|
Mr Patterson told members of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC's) IT & Communications Division that the Government's review of the Employment Agencies regulations was about to re-open for a third 12-week consultation in the next fortnight before the regulations are laid before Parliament in the autumn.
Mr Patterson told agency delegates: "The current [EAA] regulations are very much out-dated and do not reflect the need of a modern labour market. The proposed regulations are designed to be updated, streamlined versions of existing requirements.
Vic Patterson: "currently taking concerns into consideration" |
"The Government fully recognises the important role the private recruitment industry has to play in the modern flexible labour market and as a result of consultation with REC and individual agencies from all sectors of the industry including IT, a number of changes have been made to the draft regulations to take account of the industry's views."
Toni Cocozza, Chair of REC's IT & Communications Division, said: "As a specialist REC Division we are keen to assist the DTI in fully understanding the pressures within private recruitment industry. Not just in respect of EAA, but in moving forward to achieve a flexible UK labour market with plentiful supply of skills and opportunities.
"I hope that whatever changes the Government makes to the legislation, they consider the diversity within the recruitment industry. IT and Communications agencies, and the professional workers they represent, cannot therefore be directly compared to other industries."
Mr Patterson acknowledged the DTI was "currently taking concerns into consideration" when the audience asked him to establish what support existed within the industry to bring limited company contractors within the scope of the legislation.
REC, which represents over 6,000 recruitment agencies and over 8,000 recruitment consultants in the UK, has threatened a judicial review against the Government if it goes ahead with proposed amendments to the EAA that seek to cut off the temp-to-perm fees they can currently charge their clients if a client wishes to employ a worker an agency has supplied full-time.
The Professional Contractors Group has also been involved in the consultation process with the DTI regarding the agency regulations, meeting with Alan Johnson and Vic Paterson at the DTI.
A PCG spokesman said: "We will be looking to continue to follow-up the representation of our members in the next round of consultation. Our key concern remains that, whilst we appreciate the need for worker protection, it is totally illogical that contractors who are in business on their own account and trying to work on a business-to-business basis should be included within the definitions of work seekers."
--
Richard Powell, © Shout99.com 2002
|
