Introduction

Trade unions have been concerned about the treatment of agency workers for decades. This is not surprising as agency workers have endured some of the worst employment conditions experienced by individuals in the workplace. This poor treatment has grown in significance across Europe as the proportion of the workforce employed through agencies has increased. At the same time, the existence of a workforce generally employed on less favourable terms and conditions has served to undermine collective bargaining for permanent staff.

A recent YouGov survey commissioned by the TUC indicated that 33% of agency workers receive less pay than permanent staff, with 28% losing out on overtime and unsocial hours pay. The figures are supported by the statistics from the government’s Labour Force Survey which show that temporary workers earn on average 68% less than permanent workers. The YouGov survey also showed that 46% of agency workers receive less holiday entitlement than permanent staff, and again this difference is supported by figures from the Labour Force Survey which show temporary workers receiving five days less holiday per year.)

Persistent pressure and lobbying by UK trade unions finally led the then Labour government to enter into negotiations with other European ruling parties about the problem, which eventually resulted in the Agency Workers Directive being agreed between member states.

An agreement between the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the Confederation of Business and Industry (CBI) paved the way for this. At the heart of the breakthrough was an agreement that only agency workers with 12 weeks’ service or more, would benefit from the right to equal treatment with permanent workers. The result of this is that while the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 go some way towards improving the working conditions of agency workers in general, the major beneficiaries are agency workers on longer-term contracts.

The regulations are a useful new tool for reps — particularly those fighting to prevent a leveling down of the terms and conditions of permanent staff to those of agency workers. But, as ever, the devil is in the detail. The regulations are multi-layered and consideration must be given to how they can be used most effectively.

TUC general secretary, Brendan Barber, commenting on the regulations said: “These new rights for agency workers are an important step forward in helping the UK’s hundreds of thousands of agency temps get a fairer deal at work. For too long, agency workers have faced discrimination at work. They are frequently paid less, are required to work excessive hours with no overtime pay, and are entitled to less holiday than directly employed workers doing exactly the same job.

“Some rogue employers have used temps to undermine the terms and conditions of existing workforces, replacing permanent staff with agency workers on lower pay, with no security, no training, no sick pay, minimum holidays and no pension provision. But thanks to hard campaigning by unions this is all about to change. Now, after 12 weeks in the same role with the same hirer, the law will require agency temps receive equal pay for the job they do and to receive some of the same rights as permanent staff working alongside them.”

This latest guide from the Labour Research Department has been designed to explain the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 in a clear and comprehensible manner. Relevant legislative references have been included to assist reps, who may be dealing with recalcitrant employers, to give weight to their arguments.