Background:

Poland is currently developing a comprehensive state migration policy. As part of this process, an analysis of the current migration landscape is underway, including on areas such as legal migration channels and the role of employment and recruitment agencies in facilitating the employment of third-country nationals. To support the development of this policy, the Polish national contact point to the EMN launched this query to gather information on regulations and safeguards implemented by EMN Member Countries to prevent exploitation and promote fair practices in the operations of employment and recruitment agencies.

Respondents:

23 EMN Member Countries (including BE) provided a public answer to this ad hoc query.

Findings:

A preliminary analysis of the results of the ad hoc query shows that:

In most responding EMN Member Countries, the legislation allows employment agencies to hire third-country nationals on behalf of their clients, although conditions may apply, such as the type of work foreseen (for example, in CZ), or the condition that the third-country national is already legally residing in the country (for example, in LU). In BE, where access to the labour market is a regional competence, the use of employment agencies for the recruitment of third-country nationals is not explicitly mentioned, but it is implied that the provisions applicable to the recruitment of third-country nationals apply to employees hired by employment agencies.

To supervise employment agencies and prevent misuse when hiring third-country nationals, the responding EMN Member Countries implement various control measures:

• In most countries, employment agencies can operate as long as they are officially registered. This is the case in BE for example, where employment agencies must go through an official accreditation process by the authorities in each region. Accreditations are valid for two years in the Walloon and Brussels-Capital Regions, while in the Flemish Region and the German-speaking Community, they are granted without limit in time.
   
• Some EMN Member Countries have introduced specific oversight mechanisms for employment agencies, such as the requirement of a periodic report to government authorities. In BE, the legislation governing the activities of employment agencies specifies that agencies must submit annual activity reports to the regional authorities, and foresees a system of sanctions and fines in case of non-compliance or abuse.
   
• Finally, monitoring is also done through the usual work of labour inspection authorities, who check compliance with employment regulations, work conditions, and workers’ rights.

Please consult the compilation of answers to the ad hoc query for more details.