Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Many employers probably think that there are already more workers' rights than necessary, but more people will have them come October when the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) come into force.
The big day is 1 October and the AWR covers PAYE temps, workers who supply their services through an umbrella company, and those who are supplied by a temp agency.
From October, any changes made to the terms and conditions of permanent employees must also be made to the contracts of temporary staff who have been working for the employer continuously for 12-weeks. A break between assignments of six calendar weeks or fewer will not break continuity between assignments. If an agency worker worked on an assignment for 10 weeks, had 4 or 5 weeks working elsewhere and then returned to the same job, he would be entitled to equal treatment two weeks into the second assignment." A worker who falls within the scope of the AWR will be entitled to equal treatment on the same basis as if he or she had been employed directly by an employer. This covers: annual leave; pay; night work; rest periods; working hours; and rest breaks.
Affected workers will also, from 1 October, be entitled to use collective facilities, such as canteens and childcare facilities, on the same basis as employees, although access to some, such as car parking, may be denied if there is a waiting list. They will also have the right to apply for internal vacancies, the right not to suffer a detriment for asserting their rights under the regulations and some limited unfair dismissal rights. These apply when an agency worker can show that he or she was dismissed for reasons connected to the AWR).
The new regulations exclude some benefits from the equal treatment requirements. These include: loans; expenses; company pension schemes; occupational sick pay; health and life insurance or assurance; share option schemes; and family-leave-related pay above the statutory minimum.
The AWR do not give agency workers employee status although, when considering possible discrimination claims, agency workers will be able to compare their rights to those of directly employed workers doing similar, although not necessarily the same, type of work.