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12 Aug 2008

REC rallies members on AWD client awareness campaign

With the EU Agency Workers Directive due to pass before the European Parliament in September, REC members have a pivotal role to play in keeping their clients up to speed and addressing common misconceptions. In order to support this, the External Relations team has developed a briefing document on the EU Directive that can be forwarded to employers.

Recent feedback from REC members has highlighted a number of common misconceptions amongst client organisations and an initial priority is to reassure employers in terms of the long-term viability of the UK’s agency work model.

Commenting on the REC’s AWD awareness campaign, Director of External Relations Tom Hadley says:  “There is a high level of uncertainty and misinformation about what the EU Directive will actually mean. As well as influencing the details on how equal treatment will apply in the UK, we need to ensure that employers do not start reviewing their use of agency staff based on some of these misconceptions.  

“The reality is that many of the details are still up for grabs and recruitment professionals have a pivotal role to play in keeping their clients up to speed. In addition, we already know that many assignments will not be affected since around 50 per cent are under 12 weeks and a high proportion of temporary workers already get paid more than their permanent counterparts”.   

In order to support members in their awareness raising activities with clients, the REC External Relations team has developed a briefing document on the EU Agency Workers Directive that can be forwarded to employers. This can be accessed at http://www.rec.uk.com/corporate-members/lobbying. 

The REC will be leading a delegation Brussels to meet with MEPs in September. On the domestic front, the REC’s Agency Work Commission will drive the industry view on making the Directive workable in the UK. A first meeting will take place later this month, with key recommendations being presented to Government by the end of the year.  

FURTHER INFORMATION 

What does the EU Agency Workers Directive mean in practice? 

A number of key details are still open for discussion, but the proposed new measures are  likely to mean that: 

  •  Temporary and contract workers will be granted the same working conditions and rates of pay as somebody recruited to do same job on a permanent basis within the client’s organisation.        
  • In the UK, these equal treatment measures will only ‘kick in’ after 12 weeks of an assignment.        
  • If equal pay can be established from the outset, there will be no need to worry about the 12 week milestone.           
  • Equal treatment will be on the grounds of pay and working time. Contractual sick pay and occupational pensions schemes will not be covered.

What are the timescales?  

The Directive will go through its second reading in the European Parliament by the end of the year. The UK Government  will then be drafting national implementing measures during 2009. The earliest likely date for implementation is April 2010.