New legislation will help temp workers (From Wiltshire Business Online)

New legislation will help temp workers

11:00am Friday 10th July 2009

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With the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills consultation deadline on the Agency Workers Directive fast approaching on 31 July, Bibby Financial Services, the UK’s leading independent invoice finance provider, is urging recruiters to make their views heard now before it’s too late.

Plans to give the UK’s 1.4 million temporary workers the same rights as permanent staff after a qualifying period of 12 weeks are inching closer despite the fact that many industry experts fear the directive will do nothing to improve agency workers’ pay and conditions and may even make it harder for them to find employment. The AWD has long been waiting on the sidelines with many anticipating it would never become law, however, following agreement between the Government, the CBI and the TUC last year, the contentious legislation is set to become a business reality.

As the 31 July consultation deadline looms, many in the recruitment industry remain concerned about the far-reaching implications the new law will bring.

Edward Winterton, Bibby Financial Services recruitment finance specialist, said: “In the current climate temporary workers are proving to be an increasingly popular resource providing vital businesses resource, enabling organisations to benefit from a truly flexible workforce.

"Far from being exploited, many temporary contractors provide firms with the skills and expertise they need for one-off, special projects or new business opportunities which crop up at short notice. Likewise, many temporary staff appreciate the flexibility, hourly or weekly rates of pay and the variety offered by short-term contracts.

“Rather than protecting temporary workers, the AWD could backfire by making companies take on fewer staff on short-term contracts, putting additional pressure on already over-worked permanent staff.

“Recruiters that fail to voice their concerns to the BIS within the 31 July deadline may have to deal with a poorly drafted, unhelpful new law and run the risk of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted when it comes into force.”

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