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AWR – Recruiters must continue raising awareness, says REC

Media stories this week and feedback from recent events have underlined the need to continue raising AWR awareness; and to address misconceptions over alternative models that can provide perfectly legitimate means of supply.

In response to national and HR media stories earlier this week, Tom Hadley, the REC’s Director of Policy & Professional Services, said:

'Some Press reports may have given the impression that there are ways of simply ‘opting out’ of the AWR.  This is not the case. However, the Regulations do allow for the development of new supply models which provide perfectly legitimate new ways of supplying flexible staff to businesses. The key to making any new supply model work is to ensure strong collaboration and ongoing dialogue between employers and their recruitment partners.

“As with any new regulations, some misconceptions and areas of ambiguity remain. Agencies will continue to play a pivotal role in raising awareness of the regulations amongst their clients and candidates.”

Press reports also highlighted examples of some employers planning to use fewer agency staff due to the new Regulations.

Commenting on this, Hadley concluded:

"Although some employers may initially look to reduce their overall use of temporary staff, this is very much a minority. The latest JobsOutlook data shows that well over 80 per cent of employers are planning to maintain or even increase their use of agency staff over the coming 12 months. In most sectors, temporary staff already earn the same and often more than direct recruits. In addition, the new Regulations do not impact on the flexibility and speed of supply that agency work provides which is why it will continue to form an integral part of business resourcing models.”