The governmentís decision to extend full employment rights to agency workers after 12 weeks of employment risks undermining the flexibility of the UK labour market, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Are you involved in recruiting or HR? If yes, you should think about attending the Onrec.com Online Recruitment Conference & Exhibition - Topics and Speakers listed here. Complete this enquiry form and a member of the Onrec.com team will be in touch.
Responding to todayís announcement, Mike Emmott, Employee Relations Adviser at the CIPD, said:
ìIt is a shame that the government has ditched the sensible proposal to set up an independent commission to examine plans to extend agency worker rights. Our research shows significant employer resistance to a qualifying period of less than six months, so the governmentís intention to push for 12 weeks seems bound to cause a great detail of unhappiness amongst employers.
ìAgency workers play a valuable role in the UKís flexible labour market. Undermining this flexibility poses a serious risk to UK jobs, and risks blocking an important pathway into work for many jobless people. At a time of economic uncertainty, and with the government committed to ambitious targets for getting more people back into work, the timing could hardly have been worse.î
Agency workersí rights at 12 weeks ëa serious risk to UK jobsí ñ CIPD
.
