Recruitment agencies criticised by association

The Irish Software Association is to set up a special working group to investigate standards among Irish recruitment agencies following complaints received from its members.

Concerns have been expressed about employers having no right of redress if an employee leaves a company within 12 months of joining it.

According to Mr Billy Huggard, chairman of the Irish Software Association, which hosted its annual conference in UCD's O'Reilly Hall yesterday: "In the US in many cases there would be a refund of fee. It is particularly galling to our members if someone leaves after a short period and is placed in another position by the same recruitment agency."

The association now plans to establish a working group to draw up a Charter of Practice through collaboration with recruitment agencies.

Mr Huggard said the software industry was also being hit by a "double whammy" because many recruitment agencies had recently increased their fees, even though salaries were rapidly rising in the software sector.

Also speaking at the conference, Ms Mary Mangan, managing director of BuyandSell.net, welcomed the current revaluation of dot.com companies. "Ironically," Ms Mangan said, "the shake-out will mean that, as investors steer clear of high risk dot.coms, there should be more capital available for those with a solid vision and strategy."

Newly appointed chief operating officer of Dublin-based Norkom Technologies, Mr Iain Kerr, said the Republic now had the technological capability to compete with any country in the world. Mr Kerr has joined Norkom from his position as managing director of Hyperion Solutions' European operations.

Meanwhile, concerns about software piracy in the State have been raised following the publication of the Business Software Alliance' (BSA) 1999 report on piracy. It found the illegal copying and distribution of business software applications was continuing at the rate of 51 per cent - that is one in every two business software programmes installed.

The alliance will begin a clampdown programme next week, Crackdown 2000, which will target 10,000 businesses in Ireland.