AWR Myths Christmas Calendar

1.    Personal Service Company (PSC) contractors are automatically outside of the scope of the AWR

Fact or fiction?

Fiction
– an individual working through a PSC is not automatically outside the
scope of the AWR. However, if the individual is ‘carrying on a business
undertaking’ and is supplied under the right form of contract where the
Hirer is the client of the company, then that individual will not be an
agency worker.

2.    A worker employed under a R.10 (‘Swedish Derogation’) contract will not be an agency worker

Fact or fiction?

Fiction
– an individual engaged under a ‘Swedish Derogation’ contract will
always be an agency worker. This form of contract only removes the R.5
right to parity of pay. The agency worker will still be entitled to the
remaining rights afforded by the AWR.

3.    Where the individual supplied is an employee, the individual will not be an agency worker

Fact or fiction?

Fiction
– regardless of employment terms, an employee will be an agency worker
if supplied to work temporarily for and under the supervision and
direction of a hirer. This applies whether the individual is an employee
of the agency, umbrella company or other company.

4.  
 If there is no direct recruit at the hirer’s site doing the same or
broadly similar work as the agency worker, you do not have to apply the
AWR

Fact or fiction?

Fiction
– even if there is no one else doing the same or similar job, there may
still be terms and conditions that would apply if the worker were
engaged directly by the hirer. These may be laid out in a published pay
scale, trade union agreement or may be usual practice within the
organisation.

5.    Termination of assignments before 13 weeks is illegal

Fact or fiction?

Fiction
– a possible, legitimate solution is to engage agency workers on short
term contracts so they never reach the 12 week qualifying period with a
hirer.

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