October 2011 marked the introduction of new Government legislation relating to additional rights for agency workers. Under the Agency Workers Regulations, businesses who employ temporary staff from recruitment agencies are legally obliged to offer their ‘temps’ the same rates of pay and holiday entitlements as directly employed staff. This applies in cases of temporary employment that exceeds 12 weeks during the year.
Many businesses across the entire spectrum of sectors and sizes utilise temporary workers for a multitude of different reasons. The Government acknowledged the need to allow time for employers to fully familiarise themselves with the new legislation, and put it in to practice. Accordingly, it offered a 12 week change over period from 1 October, 2011, after which it intends to start carrying out compliance checks.
There are fears amongst the business community that many small businesses, plus small recruitment agencies that provide temporary staff, lack the resources to equip themselves with comprehensive working knowledge of the regulations, and make the required procedural changes within the deadline. Failure to find necessary payroll solutions can be deeply damaging to businesses forced to reduce their temporary workforce in the interim period, and to those who continue to use temporary staff without implementing appropriate changes.
Businesses already using external payroll services can rest assured that their service providers are ahead of the game on their behalves. In fact, professional payroll companies would have provided all the advanced information that businesses need on the matter, subsequently guiding them through seamless transitions. Additionally, many other employers who have previously seen to their own HR payroll functions are turning to outsourced professionals who can help them to incorporate the new agency workers legislation in to their regular payroll modus operandi.
We, at Moorepay, provide proficient and timely business payroll solutions. Our intrinsic understanding of the Agency Workers Regulations, both practically and theoretically, enables us to guide businesses through their transitional phases and maintain adherence on an ongoing basis.