Employment law change ‘a great Christmas gift’ for agency workers

Posted 29/12/2011

Changes to employment law that came into force recently have been welcomed by agency workers in particular.The Agency Workers Regulations began in October – with the first qualifying date on Christmas Eve – and Billy Hayes, general secretary of the Communication Workers Union, described it as the “best possible Christmas present” for temporary members of staff.Thousands of agency workers across the UK will now be set to benefit from the amendments, added Mr Hayes, who also noted it has been a fight for the trade unions to achieve this for a number of years against different governments.Earlier in the month, the Trades Union Congress criticised a change to employment law announced by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat alliance, with members of staff who want their case to be heard at an employment tribunal now ordered to pay a fee to do so.