Taylor Review: Agency workers can request direct contract after a year

Granting agency workers the right to request a direct contract of employment after a year working with an employer is one of the standout recommendations affecting the world of agency work in the Taylor Review, published this morning.

Taylor was first asked to conduct a review into modern employment practices last November. Recommendations laid out by the review’s author Matthew Taylor, head of the Royal Society of Arts and a former adviser to Tony Blair, include:

  • That government should introduce a right to request a direct contract of employment for agency workers who have been placed with the same hirer for 12 months, and an obligation on the hirer to consider the request in a reasonable manner. 
  • Make public their model of employment and use of agency services beyond a certain threshold. 
  • Report on how many requests they have received (and number agreed) from agency workers for permanent positions with a hirer following a certain period.
  • That legislation enabling agency workers to opt out of equal pay if they sign what is called a ‘pay between assignments’ contract, known as the Swedish Derogation, be abolished. 
  • That government amends legislation to improve the transparency of information which must be provided to agency workers both in terms of rates of pay and those responsible ensuring they are paid.
  • That government’s new director of labour market enforcement should consider whether the remit of Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EASi) should be extended to cover policing umbrella companies and other intermediaries in the supply chain. 
  • That government look into how the apprenticeships could be made to work better for those working atypically, including through recruitment agencies.

Taylor’s review also confirmed a recommendation for a new ‘dependent contractor’ status and ensuring some gig economy workers are covered by minimum wage requirements as leaked to the press over the weekend.

• What are your views on the report? 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.

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