Agency Worker Regulations are further clarified August 2011
Posted date: 16 August 2011
The definition of an agency employee has been amended in time for the implementation of the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) on 1 October 2011.
The Government has corrected the errors made in earlier drafts of the AWR. These had caused confusion as they implied that any work carried out by a temporary worker was for the agency and not for the hirer, as is usually the case.
Changes have also been made to the section on Swedish derogation. This model is designed to allow short-term workers to be employed permanently by an umbrella company. This means that concerns over equal pay are automatically removed. It also indicates that staff must be paid between assignments.
The issue of staff employed under an umbrella company has been further clarified. It is now clear that an agency is only obliged to pay a temporary worker, who is working under a permanent contract while between assignments, once the first job has been completed.
Finally the Government has made it clearer as to what information agencies must obtain from hirers with regards to a comparable employee. This ensures that should an employment agency need to form a defence over equal treatment, it has all of the necessary information.
The AWR will give agency staff the same basic employment rights and working conditions as full-time employees after a period of 12 weeks in a particular role. These also covers the entitlement to use collective facilities from their first day.
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- August 2011
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