Six British recruitment companies have together been fined almost 40 million pounds for price-fixing and the boycott of a rival company, the Office of Fair Trading said on Wednesday. The OFT said in a statement that it has "imposed fines totalling 39.27 million pounds (43.11 million euros, 62.90 million dollars) on six recruitment agencies for price-fixing and the collective boycott of another company in the supply of candidates to the construction industry."
Recruitment agency Hays, fined by far the biggest amount - 30.36 million pounds - described the punishment as "wholly disproportionate" and said it was considering an appeal. Two other recruitment agencies involved were granted immunity from fines in return for exposing the cartel. "This is a serious breach of competition law and the level of fines reflects this," OFT Senior Director Heather Clayton said in the statement.