The Employment Agency Standards inspectorate (EAS) has agreed new targets for the next year.

For 2010/11 the EAS, a government body which inspects agencies suspected of non-compliance and investigates complaints about agency conduct, pledges to:

complete 80% of investigations within six weeks of receiving a complaint (up from a 75% target which was exceeded)

submit 95% of papers for potential prosecutions to head office within two months of legal advice (up from the 90% target which was met).

The new targets follow figures published today revealing that since April the EAS has won back nearly £200,000 in unpaid wages for agency workers, three times the return of the previous year.

Employment relations minister Lord Young says: “EAS has achieved some notable successes, recovering more money than ever for agency workers and increasing awareness of their work amongst employers as well as employees. I am confident they can build on this success.

“The new targets demonstrate our commitment to more effective enforcement - protecting vulnerable agency workers and ensuring a level playing field for legitimate businesses.”