Agency Work in Britain Today

By Trades Union Congress

This report looks at the hard facts of agency working in Britain today and dispels some of the myths promoted by the recruitment sector and proponents of agency working and reported in the media in recent years.

The background to the report is the proposals for a EU Temporary Agency Worker Directive.

On 20 March 2002 the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Temporary Agency Worker Directive. This proposal follows the breakdown in negotiations between the Social Partners on temporary agency work.

The proposed Directive is one of a series of new laws introduced through the EU aimed at promoting different forms of atypical work by guaranteeing minimum standards at work. Predecessors include the Part-Time Worker and the Fixed-Term Work Directives.

The main aims of the Directive are to:

* Improve the quality of temporary agency worker by providing agency workers with equal treatment over essential terms and conditions as compared with permanent workers in workplaces to which they are assigned.

* Establish a suitable framework for the use of agency work to contribute to the smooth running of the labour market.

The TUC welcomes proposals for a EU Directive on Temporary Agency Work. We believe the proposals will assist in securing much needed basic protections for all agency workers and will help to increase productivity, enhance the flexibility of the labour market and improve the skills base of the whole workforce.