Employment umbrellas fall within the definition of an Employment Business within the Employment Agencies Act 1973 and will also be temporary work agencies under the Agency Worker Regulations 2010 (“AWR”). However, the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 (“Conduct Regulations”) largely do not apply as they do not offer work finding services. […]
The passing of the Agency Worker Regulations 2010 (“AWR”) through parliament was greatly influenced by union pressure on the Government. These regulations are now set to come into force in October 2011. The AWR creates new rights for agency workers to receive the same pay and working conditions as an employee who is directly engaged […]
A company has been fined £225,000 and ordered to pay costs of £95,000 after the death of an agency worker under their supervision. The accident occurred during roadside litter-picking, whereby the agency worker pulled out from the verge on which the work was being undertaken to rejoin the main carriageway. The worker’s van was hit […]
Indirect discrimination is where an organisation applies a ‘provision, criterion or practice’ which disadvantages one group of individuals more than another. For example, imposing a requirement that a job is full-time only can indirectly disadvantage women who are more likely to have childcare responsibilities and perhaps require part-time work. This is to be distinguished from […]
Olympic fever has reached us with the recent conclusion of the ticket applications for 2012. Employers are likely to face many staff requesting annual leave to attend the games in 2012. The question is how can employers deal with the numerous and perhaps multiple requests from staff for time off to attend? This applies particularly […]
Databases can be a valuable commercial asset for a recruitment company and generally time and money is invested in their creation and maintenance. The law protects this investment in two ways: copyright and under the Copyright and Rights in Databases Regulations 1997 which created a “database right”. A database will qualify for protection if the […]
The Department of Business Innovation and Skills has published revised guidance to the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 addressing a number of minor inconsistencies in the previous version. One key change is in the area of ‘Pay between assignments’ (Regulation 10 or the Swedish Derogation as it is better known). The guidance now makes clear the […]
A recent case in the Court of Appeal (Owens v Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council) confirms that where a word is undefined in legislation, the courts can look to the ordinary meaning of the word. The case is relatively unconnected to any recruitment issues, as it concerned legislation relating to pensions for teachers in which the […]
There are a number of myths that persist surrounding the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 (“AWR”) and workers who operate through their own personal service company (“PSC”). The first and most prevalent misinformation concerns the use of IR35 tests to establish that an individual is not an agency worker. This is based on the assumption that […]
