Over £125,000 won back for workers

New figures reveal that since April the Government has won back over £125,000 in unpaid wages for agency workers.

The Employment Agency Standards inspectorate – which over the last year has boosted its powers and doubled in size - has won back more than twice as much money for workers since April than in the entire previous year.

Business Minister Pat McFadden said:

“Over the past year we have given the Agency Standards Inspectorate more staff and more powers to protect agency workers. I’m pleased that the bigger, more powerful agency standards team is out there delivering results for agency workers.

“The recession should not be used as an excuse to deny people their employment rights, and the agency standards inspectors are a crucial tool in ensuring this.”

In June, EAS inspectors recovered over £17,000 for four engineers in West Sussex. As a result of not being paid on time, one man had to sell his car to pay his rent, and another had to borrow money from relatives to pay his mortgage. But once EAS inspectors were contacted, the workers received £15,000 within three days, with the remainder arriving shortly after.

Kevin Green, Chief Executive at the Recruitment and Employment Confederation said:

"At a time when many workers are using agencies as a route back into the labour market we must drive workers and employers alike to use agencies which abide by the law and industry standards.

“For many years the REC has argued for better enforcement on the sector and we are pleased to see the inspectorate is taking action at a time when the industry itself has launched its own 'Serious About Standards' campaign."

Kirsty Craig, Managing Director of TEAM (The Employment Agent’s Movement) UK commented that it is great to see the EAS using its teeth to deal with rogue agencies:

“This sort of behaviour does our industry no favours whatsoever and whilst most recruitment agencies more than fulfil their obligations to their temporary staff, there are others who consistently flout the law time and again. These people need to understand that they are not above the law and that appropriate action will be taken”.

The inspectors also recovered almost £30,000 owed to 55 models after a London agency ceased to trade.

Katie Froud, of Albamodel.info, who runs the Model Alliance said:

“The Alliance is grateful to the Agency Standards inspectorate team who acted immediately upon our request to secure funds for models when we were alerted to an agency ceasing to trade.

“It is totally unacceptable that models who work irregular hours with irregular pay can lose the money paid by clients which is due to them”.

The Employment Agency Standards team has recovered money for workers in a number of circumstances, including where agencies had not paid wages owed, where money had been unfairly deducted by the agencies and where workers were charged for services by the agencies that they had not signed up to.

Agency workers can find out more about the rights they are entitled to by visiting www.direct.gov.uk/agencyworkers or by calling the Pay and Work Rights helpline on 0800 917 2368

(BERR) Royal mail - The case for Partnership

The Government today reinforced its message that a strategic partnership can, and will, help to deliver a transformed Royal Mail and that proceeds from the proposed transaction will be used to fund modernisation, as it published its response to the Business and Enterprise Select Committee's report on the Postal Services Bill.

Postal Services Minister Pat McFadden said:

"The measures the Government proposes can deliver our objectives, which are to put a publicly owned Royal Mail on a clear path to modernisation and, in so doing, to secure the future of the universal postal service which the Hooper report said was under threat.

"Royal Mail faces a stark choice about its future, to modernise or decline as mail volumes drop because of the shift to e-mail and text messaging. The Government has put forward proposals that offer Royal Mail the opportunity to survive in this new communications age, as well as respond to its customers' changing needs."

Government welcomed the Committee's support for the majority of the Government's analysis and proposals, including that the status quo is not an option; clear recognition that Royal Mail Group is 'significantly less efficient than its competitors'; both management and unions must change; and that the Government's proposed measures in respect of regulation and historic pensions' liabilities are important elements of a solution.

The Government rejected the Committee's view that it should put a precise figure on modernisation.

Mr McFadden said:

"Modernisation is not a one-off event, nor simply about the purchase of some new machines. It must be an ongoing process in a fast changing commercial environment. The cost of modernisation will depend on the business plan agreed with any partner, how far reforms are taken, the speed of implementation, and the extent to which the Royal Mail seeks to become a leader in the communications market.

"Given Royal Mail's falling revenues and limited profits over the next few years, and pensions fund deficit, clearly Royal Mail will not be able to fund this investment alone. Additional capital will be required and this could be hundreds of millions of pounds, in addition to the funding we have already provided. And as well as capital, there is a need to transform Royal Mail in order to preserve the universal service which is at the heart of our postal system."

The Government has made a number of moves to respond to some of the concerns raised by the Committee. This includes an amendment to impose a new duty on Post Office Ltd to provide an annual report on the Post Office network and its accessibility to consumers, particularly the most vulnerable, throughout the UK.

The Government understands that the Select Committee is keen to see more information about the commercial process. The Secretary of State has committed to keep Parliament informed about important developments as the partnership negotiations progress and to report to Parliament. A Government assessment of the alternatives to partnership will be published before the Commons stages of the Bill.

(BERR) UK protects working time opt out

Talks on the EU Working Time Directive have broken down without agreement being reached.

The collapse sees the end of the European Parliament's proposal to phase out the opt-out in three years. The UK and other countries have consistently held firm against this proposal.

A conciliation meeting in Brussels between the Member States, European Parliament and the European Commission was unable to resolve the long-standing differences between the European Parliament and member states over whether to retain the opt-out or not. With the deadline for reaching an agreement rapidly approaching, and the differences between the parties too great, it was agreed there was no value in continuing the negotiations any further.

Employment Relations Minister Pat McFadden said:

"We refused to be pushed into a bad deal for Britain. We have said consistently that we will not give up the opt-out and we have delivered on that pledge.

"Everyone has the right to basic protections surrounding the hours that they work, but it is also important that they have the right to choose those hours.

"In the UK and many other Member States, choice over working hours has operated successfully for many years. The current economic climate makes it more important than ever that people continue to have the right to put more money in their pockets by working longer hours if they choose to do so."

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said:

"Millions of people are better off because of the opt-out and I am relieved we have been able to resist its removal."

The dossier in its current form will formally fall when the conciliation timetable reaches its conclusion in May. It will then be for the European Commission to decide how to proceed.

(BERR) UK stands firm on working time opt-out

Brussels talks on the EU Working Time Directive broke up in the early hours of this morning without agreement, with the UK successfully resisting pressure to accept the removal of the right to opt-out of the maximum 48-hours week.

A meeting of the EU's Conciliation Committee was unable to resolve differences between the European Parliament and member states over whether to retain the opt-out or not.

The UK and other countries held firm against a European Parliament amendment to the Working Time Directive that would have phased out the opt-out in three years.

Employment Relations Minister Pat McFadden said:

"We have said consistently that we would not give up the opt-out and that continues to be the case.

"We argued that everyone has the right to basic protections surrounding the hours that they work, but also the right to choose those hours.

"Choice over working hours has operated successfully in the UK and in other Member States for many years.

"In the current downturn it is more important than ever that people keep the right to put more money in their pockets by working longer hours if they wish. We refused to be pushed into a bad deal for Britain."

Talks will now be reconvened for later this month, although it will clearly be a challenge to bridge the gap between Member States and the European Parliament.

(BERR) Flexible working rights go to extra 4.5 million

More than 10 million people will have the right to request flexible working from April 6th and government support is helping businesses get ready for the change.

Six million parents and carers already have the right to request flexible working from their employers, with another 4.5 million now gaining the right with its extension to parents of children aged 16 and under.

Employment Relations Minister Pat McFadden said:

"This is about balancing work and family life. Both workers and employers have felt the benefits of flexible working since we first introduced the right to request.

"Fewer mothers change jobs when they return to work meaning greater continuity for businesses and more employees have been able to work hours which help them cope with parental responsibilities.

"Firms can still say no if they have legitimate business concerns, but more than 95% of all requests for flexible working from working parents and carers are now accepted, as employers recognise the benefits more and more.

"Parenting doesn't end as children get older. Extending the right to request will help more parents get the flexibility they need. The business benefits of flexible working are well documented and this remains the case in tougher economic times."

All carers and parents of children aged up to six, or children with disabilities aged up to 18, already have the right to request flexible working.

An independent review by Imelda Walsh last year recommended that the right to request should be extended to parents of children aged up to 16.

Flexible working embraces a wide variety of working practices, including compressed hours, working from home, or any pattern of hours other than the standard one in an organisation.

Benefits of flexible working to business include increased productivity and recruitment savings.

The government is boosting the free guidance and tools available to help businesses deal with flexible working requests.

Websites Business Link and Direct.gov give firms and individuals all the information they need to comply with the law, including online forms to deal with requests - helping save time and money.

In the run-up to April 6th the government is also contacting businesses to make sure they know where to find the free help available and do not need to pay for external advice.

(BERR) Final curtain call for rogue agencies

The Government today begins a consultation designed to crack down on entertainment and modelling agencies that exploit aspiring actors and models.

One proposal being examined is a ban on allowing agencies to charge up-front fees to people who think they might be the next big thing. There is a concern that some agencies are charging exorbitant amounts without any likelihood of securing castings or work for the aspiring performer.

Employment Relations Minister Pat McFadden said:

"Last year we introduced a cooling-off period for up-front fees, but we are still receiving reports that models and entertainers are being exploited. So now we propose to go further to stop young people being ripped off.

"I don't want to tread on anyone's hopes or dreams, but I don't want to see these hopes and dreams exploited by unscrupulous agents and that's why we are bringing forward these proposals."

Ben Seale, Managing Director of Spotlight said:

"Spotlight fully supports BERR's attempts to tackle the abuse of upfront fees in the entertainment and modelling sector. We will work closely with them to develop measures that stop the rogue operators, while allowing legitimate industry directories to continue with their vital role in the casting process."

This broad-ranging consultation will also consider whether there is any unnecessary red-tape that can be removed to help honest businesses. Guy Bailey, Senior Policy Advisor on Employment issues at the Confederation of Business and Industry said:

"The CBI welcomes measures to remove unnecessary burdens on employers; when economic growth returns, removing avoidable employment costs will help employment growth to resume more quickly."