Implementing the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) in Northern Ireland (NI) without the 12-week qualifying period could damage the very people it is supposed to help, according to the group implementation director of Grafton Employment Group.

According to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) there is huge trade union pressure on the government to bring regulations in force in NI without the 12-week qualifying period that will apply in the rest of the UK.

However, Claire Reid told Recruiter there could be damaging consequences if this were to happen. “While AWR might be designed to protect workers this could keep people out of work,” says Reid.

“This is not a situation we can afford to be in given the state of the economy in Northern Ireland.”

Reid warns that the additional cost of hiring agency workers, as well as the extra bureaucracy could also result in clients deciding not to use temporary labour.

Reid adds there could be practical difficulties in implementing equal treatment from day one. Potential new clients in particular might be unwilling to give agencies what they might see as sensitive and confidential information, such as pay rates of their permanent staff in “a first conversation”. 

Grafton’s business model, which relies on supporting clients by providing “short term fixes to changing demand” could also be adversely affected.

The Committee for Employment and Learning within the Northern Ireland Assembly is currently debating AWR implementation. Last week’s debate at Stormont included representations from Gary Irvine, founder & CEO of Diamond Recruitment and former REC chair.
 
Further committee debates will be taking place this week. Jim Berrisford, REC regional director for Northern Ireland, adds: “We have worked constructively with DEL officials over recent months and will continue to push for the final regulations to be as user-friendly as possible. Not having the 12-qualifying period in Northern Ireland would be unthinkable. The jobs market in Northern Ireland remains fragile, we need to ensure that everything possible is done to increase employer confidence and to address any barriers to recruitment. Agency work provides a stepping-stone into the labour market for jobseekers. It also provides crucial flexibility for businesses in Northern Ireland. At a time of ongoing economic uncertainty, this has never been more important”. The REC says it remains confident of a positive outcome.