Agency worker deal gets EU approval

The government has secured European approval for measures to improve the rights of agency workers, it has announced.

The proposals will give temporary workers the same pay, holiday and sickness rights as permanent staff after 12 weeks in the same job. EU proposals, rejected by the government, had originally called for temps to have comparable rights from their first day of employment.

The department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) had wanted parity with permanent staff to come after one year's service. Last month it reached a compromise agreement with the Trades Union Congress and the Confederation of British Industry on a 12-week period, enabling the European talks to resume.

UK business groups have criticised the deal, with the Federation of Small Businesses calling it "disastrous".

BERR also announced that it has secured the right for UK staff to work for more than 48 hours in a week, with a strengthened opt-out to the Working Time Directive.

"This is a very good deal for the UK," said business secretary John Hutton. "It provides a fair deal for workers, without damaging Britain's economic competitiveness or putting jobs at risk."

"This agreement means that people remain free to earn overtime and businesses can cope during busy times," he said.

Meanwhile, BERR has called for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to contribute to an online consultation on working with national and local government. The consultation will inform the work of the Glover review, commissioned to help SMEs win more government contracts.