Agency Work & Regulations 2010

These regulations came into force on 1st October 2011

Key Points

• The agency workers regulations are going ahead as planned
• After 12 weeks in an assignment agency workers get the same basic pay and conditions as employees.
• Sick pay, redundancy and bonuses are excluded.
  
  

The Government has promised detailed guidance.  Although some aspects of the regulations such as equal treatment were fixed by the European Agency Works Directive and cannot be changed, others are cumbersome and likely to cause confusion, such as the break in continuity of assignment provisions.

The next 11 months will require careful preparation starting with an analysis of staffing needs and resources.

Most obligations will not arise until 13th week of engagement, but some rights such as access to information about job vacancies, take effect immediately.

Pay is wider than basic pay and includes for example contractual overtime, shift allowances.  It does not include contractual sick pay, redundancy or notice pay, most benefits in kind, bonuses.

The regulations also give agency workers working time rights including breaks and holiday allowances comparable to permanent employees.  Agency staff must also have comparable access to other facilities such as canteens or child care provision.

Requirements from late new of job vacancies to agency workers is included in the regulations.  This is however an equal treatment not a preferential treatment.  Employers only have to provide information on vacancies – not change recruitment processes. 

Consider:-

• Does your staff pay include employee benefits, bonus schemes and so on?  If so this is likely to become an additional cost when using agency workers. 
  
  
• How might agency workers access these or internal vacancies?
  
  
• Review (where provided) canteen facilities and access to child care since both these will become accessible to agency workers.
  
  

Finally, employers may want to review the relationship they have their current agency(s) and discuss ways in which both parties can minimise costs of implementing the new regulations.  This might mean entering into some form of exclusivity arrangement with one specific agency.