Press Release - 6th June 2008

GLOBAL VISION WARNS ABOUT THE AGENCY WORKERS DIRECTIVE

It is expected that the EU will adopt the controversial Agency Workers Directive, which aims to give agency workers the same employment rights as permanent staff, on Monday, 9 June 2008.

Ruth Lea, Director of Global Vision, said,

"A key feature of Britain's international competitiveness, which is inexorably declining, has been the relative flexibility of its labour market. There is no doubt that extra rights and regulations for temporary employees, as enforced by the EU's Agency Workers Directive, will further damage this treasured flexibility. It is yet another blow to Britain's ability to compete in a fiercely competitive world. And this will inevitably have knock-on effects for future employment prospects, economic growth and prosperity."

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Notes to editors

1. The general objective of the Agency Workers Directive is to help the EU "become the competitive and most dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustained economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion" and specifically:

· To improve the quality of temporary agency work by applying the principle of non-discrimination ("equal employment rights").

· To establish a suitable framework for the use of temps in the EU.

However these provisions are highly damaging to the flexible provision of temporary labour through employment agencies, who keep staff on their books to provide support at short notice to industries to deal with short term cyclical demand requirements or unexpected staff absences. While the individuals may have almost full time employment through a succession of short term contracts, the companies gain the advantage of flexibility in meeting short term needs. They may also then find that some of these staff are appropriate to move into full time roles, reducing recruitment costs and risks.

2. Although employment agencies are well established in the UK, this is not the case throughout the EU. (For example, in Italy until recently the operation of an employment agency was deemed illegal.) Indeed, some estimates suggest that as many of 1/3 of all agency workers in the EU are based in the UK.

3. On 20 May 2008 the Government agreed with the unions that, assuming the adoption of the Agency Workers Directive, agency workers will be given the same employment rights as permanent staff after 12 weeks employment. The agreement covered equal pay and holiday entitlements but excluded sick pay and pension payments.