NEW RIGHTS FOR TEMPORARY WORKERS
Although welcoming these new rules, Paul Jackman, a director of Nottingham based recruitment agency Thorn Baker points out that there are benefits to being a temp and warns that the changes could have an adverse effect on the UK labour market. He also points out that the proposed changes will not mean equal rights when it comes to occupational benefits like sick pay and pensions which are unaffected.
“There is a widely held view that temporary workers receive a bad deal or are exploited when it comes to pay and working conditions, which is frustrating when it is not based on any real evidence, says Paul. “In reality temps can quite often earn considerably more than their permanent counterparts and they also have the flexibility to be able to move from job to job which is an attractive alternative to full employment for many.”
A lot of confusion still surrounds the scope of the proposed equal treatment provision, with many issues still to be resolved and it could take some time before they come into force. They will also place extra pressure on both employers and recruiters to enforce the new rules.
“Temporary workers are an important resource in the labour market”, says Paul. “They provide a high degree of flexibility and therefore enable companies to deal with the peaks and troughs of work as the need arises. Even if these new rules come into force, there will still be a need for short term periods of employment ie shorter than the 12 weeks which would therefore be unaffected. They would however reward long term temporary workers.”
“I do foresee some employers resorting to change their staffing models, either reducing the number of permanent workers to use more temporary workers or vica versa, whilst others may simply decide not to take on extra staff and avoid the complications altogether,” he added. “Whichever way it turns out, we are ideally placed to continuing to service our clients and meet their needs for both temporary and permanent positions”
Monday 7th July 2008
