Agency Workers Regulations - DWF Top Compliance Tips for Agencies and Hirers
Insight Contacts
Date: 30/09/11
After over a decade of debate the Agency Workers Regulations finally come into force on 1st October 2011. With many businesses still unaware of the Regulations or what it may mean in practice for their organisations; DWF's Recruitment Group have compiled the following Top Tips:
- If you are an organisation which engages temporary labour, communicate with the Agencies you use. An open dialogue and regular information exchange about collective amenities, pay, benefits and job roles is key to achieving compliance.
- Working together, Agencies and Hirers should identify which workers may be in or out of scope of the Regulations as of 1 October 2011. Check how the workers are being supplied; e.g. PAYE, limited company, umbrella etc.
- Remember that workers are entitled to obtain information on Day 1 Rights (collective amenities and permanent job vacancies) from the Hirer's business at the outset of their assignment with you. How are you going to ensure that this happens in practice?
- Working in partnership with one another Agencies and Hirers should deploy resilient recruitment management processes to ensure compliance; how are you going to deal with information exchange on a practical level?
- Where there is an obligation to pay agency workers the same as permanent staff after 12 weeks the Hirer will need to provide comparator information to the Agency quickly or you may be liable for any underpayment to the agency worker. Ensuring that this information is recorded and can be readily accessed will make the process much easier; consider developing a proforma which you can use between you to record all the required information.
- As a Hirer check that job descriptions, job specifications and salary/benefit packages, grading structures, bonus schemes etc for your employees are up to date and will stand up to scrutiny.
- Consider the correct business model. It may make commercial sense for you and your agency to operate under the Swedish Derogation but this is not a one size fits all approach. Whether it would work for your business will depend upon a host of factors that should be discussed.
- Finally review your existing commercial supply agreements with your agencies, where does liability sit between the parties in the event that there is a claim under the Regulations?
For further information about the AWR please contact Emma Harvey Partner (Employment) & Head of Recruitment Group at emma.harvey@dwf.co.uk or Jon Keeble Partner (Employment) at jon.keeble@dwf.co.uk
