Current News

The European Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee is due to approve the deal on the Agency Workers Directive today. 

Speaking from Brussels, Anne Fairweather, the REC's Head of Public Policy  said: “Today’s vote is a significant step towards approval of the deal on agency workers directive.  The REC welcomes the fact that the European Parliament is choosing not to amend the deal, which was first agreed between in the Governments of the EU in June.  We are now working with our Agency Work Commission to ensure that when the directive is implemented in the UK, it is workable in practice.  This is vital if we are to protect temporary work opportunities, which are especially important in the current economic climate.” 

The Member States of the EU agreed a text of the agency workers directive in June 2008.  The Directive aims to give temporary workers the same pay and working conditions as if they had been recruited directly by the user enterprise.  

Following an agreement by the CBI and TUC in May 2008, the current text will allow the UK to implement these equal treatment provisions after a temporary worker has been in an assignment for 12 weeks.   

Today’s vote is significant as it shows that none of the political groups in the European Parliament intend to change this deal.  It  will be followed by another one in the European Parliament as a whole within the next month.  This clears the way for the Directive to be published by the end of the year.  The UK will then have three years in which to implement this agreement, although it may choose to do so sooner. 

Anne Fairweather concludes: “The REC has always maintained that temporary workers should be valued members of the workforce.  However, the equal treatment provisions are simply too bureaucratic for short term assignments.  We welcome the fact that the provisions will only be introduced after 12 weeks as this will enable businesses and the public sector alike to bring in temps for short term cover quickly and easily.”