The process of recruiting employees in any industry can be filled with uncertainty, but the onus is always on you to deliver what the company would deem to be the ‘right’ candidate. Having clients trust you to fully understand the requirements of the role, and in doing so put forward the relevant candidates, can be demanding.
In any profession, offering advice or a service can leave you open to disagreements with clients. Doing the utmost to keep your client happy is part of providing a good service – but when a mistake costs your client significant sums of money, they may be less inclined to solve things amicably and may go down the legal route to recover their losses.
Professional indemnity insurance: cover for your errors
You may have arranged professional indemnity insurance before for your business; it covers the costs of defending your recruitment consultancy against allegations of negligence in the course of your professional services, such as failing to properly check the background and qualifications of a candidate. It is generally seen as essential cover for recruitment professionals, with many industry bodies specifying a minimum amount that its members require.
It’s important to note that while professional indemnity is something you hope you’ll never have to use, it shouldn’t be looked upon as an admission of bad practice or incompetence; but instead proof of your business’ commitment to providing a professional service to your clients, even if something were to go wrong. http://www.markeluk.com offer specialist cover for recruitment consultants.
Examples of things that can go wrong are wide ranging. Let’s assume that you are required to recruit a member of staff for a client, but your company fails to carry out the proper background checks on the candidate. Your client subsequently discovers the recruited member of staff has a criminal record, and their reputation is severely tarnished as a result. Your client seeks damages for the losses they’ve suffered as a result of your mistake.
Another claim scenario common with recruitment professionals relates to breach of confidentiality. Let’s assume that your company specialises in supplying IT contractors. A member of staff at your firm accidentally forwards a timesheet summary, including each contractor’s personal and bank details and day rate, to the wrong distribution list. Your client, and their contractors, takes legal action against you for breaching confidential information.
When arranging cover, your insurer will ask what limit you require. This is generally determined by industry body or contract requirements, but if you need to arrange a limit yourself, consider the value of all your contracts and what it could potentially cost to put right any mistakes you make.
Claiming on your professional indemnity insurance
When things aren’t going quite right, it can be all too easy to bury your head in the sand and hope the issue will go away. If you become aware of a situation that may lead to a claim (for example, a client complaining about the service you have provided), it’s important that you tell your insurer immediately. The chances are they will have handled a claim very similar to yours in the past, and will know the best course of action to resolve it satisfactorily.
