The Agency Workers Regulations 2010 (the Regulations) are due to come into force on the 1st October 2011 and designed to give agency workers the same basic employment conditions after 12 weeks in a given assignment as those employed directly by the end-user business. Stephen Nixon, employment solicitor at Enoch Evans LLP explains further.
The implementation of the Regulations has been delayed to allow businesses that deal with Agency workers (either the Agencies themselves or the business users) time to adjust to significant changes to their regulatory framework. These changes will inevitably cost businesses time and resources. Given the current economic climate and numerous recent changes to employment law, it is hoped that the delayed implementation will alleviate some of the burden.
On 6 May 2011 following a brief consultation, the final Agency Workers Regulations 2010 guidance was published. This differs to that previously issued in several important respects. These include:
- That it is not necessary for an agency worker to find or establish a comparable worker in order to prove that they have been subjected to the same basic working and employment conditions.
- That a clearer explanation must accompany a bonus payment, particularly when it is paid as a result of an individual’s performance.
- A change in the way that payments made to an Agency Worker are considered, particularly those payments made in between assignments to businesses.
If you wish to enquire about the effect that the Regulations will have on your business, or need your existing policies and procedures updated, then please do not hesitate to contact Stephen Nixon, Andrew Pointon or David Evans at Enoch Evans LLP. Please call (01922) 720333, email ee@enoch-evans.co.uk or visit www.enochevans.co.uk.
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