APSCo welcomes Taylor Review consultations

The Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) has welcomed the announcement that the Government will today publish four consultations following recommendations made in last year’s Independent Review of Employment Practices in the Modern Economy, which was led by Matthew Taylor.

The Government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) yesterday held a briefing, which was attended by APSCo, to introduce the separate consultations on: Employment Status, Agency Workers, Enforcement and Increasing Transparency.

APSCo gave evidence during the Taylor review and subsequently broadly supported the findings of the resulting paper.

Commenting on the most recent announcement, Tania Bowers, General Counsel at APSCo said;

“We at APSCo welcome this announcement and are very supportive of the Government’s desire for clarity – particularly on employment status and how this is aligned to tax status, workers’ rights and entitlements and the differentiation between employed, workers and self-employed. APSCo will, of course, be providing responses to these consultations in the interests of our members.”

“The Employment Status consultation, in particular, which will be open for 16 weeks, is extremely broad, complex and ambitious. As we stressed when we gave evidence during the Taylor review, many of our members supply independent contractors – and it is vital that working in this way remains an attractive option for highly skilled consultants who drive much of the dynamism and flexibility in the economy. We hope that the outcome of this exercise offers greater clarity so that these professionals can supply their services without the current level of confusion over their employment and tax status.”

“We understand that the Government’s priority is addressing issues at the lower end of the market, some of which directly impact recruitment businesses. These include a list of ‘day-one’ rights such as holiday and sick pay entitlements and a new right to a payslip for all workers, including agency workers, and a right for all workers - including zero-hour and agency workers - to request a more stable contract after 12 months with a hirer, to provide more financial security for those on flexible contracts. The Government seeks to ensure fairness by providing all 1.2 million agency workers with a clear breakdown of who pays them and any costs or charges deducted from their wages and is considering repealing laws allowing agencies to employ workers on cheaper rates, namely the Swedish Derogation under the Agency Workers Regulations. The Government is also consulting on broadening the Employment Agency Standards remit to include enforcing the Agency Workers Regulations. We are currently inviting members’ views on these recommendations and other suggestions to be outlined in the four papers.”

-Ends-

Carly Smith
BlueSky PR
Carly@bluesky-pr.com
T: +44 (0)1582 790 708