Weekly Newsletter Vol. 4 - September 27, 2023

Generating your Lead Story…

Ontario Legislation Demanding Recruiters Obtain a License & $25K Letter of Credit by 2024 to Continue Operating

Ontario Government: All Recruiting companies in Ontario will have to be licensed and put up $25,000 in the form of a letter of credit by 2024.

Small Recruiting Firms: We agree licensing should be implemented in our industry, but what is the $25K for?

Ontario Government: It’s so that the government could draw upon this if it was needed to pay employees if they don’t receive their wages from you.

Small Recruiting Firms: Well, then this should not apply to direct hire agencies as we don’t payroll anyone…

Ontario Government: Well, we’ve found that a very small percentage of employees are not receiving their wages.

Small Recruiting Firms: With this logic, why aren’t all companies required to obtain a $25K letter of credit?

Ontario Government: *Silence*

Bill 27, the Working for Workers Act, 2021, amended the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the ESA) to introduce new licensing requirements for Recruiters and Temporary Help Agencies (THAs) providing services in Ontario.

The Ontario Government announced that as of January 1, 2024, recruiting companies in the province will have to be licensed and put up $25,000 in the form of a letter of credit in order to continue operations, plus, pay an additional $750 in application fees for the license renewal each year.

While many recruiting firms do believe there should be licensing in their industry in order to provide legitimacy and regulate their industry, some recruiting firms were puzzled by the $25,000 letter of credit.

The government explains they identified 10,000 Ontario workers out of 6 million (0.16%) who were owed wages between 2020 and 2021. While they acknowledged that many Recruiting firms and Temporary Help Agencies do follow the rules and pay their employees, the purpose of the letter of credit would be for the government to draw upon if it was needed to pay employees if they don’t get their wages.

For comparison, other provinces in Canada have mandated already that Temporary Help Agencies and Recruiters be licensed with a bond far smaller than the one Ontario is requesting.

So let’s dive into the issues:

1. The government is blanketing the industry by considering Temporary Help Agencies and Permanent Placement Recruiters as one and the same, though they function entirely differently. A Temporary Help Agency (THA) in short specializes in helping companies find candidates to solve short-term contracts. The THA sources and payrolls each candidate they place, making the THA solely responsible for the candidates being paid. A Permanent Placement Recruiter (PPR), however, has no responsibility for paying the candidates they place. The PPR acts on behalf of their clients to source the candidates, but once hired, the PPR is removed from having to pay the salaries of the candidates.

2. The offenders at question for the purpose of this bill are the THAs that have targeted foreign workers by withholding their pay. This is who the government should be focusing their attention on. By blanketing the industry, the government is putting an unnecessary burden on the innocent.

3. The bulk of PPR firms were not consulted for Bill 27. The Ontario Government claims they consulted with a number of companies who agree this license should be law, but there is no evidence that they spoke with enough companies to properly represent the thousands of recruiters in Ontario.

4. Bill 27 creates red tape and onerous costs on small businesses in contradiction to what Premier Doug Ford said he'd do; many recruiting firms will go out of business, affecting their clients tremendously.

5. Bill 27 is asking Independent Recruiters who do not payroll anyone to hold a bond in case the government needs to withdraw the funds to pay candidates that will never exist.

While most recruiting firms feel that there is a real issue that needs to be addressed here, the reality is that less than 0.03% of total wages have been withheld in Ontario between 2020-2021 and these workers come directly from THAs, not PPRs. Asking 100% of Recruiters to be responsible for this issue is nonsensical and ultimately does not address, nor solve, the real issue at hand.

The collateral damage of this Bill could be endless. We hope the Ontario Government revisits this before January, as many of the independent Recruiters will be forced to close their business, inevitably impacting their clients and the entire Ontario workforce dramatically.

Shortlisted Tips & Trends

How to Create a LinkedIn Profile that Stands Out:

• Update your Profile Photo: This is the first thing people will see when they view your profile. Ensure that you have an up-to-date, professional, and high-quality image of yourself. This may make you appear more credible.

• Create an Engaging Headline: This is the first place on your profile to sell your skills, above what your current job title may be, and grab a reader’s attention. Get creative and highlight your accomplishments or talents here; this will engage people to want to learn more about you.

• Treat the “About” Section as a Highlight Reel: Tell the reader your story in a quick and impactful way by sharing skills and accomplishments, and using numbers/keywords that highlight your career. People with similar interests, career paths, and stories may be viewing your profile. Be sure to show off your personality to make yourself relatable, but always remain professional to make yourself an attractive candidate to hiring managers.

• Expand on your Work History: Your LinkedIn profile is different than your resume. While your resume is tailored to a specific job, a LinkedIn profile is meant to summarize what you’ve done in the past to cater to a wider audience. Your experience should be listed in chronological order and each position should include a description of the company, your tasks, and skills required for that particular role. This may help in highlighting your transferrable skills.

• Add to your “Skills” section: Be sure to list your hard and soft skills in the “Skills” section. This is a quick way for readers to identify your skill set at a glance without having to search through your entire profile for them.

• Highlight your Skills with Endorsements: The skills added to your “Skills” section can be endorsed by 1st-degree connections. This reinforces their weighting and helps verify your skills. Endorsements can come from coworkers, past colleagues, and/or acquaintances - as long as you are connected to them.

You can’t make this stuff up

_{(*Disclaimer: these are real experiences provided by RME's community of job seekers and hiring managers)}

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