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Agency staff 'are second class' Agency staff 'are second class'
(1 day later)
Agency workers feel discriminated against, abused and treated as second class employees, a TUC report claims.Agency workers feel discriminated against, abused and treated as second class employees, a TUC report claims.
Nearly half of 2,700 agency workers surveyed for the study got less holiday entitlement than permanent staff.Nearly half of 2,700 agency workers surveyed for the study got less holiday entitlement than permanent staff.
One in three said they earned less than directly employed staff for doing the same work and three quarters said they were entitled to less redundancy pay.One in three said they earned less than directly employed staff for doing the same work and three quarters said they were entitled to less redundancy pay.
A government consultation on giving agency workers equal treatment to those directly employed closes on 31 July.A government consultation on giving agency workers equal treatment to those directly employed closes on 31 July.
InsecurityInsecurity
Comments made by agency workers in the poll included "I haven't had a break for years and it is taking its toll on my health", "unpaid holiday leave", and "never sure when I can take time off".Comments made by agency workers in the poll included "I haven't had a break for years and it is taking its toll on my health", "unpaid holiday leave", and "never sure when I can take time off".
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said the poll reveals "abuse and bad treatment for a significant proportion of agency workers".TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said the poll reveals "abuse and bad treatment for a significant proportion of agency workers".
"The survey shows that many employers are using the lack of employment rights and insecurity of agency workers to treat staff badly - to pay them less, to give them less holiday pay, to get out of paying them redundancy or maternity pay, and to neglect their training and development," he said."The survey shows that many employers are using the lack of employment rights and insecurity of agency workers to treat staff badly - to pay them less, to give them less holiday pay, to get out of paying them redundancy or maternity pay, and to neglect their training and development," he said.
Mr Barber urged the government to treat the introduction of the new regulations as a priority, "to ensure agency workers are protected and that the exploitation of temps by rogue employers ends as spoon as possible". Mr Barber urged the government to treat the introduction of the new regulations as a priority, "to ensure agency workers are protected and that the exploitation of temps by rogue employers ends as soon as possible".
A spokesman for the Department for Business Innovation & Skills warned that the improved rights for temporary staff must not jeopardise the flexibility seen in the UK labour market.A spokesman for the Department for Business Innovation & Skills warned that the improved rights for temporary staff must not jeopardise the flexibility seen in the UK labour market.
"Our objective in implementing the Agency Workers Directive is to bring fairer treatment for agency workers without removing the important flexibility that agency work can offer both employers and workers," he said."Our objective in implementing the Agency Workers Directive is to bring fairer treatment for agency workers without removing the important flexibility that agency work can offer both employers and workers," he said.
The TUC study was carried out online by research group YouGov in June, which warned that the sample might under-represent those on lower pay and in vulnerable employment.The TUC study was carried out online by research group YouGov in June, which warned that the sample might under-represent those on lower pay and in vulnerable employment.