Agency Workers Regulations

PEOPLE BUSINESS HR NEWSLETTER

Agency Workers Regulations 2010

The Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) 2010 came into force on 1^st October 2011.

The regulations give agency workers the entitlement to the same or no less favourable treatment than comparable permanent employees. This is with respect to basic employment and working conditions after they complete a qualifying period of 12 weeks.

Demand for temporary workers is expected to remain strong (according to recent statistics from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation) therefore a high proportion of employers are likely to be affected.

Is it just agencies that need to comply with the new regulations?

Agencies take a lot of the responsibility but employers that hire agency workers still have obligations under the regulations. If your business hires temps, you need to provide the agencies with information about your own company’s employment conditions.

Who is an agency worker?

The regulations cover agency workers supplied by a temporary work agency to a hirer. This includes most agency workers that people refer to as ‘temps’.

Agency workers supplied via intermediary/umbrella companies who are then supplied to hirers via staffing companies are likely to be agency workers under the AWR.

What rights will agency workers have?

The AWR gives temps, who suspect their rights have been infringed, the right to make a request for information in relation to basic employment terms and conditions of comparable employees and day 1 rights to shared facilities and information about vacancies.

From day one of their employment, an agency worker will be entitled to:

§  Access to shared facilities and amenities or services provided by the hirer. For example, staff restaurant, crèche facilities, transport services (local pick up service, inter-site transport)

§  Information on job vacancies with the hirer

After a 12 week qualifying period, an agency worker will be entitled to the same basic conditions of employment and equal treatment in terms of:

• Pay including bonus linked to performance. It does not include loyalty bonuses, occupational pensions, financial participation schemes, redundancy pay, contractual sick pay and maternity, paternity and adoption pay over and above statutory entitlement
• Holidays
• Night work
• Rest periods/breaks
• Duration of working time

Agency workers will also be entitled to paid time off to attend ante-natal appointments during their working hours. 

The new rules however do not mean that agency workers become permanent employees after the 12 week period.

What is meant by equal treatment in relation to pay?

Pay includes a comparable permanent employee’s salary. So, in practical terms, that comparable employee’s annual salary should be converted to an hourly or daily rate and that information provided by the hirer to the agency.

If a worker is absent or has a break from the assignment, will the 12 week period be re-set?

Certain breaks taken by the worker will only pause the time during which the worker accrues service during the qualification period. Breaks between assignments with the same organisation will pause the clock if they last for six weeks or less. Some other absences, such as sickness, jury service and annual leave will also pause the clock.

For a full list of absences that will pause the qualification period, please refer to:

http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/employment-matters/docs/a/11-949-agency-workers-regulations-guidance.pdf

Do self employed people have rights under the regulations?

Self employed workers will not be covered by the regulations if the agency or hirer is considered to be a client or customer of the self employed person. If the individual, the hirer and the agency intend for the worker to be considered self employed and not covered by the regulations, there will need to be clear evidence in a written contract and in practice to this effect.

What practical steps does my organisation need to take?

Here are some suggestions:

·         Review current systems for advertising internal permanent vacancies to ensure they are made available to any temporary workers

·         Review any on site facilities that temporary workers are entitled to have access to

·         Audit your current arrangements to consider whether agency workers are likely to be appointed for more than 12 weeks

·         Consider what roles you currently fill with temporary agency workers and determine who the relevant permanent comparators for these roles are

·         Review what the basic working and employment conditions of those comparators are

·         Collate information which will have to be given to the agencies (for example, put together a summary sheet of terms and conditions which can be provided)

·         Determine how and when this information will be passed to the agencies

·         Look at how you will share this information with any agency workers who may request it

·         Agree processes with the providing agencies to include checking when a worker meets the 12 week qualifying period

·         Consider whether you will enter into a confidentiality agreement with agencies before you disclose information to them about your terms of employment

Failure to comply

Falling foul of the AWR could result in a fine of £5,000 at an employment tribunal, which would be multiplied if more than one temporary worker at the organisation is found to have received unequal treatment under the regulations.

ACAS Chief Executive John Taylor advises “businesses really need to make sure that they have a handle on these changes. It is not something to think about down the line and get it wrong as it can be costly to your business. Some employers may try to get round the Regulations by hiring and re-hiring temps on a succession of shorter periods. But they need to be careful of the many provisos within the new law. We would always advise employers to take a fair approach as the basis for any workplace relations.”

Finally the equality given to temps is not as extensive as many thought it might be, therefore should prove not to be an administrative burden or deter your organisation from hiring agency workers in the future.

If you would like advice or further guidance regarding the Agency Workers Regulations we would be happy to assist you with this.

Please email us at julie.ware@peoplebusiness.co.uk or call us on 01932 874944 or respond at http://people-insight.blogspot.com/