Government's 'temp to perm' quarantine debate intensifies
A heated exchange of letters (copied to the Interviewer magazine) between Alan Johnson - Minister for Competitiveness and Tory MP Ian Bruce has resulted in the Minister accusing agencies of using 'restrictive practices'.
The ongoing debate over the Government's proposed implementation of a temp to perm quarantine system heightened when Alan Johnson retaliated to Ian Bruce's criticisms over the scheme. 'Your defence of restrictive practices is touching,' Johnson's letter to the South Dorset MP said. 'I will have great pleasure in carrying through the long overdue revision to the existing regulations concerning employment agencies'.
According to Ian Bruce, the Minister's reference to 'restrictive practices' is to be interpreted as his views on 'finding a temp a permanent position'. The comment could potentially be seen as a major upset to the industry's efforts to dissuade the Minister from implementing his department's proposals to impose the temp to perm 'quarantine'.
The issue the debates are raging over stems from the manner in which companies, large and small, are sometimes deterred from taking temps on by the high transfer fees - "temp to perm" fees - some agencies charge. The problem can be highlighted in a case involving the Department of Trade and Industry themselves where one agency attempted to charge them £4270 in the belief the Department had recruited a copy typist hired from the agency.
Proposals last year would ensure that, if an agency wishes to charge a temp to perm fee, companies could agree an extension of the hiring period. At the end of that period, the company will be able to take the worker on permanently without paying a transfer fee. The quarantine period is an attempt to curb the practice of agencies holding on to their staff's right to work without them permanently in a job the agency had first placed them in. However, it remains a potentially damaging scheme to the profitability of agencies' business practice.
The retaliation from the Minister on this issue comes after his absence as the second key note speaker at the Recruitment 2000 exhibition. In the Minister's absence a member of the audience challenged his stand-in, the Minister's 'stand-in' Paul Hadley to answer for the consequences its implementation would mean for the IT recruitment industry. UKTECH reported on this at the time and you can access a full transcript of the question and answer here.
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Richard Powell
Editor's note: Paul Hadley has been invited by UKTECH to engage in a debate with contractors to ensure that he is fully aware of their concerns. As yet, he has not taken us up on this offer. PCG have made two submissions to the DTi and copies are available to PCG members on the file store