Here's a warning for all you very experienced contractors.
I had a contract recruiter contact me at a client recently. At first they contacted me via email in a general survey and were given a response of 'please do not contact me at this email address as this is a client and this type of contact is not appropriate'. They were also told to explain how they got my client contact details when they were not listed on my CV or supplied with them.
Then, a few weeks later I get an email directly from a recruiter and again they were given the advice that their contact was inappropriate.
THEN, a week later, I get a call from the recruiter to solicit me for opportunities at the client and to find out what I was doing next.
Lets just say this recruiter claims they are 'progressive' and are anything but.
Finally I found out where this recruiter got their details from. It seems the lazy sods trawled it from my profile on LinkedIn and then sent blanket emails to me. They updated their database, falsely, with details claiming that I held some customer role and yet never bothered to check those details were correct. They breached the Data Protection Act by recording false and incorrect information about me and then using that information to solicit unwanted contact at the client site.
When I got in touch with the recruiter, I was referred to their legal department who failed to see the issue and clearly didn't get the fact that a recruiter emailing and telephoning a contractor at their client is both illegal and inappropriate, and that the incorrect recording of data is seemingly ok, whether it be a mistake or not. Forgetting the fact that they have a legal duty of care to ensure the data they hold is factually accurate and was supplied by the candidate themselves, not ripped from a third party website and then used incorrectly.
Sufficed to say that I've advised the client, with whom I have an exceptional relationship, to avoid this recruiter and not to put them on their PSL - ever. I may also refer the recruiter to the regulator ASPCO for formal investigation. Its high time these recruiters stopped being so arrogent and unethical and took some time to realise that their clients aren't just the blue chips, but also the candidates - who have legal rights and should be given the courtesy of knowing when data is being captured about them.
I wanted fellow contractors to be aware of this sort of unethical behaviour by this type of recruiter.
I had a contract recruiter contact me at a client recently. At first they contacted me via email in a general survey and were given a response of 'please do not contact me at this email address as this is a client and this type of contact is not appropriate'. They were also told to explain how they got my client contact details when they were not listed on my CV or supplied with them.
Then, a few weeks later I get an email directly from a recruiter and again they were given the advice that their contact was inappropriate.
THEN, a week later, I get a call from the recruiter to solicit me for opportunities at the client and to find out what I was doing next.
Lets just say this recruiter claims they are 'progressive' and are anything but.
Finally I found out where this recruiter got their details from. It seems the lazy sods trawled it from my profile on LinkedIn and then sent blanket emails to me. They updated their database, falsely, with details claiming that I held some customer role and yet never bothered to check those details were correct. They breached the Data Protection Act by recording false and incorrect information about me and then using that information to solicit unwanted contact at the client site.
When I got in touch with the recruiter, I was referred to their legal department who failed to see the issue and clearly didn't get the fact that a recruiter emailing and telephoning a contractor at their client is both illegal and inappropriate, and that the incorrect recording of data is seemingly ok, whether it be a mistake or not. Forgetting the fact that they have a legal duty of care to ensure the data they hold is factually accurate and was supplied by the candidate themselves, not ripped from a third party website and then used incorrectly.
Sufficed to say that I've advised the client, with whom I have an exceptional relationship, to avoid this recruiter and not to put them on their PSL - ever. I may also refer the recruiter to the regulator ASPCO for formal investigation. Its high time these recruiters stopped being so arrogent and unethical and took some time to realise that their clients aren't just the blue chips, but also the candidates - who have legal rights and should be given the courtesy of knowing when data is being captured about them.
I wanted fellow contractors to be aware of this sort of unethical behaviour by this type of recruiter.
You've made me piss my trousers from laughing.
You got that bit right.
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