Simon Bell acts for NHS recruitment agency in Code of Practice breach allegation

Simon Bell has successfully acted for a specialist recruitment agency, engaged in recruiting healthcare professionals for placement within the NHS in its response to an investigation that it had breached the Department of Health and Social Care’s Code of practice for the international recruitment of health and social care personnel in England.

The Code of Practice advocates ethical recruitment, designed to prevent recruitment of healthcare professionals from countries that can ill-afford the loss of skilled workers (such as doctors, dentists, midwives, nurses and social care workers).  Recruitment from certain countries is prohibited under the Code to ensure that there is not a skills drain from those countries where skilled medical and social care professionals are most needed.  

NHS Employers maintains the Ethical Recruiters List. This is a list of recruitment organisations, agencies, and collaborations recruiting internationally that adhere to the Code. Admission to the List is by application and assessment.  Once admitted to the list, the organisation is monitored to ensure it is adhering to the Code of Practice.  Breaches of the Code are investigated and can be referred to an independent panel for determination as to whether or not a breach has arisen and if so what sanction should be applied - which can include removal from the Ethical Recruiters List.

Simon’s client was investigated for allegations that it had recruited staff from Nigeria, a country from which the Code seeks to prohibit international recruitment.  The allegations arose out of a human error in completing an online return to NHS Employers, detailing where staff had been recruited from internationally.  When the error was explained to NHS Employers’ investigators, further allegations were made that in addition to recruiting from Nigeria, the client had then sought to mislead NHS Employers through its response to the investigation and was engaged in actively recruiting from countries that the Code sought to prevent recruitment from.  An Independent Panel was convened to determine the alleged breaches through a hearing.

Simon, instructed by Richard McCulloch of Buss Murton Solicitors, advised on and assisted with the preparation and presentation of the company’s evidence to the Panel and attended the hearing on its behalf.

The Panel determined that this had been an example of human error and that the alleged breaches were not made out.  It provided guidance on how to prevent such an error arising again. The company remains on the Ethical Recruiters List with its reputation in tact.