Recent articles from the Jackson Boyd employment team have highlighted that zero hours contracts seem to be declining which was seen by some as a positive for employees, whose rights were being eroded by the uncertainty of these contracts.
However, recent research from the Resolution Foundation has suggested that the number of agency workers being used by businesses has risen considerably in the past five years with many employers using agency workers to fill positions for a lower cost than an employee.
Currently the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 contains an exemption ‘known as the Swedish Derogation’ which states than an agency worker who has worked for longer than 12 weeks on an assignment is not entitled to the same pay as if they had been engaged directly as an employee.
It would seem that far from being used for temporary assignments, in many cases agency workers are being relied upon by companies to keep their businesses going.
If you are an employer who employs agency workers or are an agency worker, and you are concerned that any of the above issues are impacting you please contact us online by clicking here or speak to a member of our specialist team on 0333 222 1855.
