Over the years we have witnessed new legislation, which before its implementation roused the business and political world into an unyielding furore – only for it to pass without incident.
The introduction of holiday pay was supposed to have a crippling impact on business expenditure; but we adapted. Statutory maternity leave would be yet another business burden; but we adapted. Now we have the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) and, like before, we will adapt.
The AWR has already prompted action from many organisations, despite not being scheduled until October 2011, with public sector managers undoubtedly apprehensive about how new legislation will affect day-to-day operations. To aid the transition, recommendations have been put forward to assist implementation, including:
Clarity – A clear definition of 'pay' and 'equal treatment' in order to avoid uncertainty, bureaucracy and cost that would impact on the viability of agency work in the UK.
Ease – Easily administering the 12-week qualifying period limits the number of assignments that are terminated prematurely.
Liability – Making agencies take reasonable steps to establish equal treatment for employees.
Communication – Creating a 12-month lead time between published regulations and formal implementation.
With over 1.1m temporary agency workers in the UK – 41% of which work in the public sector – managers understand the forthcoming regulations are of utmost importance and are also likely to be aware of the coalition's latest review of the AWR. But are they prepared for when it happens?
Actions have to be in place to fully understand both the regulations themselves and the temporary workers that they cover. Then there's the adaptation of this knowledge to your bespoke business. A flexible interim workforce can be a valuable asset to any business and knowing this latest impact is crucial.
At de Poel, we asked our clients key questions in order to ensure they are operating with a demand management system in place, as well as liaising with a panel of agencies to fully understand how to best move our clients forward. We asked if our clients knew areas of their business such as:
- Existing pay and overtime rates per job scope
- Current average length of assignments and percentage that last over the 12-week threshold
- Average break between assignments
- Use of same agency workers by different agencies
- Percentage of female temporary agency workers
- Actual status of temporary agency workers currently being supplied (ie paye, umbrella, self employed or limited company contractor)
We could use this information to determine both their knowledge level of current workplace conditions and preparation status for when the AWR kicks in. It is essential then that public sector managers are reading the information provided by companies like de Poel and using the questions posed to fully utilise the time they have before next October.
Following AWR guidelines needn't be the enormous headache that some have portrayed it as; on the contrary, the advantages of temporary agency workers rid of unregulated agencies and unclear laws adds peace of mind, resulting in a more stable workforce. Adapting has never been so easy.
Matthew Sanders is chief executive of de Poel, a temporary workers recruitment agency
From Bubb's Blog
From Whitehall Watch
