A survey studying the affects of AWR over the past year has revealed that it has not had a negative influence with the hiring of temps or contractors.
The latest Industry Research Unit, which has been carried out by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), found that only four per cent of employers reported that they had reduced their use of agency workers in direct response to the Agency Worker Regulations (AWR).
The report also found that of the 28 per cent of employers who said they had in any way reduced their use of agency staff, two thirds said it was because of continued economic uncertainty and weak growth.
Overall satisfaction with being a freelancer or temporary worker increased from 43 per cent to 52 per cent in the first seven months of AWR’s implementation.
REC CEO Kevin Green said, “One year in it’s clear to us that there have been only limited problems for businesses, some real positives for workers and that it’s recruitment agencies across the UK who have really absorbed the administrative burden and costs associated with the implementation of the new rules.
“Of the minority of employers who reduced their use of temps most of them made that decision because of the wider financial climate, rather than it being a knee-jerk reaction to the new regulations. So it makes sense that demand for agency staff will pick up as growth returns.
“In fact, our latest data shows that there’s already been a turnaround and the outlook for temps is starting to improve despite the fact we’re still officially in a recession.”
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SJD Accountancy – who has written 388 posts on SJD Accountancy Blog.
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