Understand Agency Regulations to Improve Business Efficiency
Understand Agency Regulations to Improve Business Efficiency
British employers must prepare for the new Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) to improve business performance.Research by recruitment company Randstad revealed that 37 per cent of businesses are unfamiliar with the upcoming regulations, which will come into force on October 1st 2011.The AWR will aim to provide agency and permanent workers with the same levels of pay and employee rights but only seven per cent of employers have conducted an impact assessment, according to Randstad.Under the terms of the regulations, agency workers will receive the same standard working rights and employment conditions as those directly recruited in the equivalent permanent job. The right for agency workers to receive the same access to facilities and job vacancies as their permanent colleagues will apply from October 1st while rights to pay and benefits will only apply once they have been in the same role for 12 weeks.Britain has the highest proportion of agency workers in Europe and the impact of the regulations are likely to affect the construction, education and healthcare sectors the most as these are often reliant on temporary staff.Performance improvement consulting experts will be able to advise organisations in these sectors how best to deal with these changes.Head of Randstad UK Brian Wilkinson has called on all users of agency workers to thoroughly assess their human capital resources and to look at what impact of the new regulations will have on them. He said: "Doing this properly will enable organisations to optimise the structure and efficiency of their workforces."The equalisation of basic working and employment conditions for agency workers will encourage more people that don't want permanent work to enter the labour market. That is good for them and it's good for UK employers."Mr Wilkinson also praised the regulations for giving greater recognition to those agency workers who are paid on an hourly basis and often work unsocial hours.The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills will publish Guidelines on interpreting the Regulations, which will aim to provide clarity in relation to their interpretation.It is the responsibility of employers to analyse how their organisation uses agency and to assess how compliance with the regulations will impact upon business costs and practices.After this assessment, employers should explore other more cost-effective ways of meeting their flexible labour needs, which can be assisted by performance improvement consulting experts.