More than one in three employers would support legislation to ensure temporary workers to be given equal rights to permanent staff, it has been claimed.
A poll by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found support for agency worker legislation due to be discussed in the House of Commons tomorrow. The second private members’ bill, if passed, will give agency staff the right to equal treatment with permanent employees performing the same role after six months of joining a company.
The draft EU Temporary Agency Worker Directive (TAWD), which was put forward by Labout MP Andrew Miller, has failed to make progress since 2002 due to a lack of agreement in the Council of Ministers. Business leaders in the UK have formed part of a blocking minority, but this most recent survey suggests that resistance may be on the wane.
The directive is set to include clauses regarding remuneration, holiday rights and entitlement to sick pay. According to the Trades Union Congress (TUC) similar directives were passed to protect part-time workers and temporary staff in 1997 and 1999.
A recent survey by TUC and YouGov found that agency workers are unhappy with current working regulations, especially those regarding pay: two thirds of respondents agreed that the law should make it illegal for an employer to pay agency workers less than permanent staff for doing the same job.
At present the bill doesn’t suggest a qualification period but the labour MP behind the directive has indicated that six weeks may be appropriate.
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2008
