REC lobbying success: increased enforcement of the EAA

The REC has praised the Government for its plans to crackdown on rogue employment agencies who exploit vulnerable workers.

The announcement made at the TUC congress by Business and Enterprise Secretary, John Hutton to double the number of inspectors checking for abuses against agency workers is a move for which the REC has lobbied for extensively.

Tom Hadley, the RECís Director of External Relations said: ìWe have long campaigned for more effective enforcement of the comprehensive regulation of the employment agency sector and are delighted to see the Government is doubling the resource of the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorateî.

The EAS Inspectorate has considerable powers - for example it can ban an individual from running an employment agency for up to 10 years. Under the announcement, the inspectors will be given new powers including enforcing unlimited penalties of those found to be abusing agency workers.

Continued Hadley: ìIt is never acceptable for employment agencies to operate under the law. We will be working with the inspectorate to ensure their increase in resource is targeted at the real rogues.î

Earlier this year, the REC appointed its own team of four assessment officers to carry out random inspections at a percentage of its member offices to verify services were being delivered in accordance with the Confederationís Code of Professional Practice.

But Hadley also criticised the TUCís continued stance over agency workers. ìThe debate at the TUC has revealed that the trade union movement has not moved with the times and still considers any alternative to permanent employment to be somehow demeaning. It is insulting to the 1.2 million temps, which recruitment agencies place into work every week, to suggest that they are systematically downtrodden.

ìIndeed research has shown that 77 per cent of temps are satisfied with their assignments. REC research and the TUC/YouGov poll have also revealed that around 30 per cent of temps do not want a permanent job. Others find that temp work provides an ideal route into work.

ìThe whole debate on protecting workers and addressing breaches of employment law should cover all forms of employment and there is no rationale for continuing to focus only on agency work. The stalled EU Agency Workers Directive which the Secretary of State referred to in his speech has no link whatsoever to agency standards which are in fact covered by the Employment Agency Act regulations which the newly reinforced inspectorate will be policing. The REC calls on the TUC to move on from some of the outdated rhetoric and to work positively with the Government and the REC to address cases of abuse through the effective enforcement of existing regulations.î