Just spoke to a transport manager to see if they had any vacancies and was told we only use “xyz” agency you need to contact them and apply! Surly cutting out the middle man is easier and cheaper??
Anyone else had this??
It’s like that at a lot of places. I applied direct to a place the other day I got an email back saying they had passed my cv onto the agency they use.
It’s probably quite common. I’d guess they’re doing it for one of two reasons. Either they employ all their staff via agency for reasons of flexibility (since it means that if they decide they don’t need you anymore, they don’t have to worry about redundancy etc.), or because they use the agency route as a sort of “extended trial period” - if they decide that any of the agency staff are good enough, they then take them on permanently. They might also have negotiated a deal with the agency such that the agency’s referral fee is reduced if they guarantee to take all their staff through that agency (and to pass on any enquiries like you).
Also using just 1 agency makes it easier for accounts dept to keep track of costings … imagine if you had several diff self-employed drivers, all sending in separate invoices at different times of the month … much easier for the firm to have just ONE invoice for drivers.