In a statement to the House of Commons, the employment relations minister Ed Davey confirmed the Government would not be reviewing regulations, published in January.
The regulations, which were laid before parliament, raised concerns within the HR community because of a wide definition of pay for the purposes of establishing equal treatment as well as the issue of short-term repeat assignments, which could result in temporary workers acquiring equal treatment rights with several employers after 12 weeks of an assignment.
Responding to the most recent announcement Recruitment and Employment Confederation chief executive Kevin Green said: "This was a first big test of the Government’s stated commitment to lightening the load on business and we are disappointed with the outcome. We made a strong case for a review in our discussions with the Minister. However, re-opening the regulations was always a long shot and would have required support from the Trade Unions. However, ensuring that equal treatment measures are workable is not on the Trade Union’s radar. Our focus now will be on working closely with Government so that the official guidance provides clarity for recruiters and employers".
"There is some upside. Of the three issues that we raised, the Government has agreed to work with the REC on a robust definition and test for legitimate self-employment. We will also be looking for Government support on other priorities for the industry such as pensions reform, vetting and barring, procurement policy and a review of employment tribunals.
"Recruiters will work with business to minimise the impact of these regulations. Temporary work is about having instant access to highly-skilled, self-motivated workers who make a real contribution. The regulations must not have an impact on the crucial flexibility that agency work provides."
Ann Swain, Chief Executive of the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo), added: "It was always very unlikely that amendments to the Regulations could have been made at this stage. This is why APSCo has been concentrating on the guidance notes. The devil will be in the detail of those notes.""We have been asked by BIS to help draft the guidance notes. The guidance will help recruiters interpret how they should be implementing the Regulations. The wording of the guidance will have a massive bearing on how easy it is for recruiters to ensure they comply fully with the AWR."
"Whilst it is disappointing that the Government has not looked at areas like the definition of pay, at least a lot of the uncertainty surrounding the Regulations has now been removed. We can now push on to make sure the Regulations are fully understood. The drafting of the guidance was completely stalled as we awaited today’s announcement."
"It’s heartening that BIS is at least sympathetic to many of the concerns raised by APSCo and other stakeholders. The statement does at least give us some indication of where the Coalition stands on employment-related regulation."
"There is still no need to panic just yet. Recruiters and end users won’t be able to get their internal processes in order until the guidance notes have been published. Spending time at this stage worrying about compliance with the Regulations is premature."
