Employment Services (ES) has agreed to look into a potential security risk in its vacancy registration service Employer Direct. Two weeks ago a recruiter raised the issue after Employment Services staff failed to check her details before giving out private information about her client list.

Traditionally, recruitment agencies have registered vacancies with their local job centre. Since March 2001, companies have given information to call centre staff operating in eight centres around the country. There will be 11 call centres by the end of the year.

But Christine Latham, a partner in HML Personnel, which advertises all its vacancies with the ES, says the new system opens the door for unscrupulous agencies to misuse the service: ‘This is an extremely competitive industry and we have to protect our business,’ she said. When using the new service recently ‘the call centre operator started discussing confidential information about my vacancies without going through any kind of security check to make sure that I was who I claimed to be,’ she said. ‘I could have been anybody.’

ES affirmed that operators only check name and address before discussing information from that company, but a spokesperson said that ‘there are all kinds of ways in which an agency can find out about competitors’ clients. I don’t think the risk with Employer Direct is greater than in other situations.’

The spokesperson agreed that the ES would look into the security of the system in light of Latham’s concern: ‘We will certainly look into the issue of security and the training of our staff in how to use the system,’ he said. ‘But we have to be careful that we don’t use a sledgehammer to crack a nut.’ The ES also plans to discuss the issue with the REC.

Latham is calling for improved security measures: ‘There should be some kind of password or security code. I’m sure other companies would be happier with there being a security device to protect their custom,’ she said. ‘The Employment Services need to realise this is an important issue.’

Of the more than 200,000 vacancies registered a month with ES, approximately 8-10% are from employment agencies, the spokesperson said.