Eight of the country's biggest recruitment consultants, including the stock market-quoted Hays, were today accused of price fixing by the Office of Fair Trading.

The OFT claims the firms conspired to fix their fees. They also allegedly agreed they would all boycott the use of an intermediary who acted as a
go-between for construction firms and recruitment agencies.

The allegations relate to the firms' activities in the construction sector on a number of contracts between 2004 and 2006. If proved, the OFT has the right to demand that the guilty companies forfeit up to 10% of their worldwide turnover, depending on the severity of the crime.
The firms are A Warwick Associates, Beresford Blake Thomas, CDI AndersElite, Eden Brown, Fusion People, Hays Specialist Recruitment, Henry Recruitment and Hill McGlynn Associates.

John Fingleton, chief executive of the Office of Fair Trading, said: “For a market to work well, companies should compete to supply services and set prices independently . If we find evidence of anti-competitive activity we will use the appropriate power to punish the companies involved.”

The OFT stressed that today's allegations, laid out in a “statement of objections”, did not mean the companies had broken the law. The firms have 55 days to respond.

A Hays spokeswoman said the company was co-operating with the OFT investigation and would respond once it had reviewed the full allegations.