APSCo Stephen Rookes
Stephen has an outstanding reputation as a leader in promoting best practice in Risk & Compliance for the professional recruitment sector, both in the UK and internationally. For over 16 years, he was the Group Commercial & Legal Director of US$2bn global recruiter NES Fircroft. During his long association with APSCo, Stephen has served for a total of 8 years on the UK Representative Committee and twice as the Chair in 2011-2012 and 2020-2022, during which he was also an active member of the APSCo Global Representative Committee. He has been presented with the prestigious award for “Individual Contribution to APSCo”. CEO Ann Swain said “as the Chair of APSCo during the implementation of AWR, Stephen used his wisdom and considerable knowledge of compliance to guide APSCo in providing members with the tools and information needed to ease the way". He has also worked closely with APSCo’s Public Policy Team to support campaigns and lobbying of HMRC, HMT and other Governmental bodies.
Stephen has a unique skill set in the recruitment sector. Before his career transitioned into recruitment in 2006, he worked for multinational engineering companies for over 20 years. They were involved in complex projects where the management of safety, risk and compliance was of paramount importance. Having both an engineering degree and MBA, and having performed many engineering, project management, business development and commercial roles, he has a solid understanding of managing risk in regulated and safety critical industries. This knowledge gives him an insight into how clients think about risk, compliance and select agencies they can trust to recruit their key talent.
Stephen’s passion for managing risk and extensive experience enables him to help businesses in the professional recruitment sector to mitigate their risks and achieve compliance so they can enhance shareholder value through the adoption of best practice.
Specialisms
M&A Transaction & Integration
Over the last 8+ years, he was responsible for managing the legal and risk activities of 9 M&A transactions in the US, Canada, Norway, Australia and the global merger of NES Global Talent and Fircroft Engineering in 2020 to create the world’s largest engineering and technical recruitment business NES Fircroft, with a global turnover in excess of US$2billion in 2021.
Contractual Risk & Insurance
As a Commercial & Legal Director, Stephen honed his skills in managing risk in contractual negotiations with clients and suppliers. These negotiations required him to have an in-depth understanding of the obligations, liabilities and indemnities that clients set out in their contracts. He is known as a ‘smart buyer’ of insurance, able to consider every element of an insurance policy’s terms, pricing and factors that will influence the sustainability, to preserve its long-term utility.
Compliant Contractor Engagement
Stephen has extensive practical experience of understanding and then implementing compliant ways of engaging contractors in the UK, whether through PAYE, Umbrella or Limited Company (PSC) engagement models, taking into account clients obligations under IR35, AWR and other legislation.
Management of Litigation & Mediation
Stephen has successfully managed a number of litigation and mediation cases as the claimant or defendant. His key skills are in the project management of the cases, ensuring cost effective use of external legal counsel and the development of robust legal strategies.
Contact Info Email: [email protected] Website: www.srcconsultancy.co.uk LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/stephenrookes
Phone: 07814 213499
