Based on research from the recruitment giant Adecco it was reported on the 21st March that 78% of hirers “have not experienced any discernible effect” of the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) with only 16% saying that “the AWR had impacted on their plans”.
“This is welcome news”, says Adrian Marlowe, Chairman of the Association of Recruitment Consultancies (ARC), “which could only come about with expert support from recruitment consultancies servicing those hirers.” He added “the clear implication is that hirers are not paying any more for their agency workers than before and are following the advice that they have been given.”
However what appears to be a helpful picture for hirers has come at a considerable cost to consultancies that have had to adapt because of the new laws and the unwillingness of hirers to accept a hike in their agency workers charges. Marlowe explained further that this cost “is likely to be on-going as consultancies absorb the risks and administration. However what seems pointless is that consultancies have to incur those costs when there is no discernible financial benefit to agency workers. Instead, other evidence suggests that some workers have been forced to lose their freelance status to become employees, and others have lost their jobs as they have been rotated out.”
The ARC is continuing its call to the government to review the AWR as the evidence mounts. Marlowe concluded “the Victorians were masters at building follies at great cost for no purpose other than the cosmetic. Surely we need to adopt a different approach to the AWR and cut back any excessive measures. The sooner there is a review of the current policy the better.”
