Umbrella contractors might be interested to learn that the REC’s legal helpline has been swamped with calls from members querying the implementation of the Agency Workers Regulations, which come into force today (Saturday, October 1st).
Steve Othen, the head of inbound calls at the REC, said that both legal and contact centre teams have been working flat out to answer as many queries as possible. The month on month volume of calls increased by around 500 in August and a similar increase is expected when September’s data has been collated.
He went on to say that the REC welcomed the fact that members are making the most of their membership and asking questions about implementation. He also explained that the REC has added a further two members to the helpline team to make sure calls are answered in a timely manner.
However, Othen did urge people to be patient and said the Confederation was doing everything it could to satisfy the demands of its members.
Tom Hadley, the director of policy and professional services at the REC, said that AWR would create complexities in certain sectors but we must not adopt a doomsday scenario. The latest Report on Jobs shows that employers will still be making use of agency staff after AWR comes into being.
The Interim Management Association has also been taking AWR implementation very seriously. The chair of the IMA, Jason Atkinson, said some client organisations have recently raised concerns over the possible impact of AWR, but members have been able to reassure them that the regulations will be unlikely to have much impact because the majority of interim managers are self-employed.
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