The global financial crisis will force companies to offer short-term contracts rather than permanent jobs to new employees, according to academics. Vicente Cuñat, a finance lecturer at the London School of Economics, has warned that firms will be te  More...
09 December 2008 10:48

One in two recruitment agencies believes the Agency Workers Directive will add 10% to the cost of filling a temporary vacancy. The Agency Workers Directive was passed by the European Parliament last month - giving temporary workers in the UK equal   More...
27 November 2008 10:13

Here we collate various reactions to the news that the Agency Workers Directive has been passed by the European Parliament  – giving temporary workers in the UK equal rights to permanent staff after 12 weeks with an employer. Katja Hall,   More...
22 October 2008 17:13

The Agency Workers Directive has been passed by the European Parliament – giving temporary workers in the UK equal rights to permanent staff after 12 weeks with an employer. The UK secured this 12-week qualifying period due to the deal previous  More...
22 October 2008 12:13

Argos has launched its Christmas recruitment drive with the aim of hiring 15,000 temporary staff for the retailer's peak period. Through its recruitment campaign, 'Enjoy a richer Christmas', Argos is hoping to attract thousands of temps to fill lar  More...
02 October 2008 10:30

Recruitment industry leaders are meeting with the government this week to thrash out a possible deal on tax changes that could add £400m to the cost of hiring temporary workers. The government's decision in the Budget earlier this year to scrap the   More...
02 October 2008 09:43

An Agency Work Commission has been set up by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) to prepare for new agency workers legislation. Ahead of the second reading in the European Parliament next month of the controversial EU Agency Workers Di  More...
29 August 2008 09:07

We take a look at the  Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses (Amendment) Regulations 2007  which came into force on 6 April. Q What is the main change to the agency workers amendments? Neil Carberry Head of employme  More...
15 July 2008 00:00

European employment ministers are attempting to thrash out deals on agency workers and working time at a meeting in Luxembourg. Ministers on the EU Employment Council are hoping to cement a deal on the thorny issues and bring to an end years of   More...
09 June 2008 14:00

In this clip Philip Titchmarsh, partner at Pinsent Masons, says the prospect of paying agency staff sick pay and pension contributions will concern employers but it will not stop them hiring agency staff. UK agency worker  More...
06 June 2008 16:35

The fight for greater workers' rights will go on despite the recent raft of legislative announcements, a key union figure has warned. In the past few weeks, the government has announced that it will extend the right to request flexible working to p  More...
03 June 2008 10:41

Agency workers could gain equal rights to permanent staff at an even earlier stage than the 12-week watershed agreed last week, a senior official has warned. The government reached an agreement with the CBI and the TUC last week which would see tem  More...
27 May 2008 00:01

Earlier this month, I used this column to accuse Gordon Brown of dithering over what to do about the rights of agency workers. Well, I send my apologies to the embattled prime minister: despite a rogue Bill making its merry way through Parliame  More...
27 May 2008 00:01

The Temporary and Agency Workers (Equal Treatment) Bill proposed by Labour MP Andrew Miller has been withdrawn following an announcement in Parliament. The death of the Bill was inevitable following the announcement earlier this week that employe  More...
22 May 2008 14:47

A landmark deal on the rights of agency workers has been agreed between the government, employers and trade unions. Update: The Agency Workers Regulations 2010 come into force on 1 October 2011. The "agency workers deal" mentioned   More...
20 May 2008 12:40

Employment relations minister Pat McFadden’s decision not to vote on whether the agency workers’ Bill should be scrapped has been branded an “embarrassment” by employers. The controversial Temporary and Agency Workers (Equal Treatment) Bill, which wo  More...
09 May 2008 15:17

Spending on recruitment agencies could fall by almost a third in the near future, according to an expert. James Saunders, managing director of online recruitment consultancy 4MAT, believes medium and large companies will slash their online agency bud  More...
07 May 2008 16:24

Fresh claims that agency workers should be given equal treatment within the first few weeks have emerged after a report found the average length of time such workers stay in their jobs is less than five months. The report, Agency Working in the UK:   More...
07 May 2008 11:03

We may be just four months in to 2008, but already there have been plenty of flashpoints for the HR profession. Whether it be skills, diversity, flexible working, temp rights or the interminable debate over HR's relevance to profit and loss accounts, th  More...
30 April 2008 14:27

Don't expect the agency workers debate to go away anytime soon. Emma Ceballos explains why the Agency Workers Directive isn't dead yet. It could have been D-day for the UK's recruitment agencies as the European Commission discussed the Agency Worker  More...
22 April 2008 11:02