liabilities arising between two consultancies or between a consultancy and a client, can be resolved.  These guidelines are primarily intended to protect the client by clarifying what services an RCS must have provided in terms of the introduction, selection and placement of a candidate in order to have a claim on a placement or a recruitment fee.

 

The criteria that an RCS must satisfy in order to be entitled to a fee are:

a) The consultant must have interviewed the candidate.  Telephone interviews are acceptable only if the candidate resides out of town.  If only telephone interviews have been conducted, this must be clearly stated on the CV.

b) The RCS must have obtained the candidate’s permission to release his/her details to the client in response to a client specification.

c) The RCS must have provided the client with complete and comprehensive details on the candidate in writing.  (Telephone referrals and faxed CV’s are not acceptable, unless previously arranged and specifically agreed with the client).

d) The RCS must have confirmed acceptance of the candidate as an applicant of the client.

An RCS that has satisfied the above criteria will be entitled to charge a placement or recruitment fee.  In cases where more than one CV has been received by a client from different companies on the same candidate, the above criteria will be used to settle any dispute or conflict that may arise.

 

9. ARBITRATION AND DISCIPLINARY ACTION

a) An RCS may (and shall if so requested by any interested party) submit to arbitration by an arbitrator appointed by the ITA, any dispute between the RCS and any other party arising under this Code of Conduct.

b) The result of such arbitration and the motivation thereof, shall be made know to the parties concerned.

c) The ITA may caution, reprimand, suspend, or expel an RCS subsequent to such arbitration, and may in consultation with the non-offending parties concerned make public its findings and actions.