§ 9. Mr. Rookerasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is his estimate of the number of employment agencies or businesses currently operating in the United Kingdom which charge a fee to persons seeking employment via those agencies or businesses.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerNo information is available upon which any reliable estimate could be given.
§ Mr. RookerDoes my hon. Friend agree that there are at least two companies, which are both American-owned, on one of which I have given him information—namely, National Executive Search—which are demanding fees from redundant executives in this country for finding them jobs? The mere fact that they file their information in America to get round the laws and regulations that we want to bring in in this country should not be an excuse. We need to take early action as regards the Employment Agencies Act to close this loophole.
§ Mr. WalkerI am grateful to my hon. Friend for having sent me information about the companies to which he has referred. I shall look very closely to see whether they come within the scope of the 1201 regulations that we are proposing under the Employment Agencies Act. Their position is rather uncertain at the moment. However, the company which my hon. Friend has mentioned is operating in the United Kingdom from an office based in Geneva. I understand that the Swiss Government have some stringent regulations concerning the activities of private employment agencies. We have brought this matter to the attention of the Swiss Embassy, which has undertaken to look into the operation of this company in Switzerland and its activities from its Geneva office.