Date 8 September 2011
The Agency Workers Regulations 2010 (AWR) are due to come into force on 1 October 2011. Employers need to be aware of the changes these Regulations bring, if running an employment agency or using agency workers as a hirer. Below we look at the main impact of the Regulations in some more detail.
Equal treatment
The main aim of the Regulations is to create equality between agency workers and directly employed employees.
The Regulations provide agency workers with the right to be told of any relevant vacancies at the user's company during the assignment and the right to be treated no less favourably than a comparable worker in relation to collective facilities and amenities. These rights will be available to agency workers from day one of an assignment ("day-one rights").
If the agency worker has worked for the same hirer in the same role for 12 weeks, he/she will be entitled equal treatment to that of a comparable employee in relation to rights such as holiday, rest breaks and pay etc as well as access to job vacancies within the hirer’s business.
Your obligation as an agency
If you run an employment agency it is your obligation to ensure that the agency worker is receiving equal treatment by enquiring about the relevant information from the hirer.
Your obligation as a hirer
As a hirer, you must ensure that you comply with the Regulations and that you provide the relevant information to the employment business upon request.
You are prohibited from structuring your business in a way which is intentionally aimed at avoiding the provisions of the new regulations, e.g. you must not move the agency workers round within the business so that they do not fulfil the 12 week qualifying period.
The regulations come into force in October so you must ensure that you and your business are prepared to deal with the changes. You should start by answering the following questions:
- Do you tend to use agency workers for 12 weeks or more?
- Do you know who the comparators would be in relation to each agency worker?
- Do you know which information the employment agency is entitled to request from you?
- Do you know the impact of the new regulations to your business including costs?
You must ensure that you fully understand the changes and your obligations. There are many factors to take into account and precisely what you need to know will depend on the nature and structure of your business.
The risk in non-compliance has not yet been determined fully, and this is an area that will evolve through case-law. However, failing to understand and implement the required measures could have costly consequences both financially, and for the reputation of your company.
Further Information
If you are interested in learning more about the AWR changes or how it affects your business, come along to one of our free 'Temporary (Agency) Workers -Equal Treatment' Seminars. To find out more or to book your place, click here.
Contact Us
For further information or to discuss a particular matter or situation in more detail, contact Alexis Asher at our St Albans office by email at alexis.asher@salaw.com or on 01727 798023.
© SA LAW 2011
Every care is taken in the preparation of our articles. However, no responsibility can be accepted to any person who acts on the basis of information contained in them. You are recommended to obtain specific advice in respect of individual cases.