Danbro, the specialist Accountancy Firm for Contractors accountancy firm for contractors
, has given its support to calls for the government to review the controversial Agency Workers Regulations (AWR).
The basic principle of the regulations introduced by the previous government and currently set to come into force next October is to provide agency workers with the same basic employment conditions as their directly-employed counterparts.
However, critics have argued that the regulations may discourage businesses from creating new temporary jobs and also prove inconvenient to professional contractors who value the flexibility they get from that style of working.
At this weeks Conservative Party Conference, representatives of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) the industry body representing recruitment firms met with ministers and urged them to look into their concerns.
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne and employment minister Chris Grayling confirmed they would be happy to meet the REC to explore the issues in more detail.
Danbro partner Damian Broughton said: I am pleased that the ministers have agreed to hear the RECs concerns and I hope that we will see some changes made to the regulations before they come into force next year.
While the previous governments intention to prevent temporary workers being exploited was laudable, those in the freelancing community have long argued that the proposed regulations would have unforeseen effects in depriving those who choose to work on a contract or freelance basis of the flexibility they need.
As firms look to expand as the economy comes out of recession, contract and freelance workers have an important role to play and I would not like to see a situation where employers are discouraged from taking them on.
We would advise anyone currently working on a contract or freelance basis to sit tight for now and see what happens, as there is not much which can be done until we know exactly what form any new rules are going to take.