Temporary Workers Rights - new bill could spell trouble for small businesses

One of the UK's leading business pressure groups, The Forum of Private Business (FPB), has warned that extending the rights of full-time employees to temporary workers could make smaller businesses less competitive and lead to job losses.

Parliamentarians voted 147-11 for Ellesmere Port and Neston MP Andrew Miller’s Temporary and Agency Workers (Equal Treatment) Private Members’ Bill. The FPB is concerned that, should it become law, the owners of smaller firms will be less inclined to employ temporary workers because of the added red tape and costs involved in handing them the same pay, holidays, training and pensions as full-time members of staff, provided they have worked for six weeks with the firm.

"For many small businesses and temporary staff members alike, agency work provides the flexibility they are seeking," said the FPB’s Policy Representative, Matthew Goodman. "Reducing the flexibility of the labour market in this way could damage small firms and, by extension, the UK’s economy. Enforcing the law to tackle agencies which abuse their positions is important, but introducing new legislation is a step too far."

The FPB is pointing out that the move could also harm independent employment agencies, and mean smaller firms would be forced to spend even more time and money on recruitment and complying with employment law.

Responding to news of the 22nd February vote mentioned above, the CBI's Deputy Director-General, Jon Cridland, said, “This is a disappointing decision by MPs. If successful this bill would harm the economy and put jobs at risk, but we are confident that its deficiencies will be exposed at Committee stage.

"Temps already have extensive rights covering minimum wage, working time, paid holiday, and health and safety. Enforcement of those existing rules, rather than the creation of new ones, is the best way to protect a small minority of exploited workers.

"This proposed bill would not protect vulnerable workers. Instead blanketing all businesses with its complex and poorly targeted regulation would put 250,000 agency jobs at risk.

"Forcing businesses that use temps to pay a standardised rate from day one will be an administrative nightmare that confuses many temps and simply deters businesses from using agency workers. Smaller firms looking to cover holidays and maternity leave will be particularly hard hit, and many have said they will look to their existing staff for overtime."

You can keep track of the Bill's progress through Parliament here.