Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Latest News

Agency Directive will put a stop to temp-to perm route

by Personnel Today 3 Sep 2002
by Personnel Today 3 Sep 2002

The European Commission’s draft Agency Workers Directive will misfire and
damage employment prospects of the temporary workers it is designed to help,
according to research.

The directive would give temporary workers rights to equal pay and
conditions as permanent staff once they have worked for an employer for longer
than six weeks, if introduced in its current form.

The survey of 4,000 temporary workers by the Recruitment and Employment
Confederation (REC) shows that 70 per cent of agency workers believe temping
improves their ability to gain a permanent job.

The REC claims around 50 per cent of agency staff accept an offer of
permanent employment within 12 months from an organisation they have been
assigned to as a temp.

Tim Nicholson, chief executive of the REC, believes the temp to perm route
would become less attractive to employers under the agency workers’ directive,
because employing temporary staff would be more expensive and complex.

"The directive is supposed to make this type of work more attractive to
workers and employers, but instead jobs will be lost because of extra costs and
inflexibility, and great damage will be done for no good reason," he said.

The survey finds that 42 per cent of agency staff already believe they earn
the same or more than comparable permanent employees, compared to 37 per cent
who think they are paid less.

"The Commission pays lip service to the social and economic benefits of
temporary work, but these proposed regulations are clearly founded on a misconception
that agency workers are stuck at the bottom end of the labour market in poor
quality, low paid jobs," said Nicholson.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

By Ben Willmott

www.rec.uk.com

Personnel Today

Personnel Today articles are written by an expert team of award-winning journalists who have been covering HR and L&D for many years. Some of our content is attributed to "Personnel Today" for a number of reasons, including: when numerous authors are associated with writing or editing a piece; or when the author is unknown (particularly for older articles).

previous post
The data protection code: what it means for online recruitment
next post
UK staff search for right image to boost job prospects

You may also like

House of Lords to resume scrutiny of Employment...

30 May 2025

Indefinite leave to remain proposal could place workers...

30 May 2025

Overseas workers bring key benefits to IT and...

30 May 2025

Trade uncertainty means 7 million fewer jobs globally

30 May 2025

Personnel Today Awards 2025: Two weeks left to...

30 May 2025

Pension reforms could put savings at risk, group...

30 May 2025

Black workers face greatest risk from workplace surveillance

30 May 2025

Capita and PizzaExpress named for minimum wage underpayments

29 May 2025

Charlie Mayfield: HR needs more proactive approach to...

29 May 2025

Warning issued over loss of ‘frictionless’ business travel...

29 May 2025

  • Preparing for a new era of workforce planning (webinar) WEBINAR | Employers now face...Read more
  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+