For many businesses, the festive period is an especially busy time, which can lead to temporary staffing needs. For businesses that don’t wish to directly employ additional temporary staff agency workers can be a popular choice. If this is an option you are considering in your business here are a few things to be aware of:
- Ensure the appropriate treatment of temporary agency workers
- Check if agency workers best meet the needs of your business
Ensure the appropriate treatment of temporary agency workers
Whilst a temporary agency worker is not usually considered an employee of the hirer (your business, if they are temporarily carrying out work for you), it’s still important to ensure that they are treated appropriately and with dignity and respect whilst they are carrying out their assignment. This is because there can be situations where an agency worker can bring a discrimination claim against a hirer.
One of the other matters to bear in mind is the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 (‘the AWR’), if you haven’t utilised temporary agency workers before or if it has been a while since you last did so, this can be an area you may not be very familiar with. In outline the AWR:
- Usually give temporary agency workers the right to access your business’s collective facilities and amenities, such as toilets, and the right to be informed of relevant vacant posts within the business. These rights apply from day one and are the responsibility of the hirer.
- After completion of a 12-week qualifying period, temporary agency workers are entitled to the same “basic working and employment conditions” that they would have been entitled to had they been recruited directly by the hirer. Basic working and employment conditions include pay (although there are some aspects of pay that are specifically excluded, such as occupational sick pay), rest breaks and annual leave. Liability for breach of these “week 12” rights falls on either the hirer or the temporary work agency to the extent that they are responsible. It’s important that hirers are aware of this, assess at the outset how long they are likely to need temporary agency workers for and keep that under review, clearly communicating with the temporary work agency regarding “basic work and employment conditions” where needed.
Check if agency workers best meet the needs of your business
For businesses that would prefer to employ additional staff to cover a busy period but are concerned about doing so on an ongoing basis or on fixed hours due to uncertainty about the amount/timing of work that will be available, there are alternative options you may wish to consider. These include using zero-hour contracts, which can offer greater flexibility or using fixed-term/temporary employment contracts if it’s anticipated that an employee will only be needed for a short time. If you are considering employing a new employee and you would like advice on your situation, please do not hesitate to contact Kingfisher Professional Services Ltd for advice.
If you have an employment law matter you would like assistance with, Kingfisher Professional Services Ltd are here to help.