The most frequent question we receive from our clients is how to cope with staff disciplinary and disputes. Disciplinaries are becoming a minefield, with employers feeling the pressure of new statutory procedures, ACAS codes of practice and their own procedures. The current multi-stage process is designed to create dialogue between employers and employees. In reality, businesses can find it complex. We would like to see the disciplinary process streamlined into one simple procedure, so it becomes easy to implement and minimises error.

MEETA SAHNI,
MANAGING DIRECTOR, MAINE TUCKER

De-risking the deployment of contingent workforces to business end-users. The arrangements between employment businesses and their end-users should exist to focus the benefits of flexible labour into those areas where it can best support UK plc. It would be useful to have greater clarity on the time period and conditions under which temporary workers can be deployed before running the risk of automatically entering into an implied contract of employment with the end-user.

CHRIS HERRMANNSEN,
GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR, OCHRE HOUSE

I'd like regulation 21 of the Employment Agencies Act (1973) to be amended. This requires us to give temporary workers written confirmation within three working days, detailing their assignment after already verbally telling them. The written information does not have to reach the worker but we need to retain a copy to prove we have tried. The law puts an administrative burden on the industry both in monetary terms and in time. With some short-term assignments the temp may not receive the information until after the assignment has been completed.

SIMON BAKER,
BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGER, APTUS PERSONNEL

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