Following a report into the impact of the Agency Workers Regulations, the REC have also reported that hiring intentions for temporary positions remains strong in their latest JobsOutlook. This is at a time whilst many employers are becoming increasingly cautious, and in many cases waiting for the economy to pick up before they begin to hire again.
Their report revealed that more than a quarter (27%) of employers are planning to increase the number of agency workers they employ in the short term. Added to this over half of them (57%) aim to keep temporary staff levels around the same. In the long term the figures are similar, with 22% planning to increase and 65% looking to keep levels the same.
REC Director of Research Roger Tweedy said that this caution and “wait and see” approach was likely to be linked to the economic concerns in the Eurozone, but that confidence and hiring intentions will rise over the course of the year. He continued;
“The outlook for temporary staff remains encouraging despite the Agency Worker Regulations (AWR) now being in force. Since October, 65 per cent of employers have not made any changes to their use of agency workers following AWR implementation.”
“The data also shows that the vast majority of businesses plan to maintain or increase their use of temporary staff which indicates that flexible working options will continue to provide an important outlet for employers and job-seekers.”
ICS work with a team of experts in employment and tax law to ensure our services are fully compliant with existing IR35 legislation and the latest government regulations, such as the AWR. You can contact us now for a tailored proposal based on your individual circumstances as a contractor.
