The Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) is to launch a toolkit to help staffing companies and their end user clients comply with the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR), which come into force later this year (October 2011).
APSCo says that it has developed the toolkit to help recruiters and end users to start to prepare for the implementation of the Regulations, ahead of the BIS guidance notes, which are due to be published mid March. The AWR toolkit will give recruiters the opportunity to respond to end user concerns and demonstrate that they are fully prepared for implementation.
The AWR toolkit is comprised of three sections. The first section is a concise guide to the AWR written in plain English, which will enable recruiters to quickly build up their knowledge of the Regulations and educate their clients.
The second section is a risk assessment toolkit for APSCo members. The risk assessment toolkit, through the use of clearly presented tables, allows members to identify whether the workers they supply are likely to fall within the scope of the Regulations.
The third section is an impact assessment toolkit for hirers. The purpose of this toolkit is to provide end users with a comprehensive list of the issues they should consider in determining the impact of the Regulations on their agency workers, and has been designed to encourage recruiters to work with their clients on this issue.
Ann Swain, Chief Executive of APSCo comments: “The feedback we are receiving from members is that the AWR is now firmly on clients’ radars and that there is a growing appetite for information. We felt that waiting for the guidance notes would prolong uncertainty over the Regulations and that the toolkit would enable recruiters to impress clients with their knowledge of the AWR and begin the education process right away.”
“The toolkit is intended to be something that sits on recruiters’ desks and should help keep the administrative cost of complying with the AWR as low as possible. We are working with BIS on the guidance, but felt that a toolkit which enabled recruiters and clients to make quick impact assessments would add significant value.”
The toolkit has been designed by Reviewpoint Consulting, a management consultancy headed up by recruitment industry veteran Samantha Hurley. Reviewpoint Consulting specialises in advising on regulatory and compliance issues specifically affecting the recruitment sector and has been engaged by APSCo to support its work with the Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) on the official guidance notes to the AWR.
Reviewpoint will provide ongoing support to APSCo on regulatory and compliance issues.
