Agency Workers Regulations Fact Sheet 2
This is the second edition in a series of fact sheets provided by Hewitson Walker to give you an insight into the Agency Workers’ Regulations that will enable you to begin to plan ahead by determining the potential impact on your business well before the effective date of 1st October 2011.
As stated in the first fact sheet, although the official Guidance may not be available until the end of 2010, we believe there is sufficient information in the current Regulations to identify the potential issues you and your labour provider may face.
To reiterate, all workers who are not directly engaged by you but are supplied by another organisation, such as Hewitson Walker, fall in the scope of the Regulations, regardless of what contract they have with us. Only workers who are genuinely self-employed and working through their own Limited Company are exempt from the Regulations.
What will those covered by the Regulations be entitled to?
Temporary workers are to receive equal treatment in regard to pay and conditions compared to those received by someone directly employed by you, doing the same or broadly similar job with the same experience, qualifications and skills. This is currently interpreted as being in comparison to entry-level pay and conditions for permanent employees.
What is included in ‘pay and conditions’?
- Basic rate of pay
- Overtime and shift premiums
- Bonuses related to the quality or quantity of work done
- “Luncheon“ vouchers with monetary value
- Hours of work, rest and breaks
- Holiday entitlement above the statutory minimum
- Employees’ facilities such as canteen, car park or crèche, unless there is an objective reason for not offering such facilities
- Equal access to apply for internal roles
What is excluded from 'pay and conditions'?
- Bonuses and benefits intended to reward loyalty or long service
- Company share schemes
- Pensions
- Sick, maternity, paternity or adoption pay above the statutory minimum
- Redundancy payments
- Staff discount schemes
When must the entitlement be met?
A temporary worker will be entitled to equal treatment after 12 calendar weeks working for you, in the same or broadly similar job. It does not matter if they are full or part time, nor if they have worked in the job through different agencies.
A break of at least 6 weeks between assignments will restart the qualification clock and it will pause for holiday and sickness absences. It will continue to tick for pregnancy-related sickness or maternity, paternity and adoption leave.
How can I find out more about the implications of the Agency Workers’ Regulations?
If you're interested in finding out more about Agency Worker Regulations, contact your consultant today.
Hewitson Walker Accountancy Recruitment 0845 603 4356