AWR - Agency Workers’ Regulations

The government has recently released guidance regarding the upcoming Agency Workers' Regulations (AWR). It is hoped the guidance will help employers and the recruitment industry as a whole to understand what will change once the AWR are implemented in October 2011.

When the Agency Workers Regulations comes into effect, agency workers will gain rights to a form of equal treatment; after a qualifying period their basic terms and conditions of employment must be no less favourable than the terms they would have been entitled to, had they been hired directly by the organisation for which they are working.

It is important that employers make their own assessment of how the regulations will affect them, based on an understanding of what they say. Agency workers make a significant contribution to the UK’s flexible labour market and it would be damaging if employers were to make decisions about their recruitment strategies based on misunderstandings around the scale of the impact the Regulations are likely to have on their own business. Employers should feel reassured that the Regulations will not present an unmanageable obstacle to their continued use of agency temps.

Kangacrew will be more than happy to discuss further with you any questions you may have regarding the AWR.

For more information and updates on the AWR, see our Links page