Just 7 per cent of UK employers have assessed how they will be affected by the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR), suggests research by recruitment and HR services company, Randstad.

The AWR come into force on 1 October and will ensure that agency workers receive the right to the same basic employment terms and conditions as those in an equivalent, directly-recruited permanent role. Some rights will apply from day one, such as having the same access to facilities and job vacancies. Other rights, such as pay and some benefits, will apply after the agency worker has been in the same job for 12 weeks.

More than a third (37 per cent) of the 541 organisations that responded to an online poll conducted by Randstad conceded that they are unfamiliar with the Regulations.


The impact of the AWR will vary across industries, depending on their reliance on temporary workers; Randstad highlights construction, education and health-care as the sectors likely to face some of the greatest challenges.



Randstad also suggests that some large private-sector organisations are well prepared for the Regulations because they restructured their workforces accordingly when downsizing during the recession. Those likely to be less prepared, however, are smaller businesses that use temps on a more ad-hoc basis.



In the spring, the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is due to publish guidelines on how to interpret the Regulations. Randstad’s research highlights that the key areas of clarification being sought by employers relate to pay and bonuses, the 12-week qualifying period, and what reasonable efforts need to be undertaken to comply with the Regulations.  


Brian Wilkinson, head of Randstad UK, said: “With the implementation of the AWR just a few months away, it is a concern that such a high proportion of organisations are so unprepared. We urge all users of agency workers to conduct a thorough assessment of their human-capital resources and the impact of the Regulations. Doing this properly will enable organisations to optimise the structure and efficiency of their workforces.”  



Recognising the teething challenges that the AWR pose to users of agency workers, businesses that supply them, and the workers themselves, Wilkinson nevertheless backed the Regulations “in their ambition to professionalise the use of agency workers and, in particular, give greater recognition to those that are paid on an hourly basis and often work unsocial hours”.



Randstad’s ‘Shifting Sands’ report is available at www.randstad.co.uk