AGENCY workers must be given real protection from exploitation and genuine equal treatment on pay, holidays and hours, says the North West TUC.

New rights need to be urgently introduced because agency workers are particularly vulnerable during times of recession, says the TUC in its response to the draft Agency Worker Regulations consultation.

The draft Regulations seek to implement the EU Temporary Agency Worker Directive into UK law.

The TUC wants the Agency Worker Regulations to be strengthened to guarantee that every agency worker receives the same rights on pay, holiday and working time as employed staff doing the same work, following a 12-week qualifying period.

The new Regulations must include more effective anti-avoidance measures to prevent unscrupulous employers and agencies avoiding the new rights by moving agency workers between jobs within the same workplace, or by rotating agency temps on short-term assignments between different employers.

The TUC response highlights how bosses could avoid giving agency temps equal rights, leaving them facing pay discrimination and with less paid holiday.

The response highlights how:

• Agency temps working in a food processing plant could work for 11 weeks picking vegetables, and then be moved to the warehouse for 11 weeks, before being moved back to field work
• Agency workers working in retail distribution could be regularly rotated to work for two different retail firms on the same industrial site

Legal loopholes in the Regulations should also be closed to ensure that rogue employers and agencies do not use bogus self-employment to avoid equal treatment, says the TUC.

NW TUC Regional Secretary Alan Manning said: “A TUC poll earlier this year revealed many agency workers have faced abuse and unfair treatment at work.

“Some rogue employers are using the lack of employment rights and insecurity of agency workers to treat agency temps badly - to pay them less, to give them less holiday pay, to get out of paying them redundancy or maternity pay, and to neglect their training and development.

“Agency workers are even more in need of protection during a recession. Vulnerable workers are always the first to suffer when times are hard. Agency temps must have the right to genuine equal treatment on pay, including basic pay, bonuses, redundancy pay and maternity, paternity and adoption leave pay, and to equal treatment on holiday pay and the ability to take time off.

“The new laws must provide real protection for the thousands of agency workers in the North West. Any loopholes which allow unscrupulous employers to avoid the law and undercut reputable firms must be closed.”

The TUC believes is also time to end the pay gap faced by agency workers in the UK. Agency temps should also have equal treatment on bonuses, performance related pay, maternity, paternity and adoption leave and redundancy pay, says the TUC.

Agency workers should also be entitled to the same access as directly employed staff to workplace facilities such as staff canteens, childcare facilities, transport services, staff toilets, sanitary facilities, and rest rooms.

• The TUC submission to the Government’s consultation on the draft Agency Worker Regulations is available at www.tuc.org.uk/extras/agencyworkerssubmission.pdf
• The TUC and You Gov poll is available at www.tuc.org.uk/extras/agencypoll2009.pdf

Print, email or share this page: