Multi sector recruiter Stafforce has acquired Relay Recruitment in a deal that was driven by the two recruiters’ common ethical stance, according to the chief executive of Stafforce.

Following the acquisition on 28 February, Ian Anderson told Recruiter that Relay’s stance on the mobile workers scheme (often referred to as a travel and subsistence scheme) was an important aspect of the deal.

“We never used the mobile workers scheme, as even though it may have been legal, we felt it was both ethically and morally wrong, and Relay took a similar view,” said Anderson. “I would say it is unethical mainly because it took people down below the minimum wage.”

Before the scheme was declared illegal by the High Court in January, a number of staffing agencies included tax-free travel and subsistence expenses in workers’ national minimum wage payments.

Steven Street, the managing director of Relay, who has joined the board of the integrated company, told Recruiter the alliance was a meeting of minds. “We already had our growth strategy and they had theirs, and they were nicely aligned.”

Street told Recruiter that the integration would give Relay national coverage, allowing it to expand beyond its Yorkshire base. It would also allow Relay to improve the quality of its “value added” services, such as Business Improvement Techniques, for example, lean manufacturing, that had previously been provided by a third party.