Professional Recruitment Trade Body Responds to Brexit Result

Following today’s announcement that Britain will exit the European Union, Samantha Hurley, Operations Director at the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo), commented;

“Britain has decided that the EU experiment, with its expansion into social and employment policy, hasn’t worked for this country, with 51.9% of the electorate voting to leave the Union.”

“At this early stage, there is little detail on how Brexit will affect the regulation of the professional recruitment sector. However, this result brings the possibility that the Agency Workers regulations (AWR), and other inappropriate EU-derived legislation, could, at some stage, be reformed.”

“Outside of the EU, UK courts will, in theory, have more latitude for interpretation to ensure that ‘one size fits all’ policy is reconsidered. While we strongly support the belief that potentially vulnerable workers should be protected, current rules focus on protecting lower skilled, lower paid workers and are of little benefit to professional contractors.”

“APSCo will, of course, be working closely with Government regarding any changes, and will keep members abreast of all developments.”

APSCo members were polled on their voting intentions in February this year. 59% of respondents said they would vote to remain part of the EU, with 48% per cent believing that their business would suffer if Britain was to withdraw.

APSCo has remained politically neutral throughout the campaign process, providing members with a balanced view of the UK’s place in Europe and evidence on how EU membership has historically both helped and hindered the professional recruitment sector.

- Ends