Knowledge Centre
15th October 2009
Personnel and business groups have welcomed the delayed introduction of new employment regulations, saying that postponing extra red tape will help small firms remain competitive.
The Government announced today that it would not put the EU's Agency Workers Directive into effect until October 2011 - just prior to the December deadline.
The directive will give agency workers who have been in a job for 12 weeks the same pay rights, holidays and basic conditions as permanent staff. But while the Government is keen to introduce this "fairer deal in the workplace", Business Minister Pat McFadden acknowledged a need to avoid piling new regulation on firms until economic recovery is further underway.
It is also expected that the Government will delay granting staff the right to request time off for training in firms with fewer than 250 employees - although this would come into effect sooner for larger companies.
Tom Richmond, skills adviser at the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD), said that differentiating between larger and smaller companies was the right decision, though he highlighted CIPD research which found that seven out of 10 employers still prioritise training despite the adverse economic conditions.
"Larger firms are likely to be better geared to deal with the new right, while a delay gives smaller firms struggling with the recession more time to prepare," he added.
Meanwhile, official figures released yesterday show that the growth in the number of UK unemployed is starting to slow, with the total climbing by 88,000 over the three months to August, compared to the three months to May. This represents the lowest increase in unemployed since July 2008.
IMAGE Doug Peters/Doug Peters/EMPICS Entertainment
Red tape delayed to aid recovery
The Government announced today that it would not put the EU's Agency Workers Directive into effect until October 2011 - just prior to the December deadline.
The directive will give agency workers who have been in a job for 12 weeks the same pay rights, holidays and basic conditions as permanent staff. But while the Government is keen to introduce this "fairer deal in the workplace", Business Minister Pat McFadden acknowledged a need to avoid piling new regulation on firms until economic recovery is further underway.
It is also expected that the Government will delay granting staff the right to request time off for training in firms with fewer than 250 employees - although this would come into effect sooner for larger companies.
Tom Richmond, skills adviser at the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD), said that differentiating between larger and smaller companies was the right decision, though he highlighted CIPD research which found that seven out of 10 employers still prioritise training despite the adverse economic conditions.
"Larger firms are likely to be better geared to deal with the new right, while a delay gives smaller firms struggling with the recession more time to prepare," he added.
Meanwhile, official figures released yesterday show that the growth in the number of UK unemployed is starting to slow, with the total climbing by 88,000 over the three months to August, compared to the three months to May. This represents the lowest increase in unemployed since July 2008.
IMAGE Doug Peters/Doug Peters/EMPICS Entertainment
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