Category: Employment Contracts News

Many businesses are remaining committed to offering temporary employment contracts, even in light of new Agency Workers Regulations (AWR), a study has found.

The latest JobsOutlook survey from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) highlights that 22 per cent of employers plan to increase their use of temporary workers over the next three months.

Meanwhile, 61 per cent revealed that they would be keeping their agency workforce at the same level, up four per cent compared to August.

AWR will come into force tomorrow (October 1st) and requires employers to give temporary workers the same basic employment rights as other staff after 12 weeks in a post.

Included in the terms and conditions are basic pay rights, annual leave and rest breaks.

Roger Tweedy, the REC’s director of research, said: “Despite the imminent introduction of the AWR, employers are still looking to build flexibility into their workforces while an overall air of uncertainty prevails in the jobs market.”

More information on the Agency Workers Regulations

• BBC: Agency workers get greater work rights from 1 October

People who are still paid for taking sick leave as part of their employment contracts are likely to take advantage of the system, an expert has suggested.

Small businesses can often find that this leads to a rise in absenteeism, which would not be the case of statutory sick pay is withdrawn, noted employment solicitor at didlaw Karen Jackson.

“In your contracts you shouldn’t have contractual sick pay, because in a way, it encourages people to think ‘oh, I’ll have a day off, what’s the downside to me?'” Ms Jackson explained.

She highlighted that there are various different reasons as to why people are sick, but it would be wrong to assume that they are all legitimate.

Research commissioned by PricewaterhouseCoopers has revealed that one in three employees in the UK has lied in order to take time off work.

The majority (61 per cent) admitted this was because they are simply bored and depressed with their job.

Female workers believe the glass ceiling will still be affecting their career progression in the year 2020, a new Friends Life report has determined.

More than half (55 per cent) of those questioned said they believe there will be a significant pay gap between men and women in nine years’ time.

Firms may also be encouraged to seek employment law advice as results show that 53 per cent of women think they will continue to struggle to fill senior roles within their organisation.

Men, on the other hand, were more inclined not to envisage any differences between the sexes in any of these areas, as only 30 per cent believe women are at a disadvantage.

Kim Clarke, head of human resources at Friends Life, commented: “Flexible working alongside mentoring can help foster a culture of understanding among senior management of the pressures facing women and can ultimately help both women and business prosper.”