The Agency Workers Regulations (AWR), which come into force on 1 October, will increase the need for employers to communicate more effectively with their permanent workers who are paid less than temporary workers, according to the group operations director of Now Recruitment.

Mark Bull told Recruiter: “The whole ethos of AWR is to bring the rights of temps into line with those of permanent staff, and this could raise questions in the minds of permanent workforces about temporary staff on potentially higher rates.”

Bull said that where temporary staff are paid more than their permanent colleagues, recruitment consultants had a key role to play in pointing out to employers that the true cost of hiring permanent staff is much higher than using temps.

He estimated that additional costs of permanent staff, such as notice periods, healthcare, paternity and maternity leave meant they [perms] were 20-25% more expensive.