“Vulnerable” Workers Helpline
The government has just announced a telephone helpline for workers called the Pay and Work Rights Helpline. The helpline is set up to give all workers including agency workers easy access to information about their rights.
In the accompanying announcements from both government and the REC it is referred to as a “vulnerable workers helpline” and the REC has in an article published this week welcoming it as such.
As it is described as a helpline for “vulnerable” workers the implication is that all agency workers are vulnerable. This is not a view that most recruiters share. What is more, the term “vulnerable” within the context of agency workers has negative connotations for recruiters and invites more measures and legislation. Language is key and can affect policy.
ARC welcomes the helpline save for the fact that the press announcement, and therefore presumably the thinking behind it, considers all workers to be vulnerable. The sooner this aspect stops, the better for the industry.
ARC is running a campaign to shift the focus onto more positive aspects. See ARC campaigns
Adrian, a highly experienced lawyer, founded Lawspeed in 1997. He is responsible for developing our extensive portfolio of products and services, including the widely used Lawspeed contract templates. Adrian is an expert on “recruitment law” and specialises in contracts, regulatory compliance, employment status and dispute handling. He is chair of the trade body the Association of Recruitment Consultancies, the only lawyer lead recruitment trade body in the UK. Adrian and his co-director Ravi devised Standards in Recruitment as a vehicle for helping drive up standards and compliance in the industry.
Adrian is our lead in discussions with the government over regulatory evolution. Apart from assisting with client support, Adrian’s primary role is research and development into methods of business delivery, our latest service Proterms being his most recent project. Adrian heads our IR35 lawyers team.