Events | 2010.01.24
Agency and temporary workers to get more job security
• CBI argues regulations will push unemployment higher
• Conservatives will soften legislation if elected
The government is to rush through tougher protection for 2 million temporary and agency workers after years of arguments between employers and unions on whether such staff should be given the same rights as full timers.
The business minister Pat McFadden is expected to announce tomorrowthat he will ensure the agency workers legislation is passed before the general election. He has held meetings with the CBI and the TUC over the past six months to reach a compromise over the issue.
The issue is seen as a test of how flexible the British labour market should remain, and whether it should fall into line with the more structured mainstream European labour market.
Many Labour backbenchers support tougher regulations to bring Britain into line with European labour laws.
McFaddden is also expected to announce that he is responding to TUC concerns that the draft regulations passed last year did not go far enough to protect UK temporary workers. The regulations are designed to give temporary workers equal treatment on pay, holiday and hours.
It is also expected that regulations will be tightened to prevent employers avoiding the rules by repeatedly shifting them from job to job. The TUC had expressed fears unscrupulous agency firms or companies will shift workers between jobs within the same workplace, or rotating agency temps on short-term assignments between different employers.The rights for agency workers only apply to those who stay in the same job for 12 weeks.
The regulations will also broaden the definition of pay so that temporary workers\' bonus pay is protected in the same way as full-time workers\' bonus payments. The regulations will protect bonus pay that is related to the individual\'s performance or productivity, rather than to the overall company performance as reflected in the firm\'s share price or profits.
The CBI has warned that the EU agency workers directive will increase unemployment at a time when Britain\'s flexible laws have ensured that joblessness has not risen higher.
The Conservatives have said they will repeal, or amend the regulations if they come to power, following lobbying by the employers organisation.
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jan/20/agency-workers-employment-law
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