Agency workers ‘too afraid to raise workplace concerns’ – Acas
20 March 2015
Agency workers are often unaware of employment rights and afraid of raising workplace concerns due to fears over job security, a report from Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) has found.
Fri, 20 Mar 2015
Agency workers are often unaware of employment rights and afraid of raising workplace concerns due to fears over job security, a report from Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) has found.
Three sides to every story: the impact of the Agency Worker Regulations, released yesterday [19 March], showed of the 900k calls to the Acas helpline last year, 19% raised concerns about contracts, including zero hours contracts, and 0.3% were about Agency Worker Regulations.
Of the calls relating to the regulations, 43% were from agency workers and Acas analysis of those calls revealed an unawareness of rights particularly around holiday pay, notice period and the 12-week threshold after which they should have the same rights as a permanent employee.
For example, one caller had been on the same assignment for four years but did not know they were entitled to the same pay as an equivalent permanent employee.
Callers also expressed concerns about asserting their statutory employment rights due to a perceived imbalance of power in the employment relationship.
One flu-struck care home worker called in sick and was fined £50 as per a new employment contract he had been given but had not signed. He told the helpline he was worried the agency would stop giving him work if he made a fuss.
An air of frustration was also prevalent, Acas found, especially due to administrative burdens such as chasing payments.
The report also noted agency workers sometimes felt they had to undertake tasks they were not qualified for. For example, one caller who worked for social services said she felt coerced into working with vulnerable adults but had not had any training.
The report concluded that a greater awareness of the experiences of agency workers and how their employment rights can be protected would benefit the competitive nature of agency businesses.
Agency workers are often unaware of employment rights and afraid of raising workplace concerns due to fears over job security, a report from Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) has found.
Three sides to every story: the impact of the Agency Worker Regulations, released yesterday [19 March], showed of the 900k calls to the Acas helpline last year, 19% raised concerns about contracts, including zero hours contracts, and 0.3% were about Agency Worker Regulations.
Of the calls relating to the regulations, 43% were from agency workers and Acas analysis of those calls revealed an unawareness of rights particularly around holiday pay, notice period and the 12-week threshold after which they should have the same rights as a permanent employee.
For example, one caller had been on the same assignment for four years but did not know they were entitled to the same pay as an equivalent permanent employee.
Callers also expressed concerns about asserting their statutory employment rights due to a perceived imbalance of power in the employment relationship.
One flu-struck care home worker called in sick and was fined £50 as per a new employment contract he had been given but had not signed. He told the helpline he was worried the agency would stop giving him work if he made a fuss.
An air of frustration was also prevalent, Acas found, especially due to administrative burdens such as chasing payments.
The report also noted agency workers sometimes felt they had to undertake tasks they were not qualified for. For example, one caller who worked for social services said she felt coerced into working with vulnerable adults but had not had any training.
The report concluded that a greater awareness of the experiences of agency workers and how their employment rights can be protected would benefit the competitive nature of agency businesses.
