The Agency Workers Regulations

3rd May 2012

 

 

In the world of recruitment, the topic of conversation that has dominated the market in the past 12 months has been the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR).  There have been more column inches written on this subject than almost anything else, including the state of the economy, the Eurozone crisis and who will be the next England Manager!

 

From an HR perspective, this is another piece of employment legislation and without any case law; no precedents have yet been set although it is almost certain that one of the big unions will become involved on behalf of a worker, possibly in teaching or healthcare, where there are so many different pay scales. Recruiters/hirers need to be aware.


The recruiters are only one part of the chain of supply of labour and whilst the Swedish Derogation Model may suit the hirer, the implications for the recruiter may be more onerous and will not be universally popular or workable.


The hirer can still be a party to legal action brought by an agency worker together with the recruiter and it is advisable that Legal Expenses insurance (including employment disputes) or Employment Practice Liability Insurance be considered, although it is still early days in the lifetime of this legislation, insurance will provide Legal Defence costs and damages if awarded.  The policyholder needs to be able to demonstrate this and together with a good insurance policy including AWR, the hirer should be able to defend themselves from AWR claims.

 

Back to main blog page.