Further to our previous update on 6 April (which may be found here), BIS has today finalised the guidance to accompany the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 (the "AWR"). Although the guidance has been tinkered with to a certain extent, the thrust of it remains the same.

The guidance may be found here.

Impact on information and consultation

One consequence of the AWR which has not yet attracted much comment is that from October 2011 employers conducting an information and consultation exercise will, in addition to the current requirements of the relevant legislation, be required to provide trade unions/employee representatives with details of all the agency workers engaged by the employer.

The requirement to provide information on the use of agency workers will only be triggered when there is an existing requirement to provide information to workers' representatives under the regimes relating to collective bargaining (in relation to training plans for workers); collective redundancies; and "TUPE" transfers.

In these situations "suitable information" about agency workers will need to be provided, which is defined by the AWR as:

  • The total number of agency workers working temporarily for and under the supervision and direction of the employer.
  • The parts of the employer's undertaking in which those agency workers are working.
  • The type of work those agency workers are carrying out.

Failure to comply with these new provisions may result in expensive claims against employers for failure to comply with information and consultation obligations.

Importantly, the AWR specifies that the information about agency workers to be provided must include reference to all agency workers engaged by the ultimate employer – not just those in affected business or bargaining units.

In large organisations this may be a particularly onerous obligation and strategies of tracking/recording the numbers and activities of agency workers may have to be adopted in light of this.

This article was written for Law-Now, CMS Cameron McKenna's free online information service. To register for Law-Now, please go to www.law-now.com/law-now/mondaq

Law-Now information is for general purposes and guidance only. The information and opinions expressed in all Law-Now articles are not necessarily comprehensive and do not purport to give professional or legal advice. All Law-Now information relates to circumstances prevailing at the date of its original publication and may not have been updated to reflect subsequent developments.

The original publication date for this article was 06/05/2011.