APSCo successfully campaign for contractors

The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills had suggested that limited company or umbrella contractors would no longer be able to opt out of the regulations.

Under the proposals, agencies are not able to recoup placement costs if a contractor is offered permanent employment. Agencies could also fall foul of unscrupulous contractors, by being impelled to pay them even though a valid timesheet is not submitted.

Additionally, agencies face more red tape to ensure they obtain detailed information about workers and positions, before they are allowed to place staff.

The chief executive of APSCo, Ann Swain, said that the recruitment industry had won an important victory. The cost of additional red tape to recruiters and contractors would have been significant. The government has admitted that they do not have enough evidence to support the claim that vulnerable workers were being exploited through the opt-out. She added that the government should finalise the Agency Workers Directive and not return to the opt-out issue until the employment market is back on track.

APSCo is the UK's leading professional recruitment industry body and represents organisations engaged in recruiting business professionals, on a permanent or temporary basis, on behalf of their clients.

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