The Agency Worker Regulations 2010 (AWR) came into force on October 1, 2011 in the UK and had practical effect when the 12-week qualifying period elapsed on December 24, 2011. The new rules require that agency workers receive working and employment conditions equal to comparable permanent hires, including equal pay, work routine, parental leave and pension payments.
As employment agencies and their corporate clients contemplated the impact of the new regulations last year, a number of potential negative consequences were predicted:
- The hourly cost of an agency worker to the end hirer would rise
- Compliance costs and employer risk concerns would freeze the market
- Utilisation of agency workers would plummet
- Agency workers routinely would be terminated before the end of the 12-week qualifying period
Now, after five months of AWR, it appears employers have taken the new regulations in stride without significant changes to either rates or agency worker utilisation. Agency workers remain a robust part of firms’ labour profile in 2012.
Chart – GDP, Employment Level & Hourly Rate Trends
Learn More about the impact of AWR on Temporary Labour Rates – Download the Full White Paper today.