EU proposals to give agency workers the same rights as permanent staff have been condemned by UK business lobby groups on the first day of discussions in Brussels.
The Agency Workers’ Directive (AWD), proposed five years ago, would require businesses that employ agency staff to provide the same amount of pay, holidays, training and pensions as staff employed on a permanent basis.
Critics have said that the AWD would damage the UK’s ‘flexible’ job market, which they say is a ‘key element’ of the country’s success in job creation. It could also mean that businesses would no longer have an incentive to employ temporary staff over permanent staff – potentially costing more than 250,000 jobs.
David Frost, director general of the BCC, said: “Current proposals in the Agency Workers’ Directive will disproportionately affect the UK, particularly plans to make temporary workers eligible for equal pay six weeks into an assignment,” he said.
Frost also suggested changes should be phased in, proposingthe derogation from the directive on pay should be extended to 12 months, in line with other employment rights such as unfair dismissal. “This ensures that an ongoing relationship between the agency worker and the end-user has been established,” he added.
Although Britain is expected to oppose the directive, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has urged the government to change its stance.
Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC, said that although employers were reaping the rewards of cheaper staff, agency workers were vulnerable to ‘injustice’ from unscrupulous employers.
“Too many bosses are replacing permanent staff with insecure agency staff. They regularly earn less than directly employed staff, are not allowed to benefit from a pension scheme, and tend to get no contractual sick pay.
“The Directive could give UK temps new rights to equal treatment from the first day they are taken on.”
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2007
