Agency Worker Or Employee?

Originally published in Recruitment Consultant magazine

The employment status of agency workers may eventually be resolved. But until that happens there are steps agencies and end-users should take to protect themselves, writes Adrian Marlowe, Managing Director of Lawspeed.

In the intensely competitive 24/7 world we live in, the need for a flexible workforce is increasingly important. Traditionally that flexibility and, in particular, the ability to hire and fire agency workers with reduced notice, and without exposing an organisation to the risk of claims for unfair dismissal, has been central to the concept of agency work.

Now, however, the relationship between recruitment agencies, agency workers and end-users is under threat. This is due to a series of decisions by the law courts and employment tribunals.