Current News
20 May 2008
REC responds to Government deal on equal treatment of agency workers
“Of course there are concerns that any new regulations will impact on the viability of temp and contract work in the UK, especially at such a delicate time in the UK labour market.
It is also a frustration for recruiters that the debate on agency work regulation has not been based on real evidence.
The 12-week qualification period is obviously a better outcome than the ‘day one’ equal treatment provisions that the trade unions were calling for but will nevertheless impact on the majority of temporary assignments.
The scope of equal treatment provisions is a vital issue and it is essential this covers only basic pay rather than other benefits and pensions which would be almost impossible to work out for each assignment.
In what has been essentially a political debate, the key focus must now be on the practicalities of how agency workers’ pay is negotiated and established. Getting the details right will be essential if we are to have a workable European Directive which enhances rather than limits the vital contribution of agency work in the UK and across Europe.
The REC has consistently argued that the European Directive has more chance of a workable outcome for the Uk Labour market than the private members bill on agency work which is currently being discussed at the House of Commons. The political reality has meant that some compromise solution on the European Directive was perhaps inevitable. UK recruiters will be taking stock of the practical implications and the government must ensure that it does not concede any further grounds when the directive is discussed in Brussels.”
