Agency workers could receive the same pay and conditions as permanent staff under new proposals outlined in a government consultation on the implementation of the Agency Workers Directive.
The rights would take effect once agency workers have spent 12 weeks in a post, as part of the government's implementation of the EU directive. Measures will also be included to prevent employers from sacking staff after 11 weeks, then re-employing them in order to avoid the new laws.
John Cridland, deputy-director general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said: "Although this directive has been agreed in Brussels, there are still lots of questions that remain about how it will be implemented in the UK. Agency working is important for the UK economy and we must not undermine it with clumsy regulation"
