Support to exclude professionals from workers' rights
The Labour MP who championed employment rights for temps and agency workers has thrown his weight behind the campaign to exclude professional workers who operate through their own companies or umbrellas from the legislation.
Andrew Miller, MP, who is also Chairman of the House of Commons Regulatory Reform Committee, which aims to ensure any regulation passed in the UK is appropriate, endorsed his position at a House of Commons reception organised by agency body, ATSCo.
Andrew Miller referred to his Private Members' Bill earlier this year which aimed to introduce domestic legislation to protect agency workers, and said that he, along with the other members, appreciated the need to separate highly skilled, highly paid professional workers who operate as contractors from low paid temporary workers who are potentially vulnerable to exploitation.
Europe
The Temporary Workers Directive (TWD) had stalled in Europe, until the UK reversed its position of opposition earlier this year. It is now passing through the European Parliament and this week it passed a crucial vote taking it a step closer to implementation in the UK.
Ann Swain, Chief Executive, ATSCo, said: "Shaping the TWD into a form that will not damage the high-end professional staffing sector has been a huge campaign for ATSCo over the last few years. We are not out of the woods yet, but this is a huge step forward. It is deeply satisfying to get such an endorsement from one of the key legislators who will be working on the UK legislation.
"ATSCo has always recognised the need to protect vulnerable workers, but there was a danger that the distinction between the highly skilled and highly paid workers placed by ATSCo members, and the kind of workers exploited by gangmasters, was not understood by EU and UK lawmakers.
"We have now made significant inroads into separating out professional staffing companies from the rest of the industry and convincing legislators that the 'one size fits all' approach to regulation is not appropriate."