Kevin Green is absolutely right to argue that the government must make full use of the three-year implementation period of the Agency Workers Directiveand, therefore, not bring it in into force until at least December 2011 (‘Implementing Agency Workers Directive in the right way is crucial’, Personnel Today, 3 March).
Early implementation of this directive could coincide with the first signs that the economy is starting to recover and when employers might be starting to think about recruiting more people. However, employers will understandably be very cautious about the future and, therefore, will probably want, initially at least, to recruit temporary agency workers rather than permanent employees.
If at that time, employers felt that the costs and administrative burdens associated with taking on agency workers were increasing, it could lead to them putting off their recruitment plans and thereby slowdown the recovery.
David Yeandle, head of employment policy, EEF
