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Agency Workers Directive - 250,000 jobs could be lost

Published on Dec 4, 2007 |

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Europe's employment ministers are due to meet in Brussels tomorrow (December 5th) to discuss the Agency Workers Directive.

The Directive, which was first drafted five years ago, would force recruitment agencies to provide temporary workers with the same rights as permanent employees.

This dossier has been in negotiations for more than five years but has not been formally discussed since 2004.

Many industry commentators suggest that the Government will be unable to persuade fellow EU members to delay implementation of the Directive, despite suggestions that 250,000 private sector jobs in the UK could be at risk.

Most industry bodies in the UK are firmly against the Directive, as it is seen as a "one size fits all" policy which will not suit business in this country.

CBI deputy director general John Cridland has said: "A quarter of a million UK jobs are on the line if this draft directive goes through. The government has, rightly, been rock solid in opposing this legislation."

Alan Duncan (Shadow Business Secretary) said: "Of course all temps in the UK need to be paid a fair rate and legislation to help this is welcome. However, this would be bad for individuals, bad for companies and bad for the economic health of the country."

Commenting on the negotiations, Helen Reynolds, the REC's acting Chief Executive Officer, said:

"The REC supports good terms and conditions for agency workers but the current provisions in the directive on agency work would only add bureaucracy and uncertainty to the recruitment of temps, thus limiting job opportunities."

Industry Concerns

The Recruitment & Employment Confederation's central concerns with the current draft directive on temporary agency work include:

Added bureaucracy - Recruitment agencies often make placements within hours of being notified of an assignment, the necessity of identifying a comparable pay rate would add more bureaucracy into the process and slow it up.

Added risk - If a worker disputes their salary or treatment they could enforce this in an employment tribunal. This additional risk is likely to result in employers using provisions, such as overtime, to meet peaks in demand, thus reducing job opportunities for new entrants into the labour market.

Where's the gain? - Abuse against all workers should be cracked down upon. However, the introduction of equal treatment would not stop rogue employers, who are already breaking the rules, to suddenly change their practices. Better enforcement is the only way to crack down on these rogue operators.