Is your business prepared for new rules on temps?
A recent report has suggested that businesses, which use workers hired on a temporary basis, have done no or very little preparation to address new rules on the rights of such staff, even though the rules are now enforceable.
A survey by a recruitment agency suggested that 40% of businesses have yet to plan for the Agency Workers Directive, new regulations that became law on 1 October 2011. The new rules are intended to give agency workers, who have worked for a company for more than 12 weeks, the same basic employment rights and working conditions as if they had been recruited directly by the hirer.
Approximately 4% of the British workforce is provided through agencies, which is almost double the European average.
Although the new rules are relatively straightforward, leading employment agencies specialising in temporary workers have warned that they could be complicated to implement and could saddle employers with substantial additional costs for unprecedented areas including pensions. The new National Employment Saving Trust (NEST) provisions cover “workers”, which would also appear to cover agency workers.
NEST was created by the government to introduce compulsory workplace pensions from 2012 – all employers will be required to make contributions for their workforce and is introducing NEST. NEST will provide a state-led alternative for any employer wishing to use it. If you have a question about NEST, please contact Sara-Jane Mackay at Chiene + Tait Financial Services (CTFS) on 0131 558 5800 or email sara-jane.mackay@ctfslimited.co.uk