Barry Cullen, founder of recLAW, has launched recPROTECT, a legal platform to prevent disputes in recruitment.
- The platform aims to resolve fee disputes, a major income source for recLAW, before they arise.
- recPROTECT offers services like legal advice, debt recovery and detecting backdoor hires.
- The platform is currently seeking seed funding of £600,000 to expand its reach.
- Future expansion plans include collaboration with law firms in the USA and Germany.
Barry Cullen, a solicitor with a background in recruitment, has introduced a new online platform named recPROTECT. This platform seeks to safeguard recruitment businesses from potential disputes. By targeting disputes before they arise, recPROTECT aims to protect the revenues of its clients, who are primarily recruitment consultancies.
recLAW, the law firm founded by Mr Cullen, plays a pivotal role in resolving fee disputes for recruiters, an area that constitutes a substantial portion of its revenue. Recognising the recurring problems that lead to such disputes, the firm has developed recPROTECT to address these issues proactively. The platform aims to establish a prevention ecosystem that tackles legal, personnel, and process-related problems before they result in financial conflicts.
Recruitment agents in the UK face significant financial losses each year, with over £860 million written off in unpaid fees and approximately £2.5 billion spent annually on invoice factoring. In response, recPROTECT provides services such as legal training, advice, and the issuance of debt recovery letters. Additionally, it features a mechanism to detect ‘backdoor’ hires, ensuring that recruitment firms are compensated for their efforts. Backdoor hires account for a 4-7% loss in net fee income for recruiters, making this an essential tool for the industry.
Client access to recPROTECT is based on a subscription model, which varies depending on the size of the business. Although the exact pricing remains unspecified, the platform has already secured nine clients since its launch. The seed funding round, which aims to raise £600,000 primarily for sales and marketing, is nearing its completion.
In the longer term, Mr Cullen envisions expanding recPROTECT’s operations to international markets, particularly in the USA and Germany. With an expansive market of 35,000 recruitment companies in the UK alone, the platform seeks to grow its client base to 80-100 by the end of the next calendar year.
recPROTECT is set to transform the recruitment industry by preemptively resolving fee disputes, with plans for national and international expansion.
