With the Agency Workers Regulations set to come into force tomorrow, recruiters — agency and in-house alike — need to regularly review their approach to the new rules, according to Audrey Williams, partner at international law firm Eversheds.

Williams says: “Even those hirers and agencies who have been ‘on the ball’ and prepared well for 1 October would therefore be well advised to keep their approach to the Regulations under regular review as the law develops. In particular, with the majority of the equal treatment provisions kicking in from Christmas, they will need to watch for developments in the early months in 2012 which are likely to reveal much in terms of how the Regulations are being applied, and should be applied, in practice.”

But Meridian Business Support chief executive, Mark Mitchell, says AWR has been an exercise in self-preservation with the brightest brains in the industry focused on how to protect their margins and alleviate costs for employers, as opposed to embracing the new law to create a positive and happy workforce.

“As much as opponents of this controversial legislation believe it will cost the UK economy billions, the law is not negotiable – it’s being implemented on the 1 October and the industry’s concentration should have been on how to make it work in the spirit in which it was drafted, not on how to protect our own interests. This is something that I am completely opposed to.

“To my great frustration, sharp practice and creative interpretation of the Swedish Derogation model will see it wielded as a ‘get out of jail free’ card. These permutations have been embraced by certain employers and recruiters as opposed to them seeking to develop new processes and data management systems that would better engage with temp workers as the law requires.

“Some of these permutations will result in temp workers being paid less than they are entitled to and in some places as little as one hour per week. And as ludicrous as this may seem, if you are in any way vulnerable to manipulation, as has been demonstrated by certain demographics within the temp sector, this is what will be accepted.

“This is outrageous when you remember that AWR is being brought into effect to prevent this lack of parity, equality and fairness that currently exists in sectors of our labour market.”