Agency Worker Regulation (AWR) in the UK contingent workspace
The implementation of the Agency Worker Regulation (AWR) has, without a shadow of doubt, been one of the hottest and most talked about topics within the UK contingent workspace over recent months. AWR represents a huge shift in the rights of agency workers, granting temporary staff the right to equal access to shared facilities such as car parks and canteens on Day 1 of their assignment and equivalent pay and holiday allowance to their permanent counterparts after 12 weeks (comparator).
For some industries, these regulations are unlikely to pose too many challenges. High skilled contractors, for example, are typically paid more than their permanent counterparts. However, when it comes to the blue collar population or companies that use temporary staff in administrative and junior roles, AWR is likely to cause considerable headaches and increased costs.
As the burden on compliance rests ultimately with the hirer, it is crucial that companies obtain a complete picture of their contingent workforce and visibility into pay and bill rates before an effective strategy can be implemented. Companies that had a Vendor Management System (VMS) in place prior to the regulation are now already reaping the rewards as not only has the hard graft of identifying in-scope contractors and pay rates already been done, but the information is easily reportable. In addition, a good VMS system enables the standardising of job titles, a process that further eases comparator identification.
IQNavigator has worked with its UK client base to enable efficient compliance with the regulations. Over the last few months, we have developed a solution that maps across comparator information into its job templates ensuring that as soon as a new job requisition is posted it is already AWR compliant. In addition, using our Customer Defined Fields we can capture and record a named comparator and a contractor’s tax status.
With Ireland set to implement the Directive soon, there has never been a better time for companies to be able to use the changing regulatory landscape to put in a place a Vendor Management System that will provide the necessary visibility to ensure compliance with AWR.
