On 23 June 2022, the Government announced its plans for legal changes to allow agencies to supply temporary workers to cover workers taking industrial action. This Insight explains the context of these plans and the law the Government wants to repeal.

Current restrictions on employment agencies during strikes

Current restrictions on employment agencies during strikes are found in regulation 7 of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations 2003 (the Conduct Regulations). These prohibit employment businesses from supplying temporary workers to cover for workers “taking part in a strike or other industrial action”.

This restriction does not apply if the agency “does not know, and has no reasonable grounds for knowing” that the workers they are supplying will be replacing those on industrial action. The Conduct Regulations create a criminal offence, punishable by a fine for agencies that break this rule.

These restrictions only apply to the employment agency supplying workers, not to the employer whose workers are on strike. There have never been restrictions on employers moving staff internally or hiring new staff directly (either temporary or permanent) to cover for striking workers.

How and when do the changes take effect?

The Statutory Instrument (SI) to repeal regulation 7 of the Conduct Regulations was laid before Parliament on 27 June 2022, in the form of the Draft Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses (Amendment)...

Read Full Story: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/plans-to-let-agency-staff-cover-for-stri...