AWR had limited effect on use of agency staff

Only 4% of employers reported that they had reduced their use of agency workers in direct response to the Agency Worker Regulations (AWR), according to on-going analysis of the impact of the one-year-old rules conducted by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).

Further findings from the REC’s Industry Research Unit include:

• Only one in ten employers had stopped or significantly decreased the use of temporary staff in the seven months to April 2012. A further 18% said they had marginally reduced their use of agency workers.
• Of the 28% of employers who said they had in any way reduced their use of agency staff, two thirds said it was because of continued economic uncertainty and weak growth.
• Overall satisfaction with being a temporary worker increased from 43% to 52% in the first seven months of AWR’s implementation.
• Employer satisfaction with staffing agencies remains high, at 92%.