Temp jobs ‘unaffected’ by new ruling

The demand for temporary staff has not been impacted by recent changes in regulation, according to a new survey.

The Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) questioned 200 employers’ responses to the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR), which came in to play last year. The legislation gives agency workers greater employment rights. The director of research at REC, Roger Tweedy said:

“Despite many fears about the detrimental impact that AWR could have on the use of agency workers, UK businesses continue to understand the value in recruiting temporary, flexible labour.”

Just 2% of the businesses surveyed had chosen to stop employing temporary workers as a result of the change in employment law. The majority of firms were also looking to expand the number of permanent staff they employ in forthcoming months.

Mr Tweedy said that the findings show that the regulations have had less impact than some people had predicted. Many had voiced concerns that temporary posts would be lost as businesses decided not to take on agency staff.

IBB’s Employment Team provides advice on the employment aspects of all major business decisions. To contact a member of the team for advice, call us on 01895 207892 or email employment@ibblaw.co.uk