The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) is calling for caution ahead of the EU Presidency's decision on the Agency Workers Directive, arguing that the flexible nature of temporary work would be seriously undermined if the directive is too restrictive about how an agency worker's pay is calculated.

The REC says it fully supports any measures that protect the rights of temporary workers but has expressed concern that the Directive in its current draft could deter businesses from using temporary staff.

Helen Reynolds (pictured), acting chief executive of the REC, says: "It is important that the contribution of agency workers is recognised and rewarded but the Agency Workers Directive could actually jeopardise thousands of temporary jobs as businesses struggle to meet additional regulation.

"This would have serious consequences for the thousands of temporary workers that choose agency work for a level of flexibility that simply isn¹t possible in permanent positions."