The Agency Workers Directive Confusion
With concern amongst employers in many industry sectors over the imminent Agency Workers Regulations, a commentary published by BIE Interim discusses how interim managers may benefit from any changing trends in temporary staffing that occur as a result of the regulations:
"The EU’s directive on Agency Workers Regulations comes into force from October 1st this year with the aim of increasing the rights of temporary workers after they have been with an organisation for a minimum of 12 weeks. But while most people agree in principle to temps receiving equal treatment in terms of pay, holidays and working conditions, it seems there is still much confusion and opposition to the directive because of the greyer areas in the rules.
The new regulations will provide, among other things, certain rights from ‘day one’ of temporary employment; equal rights to permanent staff in key areas after a 12-week period; and new rights for pregnant temp agency staff. Employers hiring temporary staff, either directly or from agencies, are about to undergo a period of change which could potentially affect bonus payouts, overtime, paid holiday and sickness, as well as basic salaries.
Some employers are running scared already. After the CBI recently estimated that the changes could cost businesses up to £1.6bn a year, a recent survey showed that a third of employers are planning on terminating temps’ contracts at the end of their 11th week before the 12-week deadline kicks in. With an October 1st starting date for the regulations, this could see a lot of temporary workers laid off the week before Christmas. Rather than this becoming a regular cycle though, there is a good chance that many temps may have their contracts terminated, only to be issued with a new, slightly revised one, the following day, again to circumvent the cloudy rules."
But what does this mean for the interim management community? The article comments that: "This could be a blessing in disguise for interim managers who nearly always operate as a business in their own right. They should be excluded from the regulations and it could prove that they are more sought after than ever, as employers choose them over experienced agency staff and their associated new ‘baggage’."
Read the full article at: BIEInterim.co.uk.