Current recruitment news

20th May 2008
Agency workers will be given the same employment rights as permanent staff after 12 weeks under proposals agreed between the government and unions.
Ministers plan legislation this autumn to guarantee agency staff equal treatment but this depends on a similar EU directive being passed before then.
Unions, which have campaigned for the measure for years, said the agreement offered much stronger legal protection.
Employers groups described the agreement as the "least worst option".

Political pressure
There are estimated to be about 1.4 million agency workers in the UK.
The breakthrough on agency workers' rights came after fierce wrangling between unions and employers and amid growing pressure by Labour MPs on ministers to broker a deal.
Under the proposals, agency workers will be given equal pay and holiday entitlements after 12 weeks in a job.
However, the agreement will not cover sick pay or pension payments while temporary staff will have to work the same length of time as full-time workers to enjoy paid maternity leave.
Employers groups, led by the CBI, had lobbied for a period of at least six months arguing that it could lead to firms taking on fewer employees or even letting staff go.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said a situation in which agency workers can be paid less for doing the same job as full-time staff is "unfair".
There has been intense pressure from Labour backbenchers over the issue with more than a third of MPs, including John Prescott and Peter Hain, backing a private members' bill on agency workers rights in February.
The proposals hinge on an Europe-wide agreement on agency workers' rights.
EU members are currently debating legislation on the issue and a number of key issues remain undecided. Only when Brussels passes a directive will the UK government be able to put forward "implementing" legislation of its own.

'Fair deal'
Ministers said Tuesday's agreement was the "right deal" for British industry.
"The agreement achieves our twin objectives of flexibility for British employers and fairness for workers," said Business Secretary John Hutton.
"It will give people a fair deal at work without putting their jobs at risk or cutting off a valuable route into employment."

REC (Recruitment and Employment Confederation) response to Government deal
Responding to this morning’s announcement that agency workers will be given the same employment rights as permanent staff after 12 weeks, Tom Hadley, Director of External Relations for the Recruitment & Employment Confederation said:
“Of course there are concerns that any new regulations will impact on the viability of temp and contract work in the UK, especially at such a delicate time in the UK labour market.
It is also a frustration for recruiters that the debate on agency work regulation has not been based on real evidence.
The 12-week qualification period is obviously a better outcome than the ‘day one’ equal treatment provisions that the trade unions were calling for but will nevertheless impact on the majority of temporary assignments.
The scope of equal treatment provisions is a vital issue and it is essential this covers only basic pay rather than other benefits and pensions which would be almost impossible to work out for each assignment.
In what has been essentially a political debate, the key focus must now be on the practicalities of how agency workers’ pay is negotiated and established. Getting the details right will be essential if we are to have a workable European Directive which enhances rather than limits the vital contribution of agency work in the UK and across Europe.
The REC has consistently argued that the European Directive has more chance of a workable outcome for the UK Labour market than the private members bill on agency work which is currently being discussed at the House of Commons. The political reality has meant that some compromise solution on the European Directive was perhaps inevitable. UK recruiters will be taking stock of the practical implications and the government must ensure that it does not concede any further grounds when the directive is discussed in Brussels.”

5th March 2008
Minimum wage rise agreed
The Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) today announced a rise in the minimum wage to £5.73 from 1st October 2008.

From October the 18-21 year old rate will increase from £4.60 to £4.77 and the 16-17 year old rate will increase from £3.40 to £3.53.

22nd February 2008
Temporary and Agency Workers (Equal Treatment) Bill
Today’s debate on the Temporary and Agency Workers (Equal Treatment) Bill ended inconclusively and the Bill will now be considered by a House of Commons Committee.  The bill covers issues such as sick pay, maternity pay etc. and it is feared that the increased costs associated with the bill will have a detrimental impact on the temporary market.

The REC’s view is that whilst they do not support exploitation of temporary workers and that they are ready and willing to address the concerns of Labour MPs and the trade unions this should not be to the detriment of the phenomenal success of the temporary work market at creating jobs and keeping businesses competitive.