The simplified rule for Agency Workers is that from Day one they must be given access to the company’s facilities such as car parking, canteen and access to any job vacancies the business may have online.
Agency Worker Regulation
After 12 weeks of service, workers should be given equal treatment to their permanent peers in terms of pay and working conditions. In addition, under regulation 13 of the Agency Workers Regulation (AWR), ‘An agency worker has during an assignment the right to be informed by the hirer of any relevant vacant posts with the hirer, to give that agency worker the same opportunity as a comparable worker to find permanent employment with the hirer.’
Case Example
In the case of Angard Staffing Solutions Ltd & Anor v Kocur & Anor, the AWR rules were scrutinised as further clarity was needed in terms of working conditions and applying for permanent jobs.
The claim was based on agency workers applying for internal jobs, could they be treated the same as directly recruited employees?
The EAT declared no they could not.
The EAT elaborated the rules on this. Under AWR 13, agency workers have the right to be told about vacancies and to be given the same amount of information as internal staff members after 12 weeks of service. But internal applicants had more of an advantage as they were directly recruited employees.
The EAT stated agency worker do not have the same entitlement as directly recruited employees. Instead, should an agency worker be interested in a vacancy, they should apply as external candidates and would be in direct competition as with any other applicant applying.
The EAT further clarified that there was no breach of AWR 5 which was also raised by Mr Kocur in his claim. Regulation 5 states workers are entitled to the same basic employment conditions as if they had been directly recruited by the hirer. The hirer had evidenced that they had provided adequate rest breaks and same training as permanent staff. Though the agency workers did work longer shift patterns it was noted that such workers were not entitled to work the same contractual hours as directly recruited staff.
Judge Auerbach concluded that the AWR had been correctly explained and interpreted in this case.
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