Employment

Fairer treatment for agency workers?

According to figures obtained by the British Chamber of Commerce, one in four businesses in the UK use agency workers. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation estimates that there are around 1.4 million agency workers in the UK, the majority of whom are engaged in clerical, semi skilled and unskilled occupations.  Agency workers are a valuable resource for many organisations, providing businesses with flexibility and allowing them to respond quickly to operational changes.

There is already some regulation in the UK regarding the conduct of employment agencies and employment businesses, and agency workers currently enjoy rights such as protection under the Working Time Regulations and the National Minimum Wage Act.  However new legislation from Europe means that agency workers will have even greater protection in future, resulting in a real fear for many businesses about the associated increased cost.

The European Agency Workers' Directive was agreed between European member states and the European Parliament at the end of 2008. In a nutshell, the Directive aims to ensure protection of agency workers through equal treatment with regards to pay and working conditions which are no less favourable than would apply if the agency worker had been recruited directly by the "end user" organisation. Member States have until 5 December 2011 to implement the Directive.

The governments consultation on how to implement the Directive closed on 31 July and we are currently waiting for the Government's response and some draft regulations.

There is great concern among some businesses that increasing the protection to agency workers will involve a prohibitive cost which could seriously threaten the current flexibility. There is also a fear that the legislation which is designed to protect agency workers could have the effect of limiting job opportunities for this group of people. Some estimates have put the cost of the increased regulation at over 1 billion. Whether this level of cost is accurate or not, it is a particular concern in the current economic climate where many businesses are under considerable strain and the number of people out of work has sharply increased. There is no doubt that a balance needs to be achieved between fair treatment of agency workers and the need for flexibility in the agency sector. The debate is about how best to achieve this.

Does your business use agency workers? How do you think the balance can best be achieved?  How can the provisions of the Directive work on a practical level in the UK?