Recruiters urged not to use security clearance as a barrier

freelancesupermarket.com newsroom

10 February 2010

Contractors are being asked if they have security clearance before a placement is offered, which is clearly in breach of Cabinet Office guidelines according to the REC, PCG and the government department.

Whilst some contract jobs may well require clearance, it should not be a pre-requisite according to Tom Hadley, the Director of External Relations at the REC.

In fact, by making it so, a large number of contractors are automatically disqualified from a posting. The REC is aware that clients may require a clearance up front sometimes, but this should only occur when a contractor is required at short notice.

The PCG's MD said that freelancers were finding themselves blocked by these inappropriate requests. This also has an adverse affect on the end users who end up with a very restricted talent pool.

Some roles do obviously require clearance and this can be quite rigorous depending on the sensitivity of the particular role. The Defence Vetting Agency carries out the checks and they currently process around 150,000 such checks annually.

The problem lies with the time taken for these checks to be completed which in some cases can take several weeks. Therefore contractors who already have clearance have a definite advantage over other applicants.

Recruitment agencies argue that if they don't ask for clearance in advance it can delay the recruitment process by several months.

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