2nd consultation is published – first impressions not good
The Government has now published its long awaited response to the first consultation on the Agency Workers Directive and the draft regulations they intend to introduce. On first glance it appears that the draft Regulations are far wider than the EU Directive, giving rise to the widely expressed fear that the government is going to gold plate the legislation. Specifically the comparison is to be the agency worker compared with another person working on the hirer site, an issue that the Directive avoided and we warned against. The entitlement is to the same pay and conditions as are normally included by the hirer in the comparable worker’s contract, regardless of whether the terms are of a binding general nature as required by the Directive. However the regulations are not proposed to be in force until 11th October 2011. The consultation seeks views on the draft regulations and closes on 11th…