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The European Parliament has passed proposals aimed at providing equality for agency workers in relation to the terms and conditions they enjoy compared to those given t directly employed workers working alongside them. In some economies this is going to be a major, and complex, piece of legislation.
For some time there has been disquiet voiced by trade unions and others concerned with labour rights over the way in which agency workers are treated in Europe. As a consequence, the European Commission brought forward a proposal for a Directive on the subject in 2002. This proposal was thought to be lost as a result of political opposition by, foremost amongst others, the UK Government. The UK position changed earlier this year and led to a national level social partners’ agreement on this issue.
Subsequently, the proposal was reintroduced into the EU legislative machine and a revised proposal was adopted as a common position by the Council of Ministers on 15 September 2008 and this common position has now been accepted by the European Parliament, making it almost certain that the new rules will become law. At the core of the proposal is that temporary agency workers should be treated in the same way as the directly employed workers who they work alongside. This gives rise to a range of difficult legislative and practical issues, which will have to be worked through over the next three years as the Directive is brought into effect in various EU member state’s laws. There are various options for the social partners to clarify, or even restrict, the application of the Directive in very specific circumstances and this is exactly what has happened in the UK. The agreement between the TUC and CBI in the UK provides for a 12-week qualifying period before agency workers are entitled to the equality rights. The degree of agency work in Europe’s largest economies ranges from figures put at 0.8% of the labour market in Spain to – possibly – 5% in the UK. However, the different definitions applied and sampling problems mean that there are rarely accurate figures for comparison. However, it is certain that there will substantial questions that need to be addressed by both end users and their agencies, if these rules are going to be complied with. We shall produce an Ergon briefing on agency work in the near future. |
