EU Agency Workers Directive Progresses; CIPD Urges Government to Protect UK

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) have reiterated their call for the UK Government to resist proposals that it says would damage the employment of agency workers. The CIPD's statement comes ahead of the meeting of the EU Council of Ministers on Tuesday 3 June when the EU Council of Ministers will consider the draft Directive on Agency Workers.

CIPD Employee Relations Adviser, Mike Emmott said: "The Government has continued to argue that giving agency workers the same pay and conditions as permanent workers would remove the element of labour market flexibility that is critical to a successful UK economy.

"Agency work brings benefits to both employers and employees. As the CIPD's annual employee satisfaction survey shows, temporary staff are actually more highly motivated and more satisfied with their jobs than staff on permanent contracts. In many cases agency workers value the freedom of choice that agency work can offer.

"Temporary workers, for example in IT and healthcare, may receive higher pay in return for less security. Meanwhile, organisations can retain the flexibility they need to deal with changes in demand."
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