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Netherlands – Adecco and Randstad accused of breaking worker privacy

20 November 2014

The two biggest staffing companies in the world, Adecco and Randstad, are infringing on the privacy of temporary workers, according to Dutch privacy regulator CBP, reports dutchnews.nl

Among other things, both agencies reportedly register the reasons people are absent from work, and Randstad has recorded whether or not candidates wear headscarves. Both agencies also take copies of jobseeker’s passports, even though this should only be done once they have a job, according to the CPB.

Jurriën Koops, Director of the Dutch Federation of Staffing Agencies (ABU), told the newspaper Volkskrant that current privacy rules need to be updated in order to cope with the demand of flexible working: “Clients need to know what sort of person they are getting quickly and that he or she has the right to work in the Netherlands.”

CBP chairman Jacob Kohnstamm, however, claimed that staffing agencies should recognise the importance of privacy rules and keep within the law.

Both companies have now said they will make changes to the way they use worker information. In addition, Randstad said that registering who wears headscarves is against company policy and will not be tolerated.