Taylor recommends abolishing Swedish Derogation

The ‘Swedish Derogation’ clause in the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) should be abolished, under a recommendation by the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices.

The so-called Swedish Derogation clause puts in place ‘pay between assignments’ terms for agency workers instead of pay equity.

Speaking yesterday at an exclusive press roundtable to discuss the Review, published on Tuesday (11 July), panel chair Matthew Taylor reinforced the sweeping report’s finding that the Swedish Derogation was being abused, and added that its abolition would be welcomed by many recruiters.

Taylor told Recruiter that “a lot of recruitment agencies” had contacted the Taylor Review panel privately during its explorations to say they did not like the Swedish Derogation, but were being asked by employers to implement it.

“Getting rid of it may add a few burdens” to administrative issues for some, Taylor said, but would address a more important, larger issue. “Flexibility can be found without the Swedish Derogation,” he added.

Under Swedish Derogation terms of contract, the ‘pay between assignments’ option is intended to remove the requirement to pay agency workers who have been on an assignment for 12 weeks equally to staff doing the same job.  

The review report said: “There have been numerous examples cited of agency workers forced to accept these contracts either at the start of an assignment or after 11 weeks. While this is unlawful, it is clearly happening.”

During the hour-long meeting, Taylor hit back at claims that the Review had not gone far enough in its recommendations, terming the report “radical” with “good proposals”.

Serving on the panel with Taylor were Paul Broadbent, CEO of the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority; Greg Marsh, investor and entrepreneur; and Diane Nicol, partner in employment law at law firm Pinsent Masons.

• Want to comment on this story? Email us at [email protected] or tweet us below to tell us your thoughts. We will run comments online in a round-up at the end of the week.

Email story to a friend

Recommendations for better integration to support refugees into work

The current integration of refugees system is “broken, expensive, inefficient and damaging” for both refugees and the UK, according to the chair of the Commission on the Integration of Refugees.

Legislation 26 March 2024

IPS faces £900k penalty for failing to co-operate with HMRC

A tax avoidance promoter whose schemes were used by locum doctors and nurses faces a £900k penalty for failing to co-operate with HM Revenue & Customs, the tax authority announced today [22 March 2024].

Legislation 22 March 2024

Loan Charge campaigners ‘frustrated’ as HMRC ‘airbrushes’ history

The Loan Charge Action Group (LCAG) has reinforced its calls for a parliamentary inquiry as the loan charge continues to weigh heavily on Westminster.

Legislation 19 March 2024

£60m funding as Sunak goes big on apprenticeships

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has unveiled a raft of reforms aimed at increasing apprenticeship numbers and doing away with red tape for small businesses.

Legislation 19 March 2024
Top