Temporary employees should be given the same rights as full time staff, according to the Trades Union Congress (TUC).
Current legislation means that employers are under no obligation to offer agency workers the same pay and basic working conditions as permanent staff. Agency staff often perform the same role but for much lower hourly rates and with none of the basic benefits, the TUC said.
An EU Temporary Agency Directive is currently under discussion, aiming to improve temporary workers’ working conditions, such as access to holiday allowance.
However, the TUC is also pushing for domestic legislation that will give agency workers the same privileges as their full-time colleagues from their first day in the job, a measure that is already implemented throughout most of the EU
The TUC general secretary, Brendan Barber, said: “Agency workers regularly earn less than directly employed staff, are not allowed to benefit from an employer’s contributions to a pension scheme, are given less holiday, little if any access to training, and tend to get no contractual sick pay.”
He also warned of the dangers of the current trend within the workplace for replacing permanent staff with temporary workers, saying:
“This runs the risk of creating a whole underclass of temporary workers who cannot get permanent work and who have no loyalty to their employers.”
The TUC’s proposed solution is for the UK to implement the EU Directive which would give agency workers rights from the first day that they are taken on.
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2007
