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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Agency staff to get equal rights | Agency staff to get equal rights |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Agency workers will be given the same employment rights as permanent staff after 12 weeks under proposals agreed between the government and unions. | Agency workers will be given the same employment rights as permanent staff after 12 weeks under proposals agreed between the government and unions. |
| Union officials said the government had agreed to table legislation later this year to guarantee agency staff enjoyed equal treatment in the workplace. | Union officials said the government had agreed to table legislation later this year to guarantee agency staff enjoyed equal treatment in the workplace. |
| Unions, which have campaigned for the measure for years, said the agreement offered much stronger legal protection. | |
| Employers groups described the agreement as the "least worst option". | |
| Political pressure | Political pressure |
| There are estimated to be about 1.4 million agency workers in the UK. | |
| The breakthrough on agency workers' rights came after fierce wrangling between unions and employers and amid growing pressure by Labour MPs on ministers to broker a deal. | The breakthrough on agency workers' rights came after fierce wrangling between unions and employers and amid growing pressure by Labour MPs on ministers to broker a deal. |
| Under the proposals, agency workers will be given equal pay after 12 weeks in a job, enjoying the same treatment with regard to "basic work and employment conditions". | Under the proposals, agency workers will be given equal pay after 12 weeks in a job, enjoying the same treatment with regard to "basic work and employment conditions". |
| However, there is some confusion about whether the rights will extend to overtime and other employee benefits. | However, there is some confusion about whether the rights will extend to overtime and other employee benefits. |
| The CBI said sick pay and pension payments had been "rightly excluded". | |
| It will give people a fair deal at work without putting their jobs at risk John Hutton, Business Secretary | It will give people a fair deal at work without putting their jobs at risk John Hutton, Business Secretary |
| Employers groups, led by the CBI, had lobbied for a period of at least six months arguing that it could lead to firms taking on fewer employees or even letting staff go. | Employers groups, led by the CBI, had lobbied for a period of at least six months arguing that it could lead to firms taking on fewer employees or even letting staff go. |
| Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said a situation in which agency workers can be paid less for doing the same job as full-time staff is "unfair". | Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said a situation in which agency workers can be paid less for doing the same job as full-time staff is "unfair". |
| Earlier this year Mr Brown offered to set up an independent body, modelled on the Low Pay Commission, to look at ways of finding a solution to the controversial issue. | Earlier this year Mr Brown offered to set up an independent body, modelled on the Low Pay Commission, to look at ways of finding a solution to the controversial issue. |
| But there has been intense pressure from Labour backbenchers over the issue with more than a third of MPs, including John Prescott and Peter Hain, backing a private members' bill on agency workers rights in February. | But there has been intense pressure from Labour backbenchers over the issue with more than a third of MPs, including John Prescott and Peter Hain, backing a private members' bill on agency workers rights in February. |
| 'Fair deal' | |
| Ministers said Tuesday's agreement was the "right deal" for British industry. | Ministers said Tuesday's agreement was the "right deal" for British industry. |
| "The agreement achieves our twin objectives of flexibility for British employers and fairness for workers," said Business Secretary John Hutton. | "The agreement achieves our twin objectives of flexibility for British employers and fairness for workers," said Business Secretary John Hutton. |
| "It will give people a fair deal at work without putting their jobs at risk or cutting off a valuable route into employment." | "It will give people a fair deal at work without putting their jobs at risk or cutting off a valuable route into employment." |
| Too many agency workers in the UK face unfair treatment and injustice Brendan Barber, TUC General Secretary | |
| The TUC said the issue had been "crying out for attention for far too long". | |
| "Too many agency workers in the UK face unfair treatment and injustice," said general secretary Brendan Barber. | |
| "The agreement now opens the door to the much stronger legal protection that agency workers deserve, as our Commission on Vulnerable Employment so graphically highlighted." | |
| The CBI said half of agency placements lasted fewer than 12 weeks, meaning that firms would be protected while trying to fill short-term vacancies at busy periods. | |
| "The government's proposals represent the least worst outcome available for British business," said John Cridland, CBI deputy director-general. | |
| "Agency work is good for temps and for the firms that use them and forms a central plank of the flexible labour market that is so important to our country's prosperity." |