Friday

29th Mar 2024

Temp workers in UK least protected across Europe

Britain registers the highest number of workers hired by agencies for temporary work, but they are also among the least socially protected across Europe.

Only so-called 'temps' in the UK, Hungary and Ireland do not have the same rights of pay as permanent employees doing a similar job, according to a report.

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The paper, to be presented by the British Trade Union Congress (TUC) on Thursday (23 June), argues that the proposed EU directive on agency workers should finally be pushed forward in order to strengthen the social rights of temps in the UK and some other countries.

In the UK, Denmark, Finland and Sweden, agencies do not require a license to operate. But TUC pointed out that while agency working is largely deregulated in the three Scandinavian countries, temps are protected by strong employer and trade union agreements.

The Netherlands abolished a business permit requirement for the agencies in 1998, but has recently re-introduced it because of widespread abuses of workers’ rights, according to the report.

The European legislation on temping is currently being blocked, as national governments have so far failed to agree on the details of pay and social protection for agency workers.

In principle, the law should provide for temps the same pay as for a permanent employee of the company doing the same job as well as introducing measures to improve their access to training and career progression within a company.

But it is not clear at which point temps should have access to equal pay and basic rights, with some states arguing that they should first have to work in a company for a year before gaining such protection, while others are calling for six months and some argue it should be from the very first working day.

Trade unions want the one-day-only solution, as the evidence shows the companies would otherwise get around the law by hiring people for just a bit less than the qualifying period.

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