One in three firms that employ agency staff will let them go just before new equal rights legislation comes into effect on 1 October, research published earlier this month has claimed.

The study, produced by law firm Allen & Overy, represents the latest twist in the build-up to the launch of the EU’s controversial Agency Workers Directive, which will give agency staff many of the same entitlements as full-time employees, once they have been with an employer for 12 weeks.

Many companies have been accused of using agency workers long-term in order to avoid a number of costs associated with permanent staff, and the directive is designed to stop this practice, while also protecting temporary workers’ rights. Many industry bodies and businesses have said that it will only succeed in killing the agency worker market, while unions have mostly supported the move, as they feel it will improve the chances for long-term employment.

However, the implications of the new regulations for print businesses are open to debate. Mercury Search & Selection managing director Dani Novick does not think they will have much impact.

She says: "The key issue with the regulations, which seems to be causing the most concern is a perceived disparity between the conditions of these temporary workers and permanent staff. In the print industry, I have to say this is largely a myth. 

"Most of the roles for which temporary workers are engaged are skilled or at least have required a good deal of training and industry knowledge. The employers we are providing temporary staff to expect the workers to walk in and be more or less up to speed immediately – people of this calibre aren’t cheap and employers are paying for that flexibility and adaptability as well as skills."

Day-one rights
Alongside the 12-week threshold, there are other requirements that may impact printers. For example, from day one, agency workers must have the same access to facilities such as canteens and childcare facilities as full-time staff, while information on the company’s job vacancies must also be made available.

However, the key change comes after 12 weeks, when the equal treatment entitlements kick in. These relate to pay and other basic working conditions, including night work, rest breaks, annual leave, duration of working time, etc, while pregnant agency workers will be allowed to take paid time off for antenatal appointments.

However, the directive is not retrospective, so printers that use a lot of temporary workers will not suddenly be inundated with requests for leave.

For many temporary workers this 12-week period won’t make any difference, as they are unlikely to be in one place for that long. According to Mercury Search and Selection most clients use employees for around four to eight weeks, or in patches such as five to ten days every few weeks.

However, Novick said that she was aware of certain employers using a "significant" numbers of agency workers on an on-going or open-ended basis.

Newton Abbot-based photo finishing business Harrier has historically retained a limited number of temporary workers for longer than 12 weeks. Head of HR Mark Geary says that, with current mix of work and operational needs, it will continue to use agency workers. However, while the regulations themselves will not have a huge effect, the timing of them may well do.

He says: "The potential increase to the company’s costs has not been helped with significant rise in the minimum wage which also comes into force on the 1 October."

There has so far not been much in the way of public outcry from the print industry over the Agency Workers Directive, although that is not to say that it is not of major concern. Anecdotally, the mailing sector is expected to suffer the most from the new legislation, with one business owner stating that he will have no choice but to outsource the management of his in-house hand-finishing department to a facilities manager.

"Companies like us need agency workers because they allow us to be flexible with our capacity," he said. "The new legislation means we will have no choice but to outsource that area of the business because we cannot take on that liability."

30-SECOND BRIEFING
• The EU’s Agency Workers Directive comes into force on 1 October 2011,
• It stipulates a range of basic rights from day one of a temporary appointment, as well as extended rights after 12 weeks
• It gives agency workers the entitlement to the same basic employment and working conditions as if they had been recruited directly
• From day one a temporary employee will be entitled to access to staff facilities such as canteens and toilets, and access to information relating to vacancies
• After 12 weeks temporary workers will be entitled to the same maximum working hours as full-time staff along with the same rights for night work, rest breaks and annual leave
• In addition, pregnant workers will be entitled to attend antenatal appointments during work hours