Request for Proposals - Responsible Recruitment Register – Research of company policies
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AI Summary
Background
There are approximately 170 million migrant workers in the world, 5% of the global workforce, and, as such, migrant workers play a critical role in the global economy. Their skills and labour add significantly to the economic vitality of destination countries. Their remittances sent home frequently help to sustain families and communities in origin countries, which may lack other viable income opportunities.
The IHRB Migrant Workers Programme seeks to advance global efforts aimed at ensuring that migrant workers everywhere are treated with dignity and respect. We work with businesses, civil society representatives, and governments to promote the rights of migrant workers in all sectors and locations.
Despite the global economic benefits of labour migration, many migrant workers face particular challenges at all stages of the migration cycle. In 2012, the Institute for Human Rights and Business developed the Dhaka Principles for Migration with Dignity, an overarching framework for businesses to understand and address those challenges. Over the last 14 years, the Dhaka Principles have been regularly used and referenced by a range of stakeholders from businesses and governments to non-governmental and academic experts.
The IHRB Migrant Workers Programme has a particular focus on issues of relevance to recruitment and seeks to address flawed recruitment practices to which many workers are routinely subjected. We seek to challenge the common practice of migrant workers being required to pay recruitment fees to secure employment abroad. IHRB promotes a recruitment industry business model based on the Employer Pays Principle, which affirms that no worker should pay for a job, and that the costs of recruitment should be borne not by the worker but by the employer.
The Responsible Recruitment Register
In 2022, IHRB developed and launched the Responsible Recruitment Register. The Register is a list of companies who have publicly available policies that include a prohibition of recruitment fees, costs, and charges to migrant workers. The Register is intended to increase transparency and accountability. We hope that the example of peer and competitor companies will also encourage more companies to develop appropriate policies. The Register can also be used in advocacy with business and government.
The Register simply records the existence of a policy relating to recruitment fees. IHRB does not undertake any analysis, audit or benchmarking of the implementation or effectiveness of those policies. In the long term, IHRB envisions a shift in market norms so that responsible recruitment is no longer driven by a small group of leaders, but is increasingly expected by businesses, recruiters, governments, and workers themselves. Companies sourcing across key migration corridors demand fee-free recruitment as a baseline requirement; recruitment agencies adopt transparent, employer-funded business models; and governments reinforce these expectations through policy, guidance, and enforcement. Together, these changes reduce workers' exposure to debt, coercion, and exploitation at the point of recruitment. A core marker of success is that responsible recruitment becomes visible, comparable, and actionable at scale.
The Responsible Recruitment Register enables stakeholders to identify who is implementing EPP-aligned practices, benchmark progress over time, and learn from peers.
Through this short-term consultancy, IHRB will strengthen and expand the Responsible Recruitment Register as a tool for improving transparency and accountability in recruitment markets. The consultancy will support a significant increase in the number and diversity of companies, while also improving the quality, accessibility and comparability of the information presented.
This will help the Register move beyond its current role as a signalling tool and become a more widely used resource for accountability, benchmarking and decision-making. By making EPP-aligned commitments more visible and easier to compare, the Register will support peer learning, create positive competitive pressure across sectors and supply chains, and encourage more consistent adoption of the Employer Pays Principle.
Role Overview
The Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) seeks expertise from a credible organisation or individual with proven research experience on business and labour migration. This short-term consultancy will take place over a period of 2 months with 35 working days (ideally August - September 2026) and with the following outputs:
Undertake a review of the recruitment policies of 5,000 companies and 250 industry associations;
Collate company information into a database for use in an advocacy campaign
Review of Existing Register Entries for Policy Updates and Changes
Develop Removal Criteria for Companies, Associations and Recruitment Agencies
Role location: flexible (home based)
Duration of consultancy: 35 Days / 2 months approx.
In 2026-2027, IHRB will expand and modernise the platform through a new, user-friendly interface to enhance visibility and impact. Public commitments to EPP made by companies, associations, recruiters and governments will be recorded and tracked through the Responsible Recruitment Register, enabling accountability and visibility over time. Specifically, this includes:
1,000 new companies added over two years, based on the expectation that ~20% of assessed companies will meet zero-fee criteria, bringing the total companies on the Register to ~1,400 by the end of 2027.
50 additional industry associations assessed and listed as compliant, bringing the total to ~80 associations.
The expected outcomes of an expanded Responsible Recruitment Register include: greater market visibility for EPP adopters, contributing to positive competitive pressure and peer learning; improved accountability as register data enables stakeholders to track progress and identify gaps; and registers widely used as reference points for due diligence, sourcing decisions, and industry initiatives. Over time, the Register will expand to create a comprehensive and enduring global transparency resource — serving as a reference point for buyers, suppliers, recruiters, investors, and governments seeking practical pathways toward the Employer Pays Principle.
Deliverables
Review and collation of company recruitment policies:
Review the recruitment /migrant worker / forced labour / human rights policies/ supplier guidance and standards of 5000 companies collecting data on their publicly available policies relating to the recruitment of migrant workers in their direct operations or extended supply chains.. We are particularly interested in whether companies have a prohibition on the payment of recruitment fees, costs, and charges by migrant workers to secure employment – these fees being the responsibility of the employer – The Employer Pays Principle. Companies with appropriate public policies will feature in the IHRB Responsible Recruitment Register.
2. Review and collation of Industry Association recruitment policies
Review and collate publicly available policies, standards, codes of conduct and member guidance issued by industry associations relating to the recruitment of migrant workers, forced labour, human rights, responsible business conduct and supply-chain due diligence. Relevant documents may include association websites, membership codes, supplier standards, sector guidance, certification requirements, due diligence tools, public commitments and policy statements. Associations with clear and publicly available policies aligned with responsible recruitment and the Employer Pays Principle will be included in the IHRB Responsible Recruitment Register.
3. Review of Existing Register Entries for Policy Updates and Changes
Review the existing 407 companies and 37 industry associations currently listed on the Responsible Recruitment Register to identify any updates, changes or gaps in their publicly available policies. This will include checking whether existing links remain active, whether policy documents have been revised, removed or replaced, and whether any new commitments relating to responsible recruitment, migrant worker protection, recruitment fees, forced labour, human rights due diligence or the Employer Pays Principle have been introduced. The review will help ensure that the Register remains accurate, current and reliable as a transparency and accountability resource.
4. Collation of company information for advocacy campaign
Whilst reviewing recruitment policies, collate additional information that will be subsequently used in an advocacy campaign based on those policies regarding recruitment. This would include:
Company details:
Name of company
Company address
Name of Chief Executive
Sustainability contact including email address.
Membership of trade or sustainable business associations
Policies:
o Dedicated Migrant Worker Policy
o Prohibition on recruitment fees to workers
o Reference to Employer Pays Principle
o Reference to fee repayment if workers are found to have paid.
o Reference to Dhaka Principles
5. Develop Removal Criteria for Companies, Associations and Recruitment Agencies
The consultant will review the current Responsible Recruitment Register process and work with IHRB to develop a clear, transparent and consistent approach for removing entries from all three Registers (companies, industry associations, and recruitment agencies). This includes practical guidance on removal criteria and procedures that can be published on the Register website, so that future decisions are based on publicly available criteria and stakeholders understand the basis on which listings may be reviewed or removed.
All removal-related information will be captured in a master Excel-type tracking document, including links to the relevant policy, certification or assessment document underpinning each entry, so that the basis for a listing — and any future decision to remove it — is clearly documented and traceable.
The approach will need to reflect that companies and associations are generally removed on procedural grounds (e.g. an expired certification or a policy that no longer meets EPP criteria), while recruitment agencies require a different approach. The consultant will also help design a simple, published channel for raising concerns about a listing, with a clear process for how such concerns are handled.
The consultant is not expected, and should not, contact any company or agency directly. All information should be based on what is publicly available.
Requirements, Experience and Qualifications
Essential
Demonstrable expert level understanding of migrant rights and labour migration.
Experience / understanding of the private sector and Business and Human Rights
Experience conducting similar reviews and analysis.
Excellent communications skills, especially writing and editing skills in English.
Ability to complete the review by 31st October 2026.
Fee
A fee maximum $14,000 USD
Application Process
Deadline for applications: 5pm BST on 26 July 2026
Interviews: 12 & 14 August 2026
Expected start date: August 2026
Interested parties (individuals or organisations) are invited to submit the following:
A brief proposal summarising your approach, work plan, and suitability for this work (strictly no more than 2 pages).
A detailed financial proposal
Links to any relevant research previously completed on similar projects or with a similar approach
Name and contact details for two references.
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