The REC has reacted with fury to the European Commission’s (EC) Agency Workers Directive published last week which will effectively give temporary workers the same employment rights as permanent workers.

The recruitment trade body had thought the final legislation would be substantially different from a version leaked recently, which drew widespread condemnation from the UK business community. Many believe the legislation will damage competitiveness and job creation, rather than help those it is supposed to protect.

Tim Nicholson, chief executive of the REC said: ‘Despite being given every opportunity to adjust their text before it was made public, the European Commission have merely added a few cosmetic changes to the version that caused so much anger a few weeks ago.

‘Even substantial opposition from other directorates has not been enough to deter them from imagining there are thousands of temporary workers in need of a protective layer of red tape and strangling bureaucracy. We have to change this backward looking directive before it hits the statute book.’