In addition to measures aimed at tackling exploitation of low paid workers and tougher enforcement of the rights of agency workers, the recommendations included expanding the remit of the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate to cover umbrella companies and intermediaries and plans to make leading brands jointly responsible for non-compliance in their supply chains. Some of these are included in the four current consultations on employment.
Commenting on the strategy document Adrian Marlowe, chairman of ARC said, “Many of the recommendations, if implemented would have an impact on recruitment businesses. We will be studying the report in detail and welcome the opportunity to share our observations with the LME. ARC is committed to working with the LME to help improve workers’ conditions in the UK, and we are delighted to note that some of the recommendations follow ARC’s 2016 manifesto for modernisation.”
Marlowe concludes “It was clear from recruiters at the meeting, that they welcomed measures that would help to weed out ‘rogue’ recruitment businesses that were creating a negative perception on the industry as a whole. It was also clear they recognised the potential impact of the proposals on the industry, particularly if the outcome is loss of flexibility. This would threaten the pivotal role that the supply industry plays, which generates more than £30bn p.a. to the UK economy.
“At the same time as studying the LME’s report, ARC is also submitting a series of responses to the current four government consultations that followed Matthew Taylor’s Review of Modern Working Practices in the United Kingdom (July 2017).”
