Posts from the ‘Agency Workers’ Category
The case of HMRC -v- Reed Employment may have serious implications for umbrella companies and other employment businesses.
The landmark case has found Reed Employment, a leading employment agency, to be liable for £158m in back taxes, after 500,000 temps were reimbursed for expenses, which should have been paid as salary.
For more see here.
The Agency Workers Regulations (NI) 2011 will come into force on 5 December 2011
04/11/2011
Mark Jackson
Further to our post on ‘New rights to be given to agency workers in Northern Ireland’, the Agency Workers Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011 have now been published and will come into force on 5th December 2011.
Now is the time to consider the regulations and how they might affect your business. Thompsons Solicitors can provide advice on the Regulations tailored to your particular circumstances. Please contact us for further information.
The Department for Employment and Learning has confirmed that temporary agency workers in Northern Ireland will be given important new rights under the EU Agency Workers Directive – see link.
The Employment and Learning Minister, Dr Stephen Farry, has indicated the Department will bring the necessary legislation into effect by 5 December 2011.
It is likely the legislation will largely mirror the English equivalent, the Agency Worker Regulations 2010, which come into operation in England and Wales on 1 October 2011. Those Regulations give temps and agency workers some of the same rights as full-time staff from their first day on the job. After 12 weeks in the same job, as indicated by the Minister, the new regulations will grant temps the same pay and overtime rates as your permanent employees, as well as paid holiday.
It is estimated that one half of temp assignments are longer than 12 weeks, and the Department’s own website indicates there are some 22,000 temporary agency workers in Northern Ireland. That means a considerable number of businesses in Northern Ireland will be affected.
So, if you employ temps for more than 12 weeks at a time, are there any steps you can take to prepare before 5 December 2011? Read more
Northern Ireland Law 