No watering down of Agency Workers Regulations
The Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) will be implemented as they currently stand on October 1 2011, and will not be watered down at the last minute as has been speculated, according to a senior civil servant speaking at a House of Commons reception hosted by agency body, APSCo.
Peter Stephens, Director of Labour Markets, Strategy and Operations, from the Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) said that BIS planned to implement the AWR on October 1 2011 and had received no new instructions from Ministers to undertake an extensive last minute review of the Regulations. He made the comments following reports in the media that Downing Street had taken legal advice on the AWR and was considering ways to dilute the Regulations.
He went on to reveal, however, that BIS would be undertaking a review of over 200 pieces of employment law over the next few months, and that it would welcome input from APSCo on how the burden of employment regulation could be lightened in order to stimulate job creation.
Ann Swain, Chief Executive of APSCo, said: "BIS really has listened to input from APSCo on the AWR and we will continue to work closely with the Department as the Regulations come into force. We will be actively engaging with BIS on its review of employment legislation over the next few months."
Exemption
The EU-inspired legislation will give agency and temporary workers similar rights to employees after a 12 week qualifying period. Freelancers are exempt from the rules provided they are genuinely in business on their own account.
Several APSCo members raised the issue that BIS had not introduced a blanket exemption for personal service company contractors, or exempt temporary workers earning more than a certain level of pay, on the basis that they could not be considered 'vulnerable', and therefore require the same level of protection.
Ann Swain said: "APSCo made several detailed submissions calling for these kinds of exemptions during the early draft stages. The Government is likely to want to see how the Regulations work in practice before it looks to make any changes to the guidance. The first few months will be critical, and we will be liaising closely with BIS during this period."