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REC counters Early Day Motion call for early AWD implementation

The REC has today written to all 60 Labour MPs who signed an Early Day Motion calling on the Government to reverse its decision and agree an early implementation of the Agency Workers' Directive. 

This comes on the back of the recent announcement by the Department for Business that it had taken onboard the views and concerns of the REC and other leading business organisations and agreed to delay implementation until 2011.  

Commenting on the need to remain on the front foot, Tom Hadley, the REC’s Director of External Relations, said: "The REC has always approached the UK implementation of the Directive from a practical rather than a political perspective.  In our letters to MPs we have highlighted the specific difficulties that establishing equal treatment will entail for agencies and employers and re-emphasised our arguments for delaying implementation.  

“Although there are some positive developments in the draft regulations, the reality is that establishing equal treatment still raises a number of difficult issues - in particular,  where workers are placed on repeat assignments with a number of different employers or where they are placed with the same hirer but through different agencies. 

“This is not a time for claiming victories and engaging in point-scoring exercises. What is crucial is that the industry continues to engage in a constructive and pragmatic way with Government as well as with those MPs who are opposed to some of our recommendations." 

The REC is currently consulting with its members - in particular through the Regional AWD Summits - and will be developing an industry response to the draft regulations over the coming weeks.

REC Sector Groups will be providing specific input and will ensure that the views and concerns of all sectors of the industry are taken forward.   Updated client briefing documents have been made available to REC members.

Forthcoming meetings of the REC Employment Policy Committee and the re-convened Agency Work Commission will finalise the official industry survey.