Agency Workers Regulations: reassurance from REC

An early start for us all – but what a worthwhile one!

We welcomed Tom Hadley, Director of External Relations at the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, to talk to around 80 HR professionals from Peterborough businesses about the Agency Workers Regulations in October 2011.

The breakfast seminar was held in conjunction with Hegarty LLP solicitors with their employment law expert Martin Bloom giving a comprehensive overview of where companies are going to stand legally.

Tom then talked through the history of the introduction of the regulations right through to the lobbying that the REC did in the run up to the election.

After a spell of inactivity during the election campaign, the new coalition Government is now engaged in pinpointing the finer details of the regulations – and Tom and the REC are involved in those discussions.

Tom was keen to emphasise the reality of the new legislation. “Employers must remember that fundamentally a lot of things are going to remain the same. You can take on temporary workers when you need them and get rid of them when you want to.
“We are also pleased that about 70 per cent of what we have pushed for has been accepted as part of the regulations.”

We were pleased to hear Tom highlight the part agencies like ours will play over the coming months. It was also reassuring to hear him say that he felt the temporary market wouldn’t suffer despite the introduction of the regulations – one of the biggest industry fears.

Agency Workers Regulations

The Agency Workers Regulations have been on our radar for well over 18 months.

We’ve been working closely with our industry regulator the Recruitment and Employment Confederation to ensure we are fully versed with the regulations, what it’s going to mean for us and our clients and how we can remain compliant and help clients to be as well.

As a result of the relationship we have built up, the REC’s director of external relations Tom Hadley has agreed to come and speak at a special employment law briefing we’ve arranged with Hegarty LLP Solicitors.

This is a fantastic opportunity for HR professionals from Greater Peterborough to engage with a heavy weight industry expert – Tom is well known and respected across the country.

He’s going to discuss the practical and legal implications of the introduction of the regulations on employers and, hopefully, will have time to take some questions too.

Hegarty’s employment expert Martin Bloom will also be presenting at the event later this month, offering a legal spin on the introduction of the regulations.

We’ve always taken the REC stand – that these regulations, which will be enforced from October 2011, are likely to have far reaching implications on the demand for temporary workers. Our objective now is to help make their introduction as smooth as possible for clients.