The Agency Workers Regulations overview
The
Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) regulations came into effect on 1st
October 2011. The aim of these regulations is to
ensure agency workers – temporary staff working
through an agency for another business – are
given equal treatment to equivalent permanent
employees. Under the regulations, agency workers
will be entitled to the same basic working and
employment conditions and benefits as an
employee after 12 weeks of continuous working
with a business or organisation. An eligible
worker is given two sets of rights: day 1 rights
and week 13 rights.
These regulations state at which
point some Day-1 rights will apply, such as
equal access to staff facilities and
notification of employment opportunities within
the hiring organisation. The main regulations
concerning pay and conditions take effect from
week 13 of the contract, with the first
contractual changes, should any be required,
taking effect from the 26th December 2011.
Who
comes under the ‘agency worker’ label? The
legislation affects primarily those workers who
are not working through their own Ltd Company
and who are on a temporary contract of more than
12 weeks through an agency.
Freelancers, contractors and consultancy staff
working through
Jane Dewhurst Recruitment business have nothing
to worry about.
The
AWR should, statistically, have very little
impact on the way most Recruitment Agencies
work. Some contracts will be affected by the
legislation, but our system for dealing with the
AWR is based on our central principle of
transparency and communication.
We have excellent working relationships without
Clients so if changes to a contract do have to
be made, we negotiate for a mutually
satisfactory outcome for all parties.
The
individual worker should be aware of their own
responsibilities and rights. Under the AWR,
there are two sets of rights given to the
eligible worker: day 1 rights and week 13
rights.
The
hirer, or buyer, has responsibility for ensuring
you are given your day 1 rights – that is access
to employee facilities such as the car park,
canteen and child care, plus access to
information on any employment opportunities
within their organisation. The hirer and the
agency then share responsibility for ensuring
you gain your week 13 rights – that is equal pay
and working conditions.
Our
systems have been set up to ensure the
formalities involved with implementing the AWR
only arise if absolutely necessary. This means
no extra paperwork or hassle for those contracts
not affected by the regulations.
Jane Dewhurst Recruitment felt this was
particularly important in order to maintain the
speed and simplicity of our hiring process.
For
non-limited company workers the regulations are
likely to apply, but changes to your contract
will only be required if you are being paid less
than a comparable employee in the organisation.
This is a brief overview to enable you to get an
overall view of theses regulations and how and
if it affects you. There will be some simple
changes to our terms and conditions and, once
you have a contract.
If
you have any questions please contact Claire or
Hannah.
For
further information and Government
guidelines
click here
