The government yesterday confirmed that the Agency Workers Directive will be brought in by the end of this parliament but it will not be implemented until October 2011.

Kevin Green, chief executive at the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, says: “It is crucial that these regulations do not add cost and bureaucracy to the recruitment process, as this would go against the government’s job creation objectives.”

Mike Emmott, CIPD employee relations adviser, adds: “We welcome the move to get the agency workers regulations on the statute books sooner rather than later, as this will give employers the maximum time to get to grips with what is expected of them before the 2011 implementation date.

“We are happy that the regulations leave most of the detailed process to employment agencies rather than the employer, but there are still some thorny issues to be resolved, particularly on the definition of pay and bonuses.”