|
Lawspeed Seminar London - Agency Workers Directive First Consultation
To
accommodate recruiters pressed for time and to reflect current economic
constraints we have reduced the costs of this Agency Workers Directive
seminar and it will also only be an afternoon session. Please see below
for details. Speakers at this seminar will include: Jonathan Djanogly- Shadow Minister for BERR - Now BIS (Conservative) and Shadow Solicitor General Kieran Rossiter- Chief Financial Officer and Group Support Services Director, Premier Group This
seminar is very important for recruiters. Although the Agency Workers
Directive (AWD) may not be implemented this year, indications are that
this piece of legislation is being given top priority by the
government. Some have suggested that the legislation will have little
impact, and recruiters need not be concerned. In our view nothing could
be further from reality. A report following the REC's Agency
Summit last week shows that 61% of recruiters thought that the AWD
would result in a significant or very significant reduction in the
number of agency workers being placed. This may well have a major
effect on your bottom line unless something is changed. Given the
significant impact that the industry feels this legislation is going to
have, every avenue for reducing the burden on businesses needs to be
explored. Essentially the AWD requires that agency workers are
treated the same as employees, in relation to pay, holidays, and other
working conditions. The CBI and TUC made a deal in May 2008 whereby in
the UK agency workers would become entitled to equal treatment after 12
weeks of an assignment. The impression that this is a "done deal" has
been ingrained into the minds of recruiters and businesses by key
figures, when in fact that is not necessarily the case. The AWD
throws up many issues, particularly in relation to the comparator. A
lawyer speaking at the same REC summit said: "This is going to be a
mess" and commenting on the likely increase in the number of employment
tribunal claims stated that "if I said I wasn't a little bit happy
about that, I would be lying." Joking aside, this legislation
is going to cause a massive headache for recruiters and hirers if the
issues are not cleared up at an early stage. There is plainly serious
anger in some quarters of the industry that the Directive was allowed
to go through in the first place, and that more is not being done to
stop this "runaway train". ARC (The Association of Recruitment Consultancies) recently released a press release (see ttp://www.arc-org.net/news1.html
) challenging the idea that all agency workers should be entitled to
equal treatment after 12 weeks, and putting forward an alternative
proposition, which ARC will provide an update on at the seminar. Alistair Tebbit, of the Institute of Directors has said: "If
the Government gets the implementation of the directive wrong there is
a great risk that temporary work opportunities will be eroded. There
are a number of options on the table and we urge the Government to
consider the proposals being put forward by ARC." Lawspeed and
ARC believe that there is still scope for change and opportunities to
reduce the impact on recruiters, but we must act now. To find out more,
including an alternative perspective on this piece of legislation, come
along on the 24th. June.
You are cordially invited to BOOK NOW for your place - please call 01273 236236. All reservations are subject to our booking terms . This seminar is open to senior personnel (including hirers) involved in recruitment supply.
Seminar Details:
London: When | Wednesday 24th June 2009 | | Where | London Chamber of Commerce, Queen Street, London, EC4R 1AP | | Registration | 1330 - 1400 | | Seminar | 1400 - 1700 with break | | Cost | £99 +vat per attendee (20% discount for ARC members) |
The Birmingham and Manchester seminars have been cancelled. |