Agency Workers Regulations: No quick fix

Despite some of the greatest HR minds in the country poring over them, there is no silver bullet out there that will take away all of the pain of the AWR.

However, there are certainly ways that you can mitigate their impact, and the regulations themselves, at Regulation 10, offer one possible route with the so-called “Swedish Derogation” contract. This offers agencies (and, ultimately hirers) the possibility of taking workers outside of the basic pay rights in the regulations if those workers sign contracts of employment with the agencies guaranteeing a minimum amount of pay during times when the agency has not been able to find suitable work for the worker. This option, as well as understanding the current turnover of your temporary work force, so that you can make an informed decision about which jobs and which sites are likely to give you a significant AWR exposure, should all be considered when planning your recruitment strategy. Having the recruitment software to track your temporary workers and generate the necessary management information would make those decisions considerably simpler.

Investigating if there are comparable employee posts, and finding out whether the agency worker is paid a lower rate than the comparable employee, will help plan for all scenarios; this should also take into account not only basic pay but other payments such as overtime.