Press statement in response to the Trades Union Congress (TUC) report

'Agency Work In Britain Today'

Commenting on today's launch of the report, 'Agency Work In Britain Today'from the TUC, Mark Adams, UK Chief Executive of Blue Arrow has said the following:

Today's report from the TUC has potentially far-reaching implications for UK employers. Without question, all businesses will welcome the TUC's commitment to ensuring that all employees have safe working conditions, are
protected against discrimination and receive the necessary breaks and holiday entitlement. However the main issue does not concern working conditions, but instead whether the administrative 'red-tape' and total cost
required to provide an equal benefits package from day one of an assignment, will simply deter many companies from making use of a temporary workforce at all, therefore removing a vital source of jobs to those who depend on agency work.

In many instances, it is not practical or economically justifiable for employers to automatically extend equal pay and fiscal entitlements to somebody who is only providing stand-in cover for a very short period, and therefore lacks the in-depth training required to deliver the same level of
performance and return as a permanent counterpart. Similar arguments also apply to businesses that make use of agency staff to manage seasonal variation in workload or customer demand. Therefore, it is possible to see that far from protecting the interests of temporary workers, the
introduction of the Agency Worker's Directive with no qualifying period could cause lasting damage to this sector of the labour market.

The ongoing debate surrounding the proposed Agency Worker's Directive is based on the view that agency workers are an exploited group. However recent research conducted by Blue Arrow into the perceptions of the temporary workforce and attitudes of employers, has found that far from feeling exploited, nine out of ten agency workers enjoy temporary working and chose this option for the advantages and flexibility it brings. These findings have formed the basis of recommendations made to the DTI that have helped shape the Government's current stance on this issue.

The recruitment industry is now highly professional having undergone huge consolidation in recent years and is making massive inroads into raising professionalism and standards. This is reflected in the call for an
appropriate qualifying period to apply to implementation of the proposed directive for the long-term interests of employees and employers alike. If this is neglected, there is a danger that the union view could bring about the very opposite of what it is trying to achieve.