eZworkforce™ Agency Workers Regulations Software

The Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) came into effect on 1st October 2011, giving agency workers the right to equalisation of pay and conditions with their permanent counterparts after 12 weeks, with additional rights such as access to collective facilities like staff canteens available from the first day of their assignments.

The greatest issue associated with the implementation of this legislation is the overriding cost of increasing the payment to agency workers who had previously earned less than their permanent counterparts. On top of this cost is the expense of administering and monitoring the correct application of the regulations which is easy when you’re only monitoring a handful of staff but hundreds, or even thousands, of staff running multiple AWR clocks, because they move about so much, becomes much more arduous.

The primary alternatives to Pay Parity (also known as Matched Pay) are managing contract lengths so as not to exceed the 12 week calculations with a single assignment or Swedish Derogation (also known as Regulation 10). Other methods have also been implemented, for example changing contract methods to Personal Service Contracts or the hirer opting for managed temp banks and alternative contractual arrangements.

Ultimately, business opts for the solution that costs them the least whilst the unions are vying for the arrangement that makes their members financially better off. The consequence of this has been substantial union shaming of companies perceived to be flouting the intention of the regulations and an increased trend towards industrial action, even if the companies have operated within the regulations.

We don’t offer advice on the best way to implement the regulations, we leave that to the lawyers. We have however developed a comprehensive AWR software solution as part of our Workforce Management Software to benefit both Agencies and Hirers looking to accurately manage all aspects of the regulations.

What does it mean to you?

Agencies

The AWR is making recruitment agencies and other industies, which supply temporary staff, look at their current procedures and assess whether they are practical in a post AWR implementation era.

The stack of paperwork, the bulging filing cabinet, recruitment consultants employing their own methodologies, branches working independently of one another. Can you confidently say you know the AWR status of every temp deployed since October 2011? How long would it take to find the paperwork to back it up? If your administrator was off sick or you were unfortunate enough to suffer a flood or fire, could you still answer those questions?

Whilst you may still be clinging to the hope that the AWR will suddenly disappear or that you will somehow manage as is, your customers are becoming wise to the fact that they are exposed to liability and public scrutiny over your practices and lack of action.

Whilst cost is a widely used excuse for not upgrading to software that can help keep control of your AWR nightmare, the cost of doing nothing is substantially higher. Better yet, by improving the procedures , activities and methodologies used within your company, you could actually end up saving quite a lot of money as well as giving your customers confidence that you are on top of it all and being able to keep the business going after a flood or a fire or key staff going off sick.

Features and Benefits of eZworkforce™ AWR Software

In the medium to long term the Agency Worker Regulations could be a blessing in disguise. By streamlining existing procedures and improving document management, whilst keeping a firm eye on the profitability on your current and future assignments, the back-office operation task could be substantially reduced.

This frees up time of key staff to bring in more sales, after all, your competitors may be exposing their customers to an AWR liability! Additional eZworkforce™ features such as a Client Web Portal with interactive KPI (Key Performance Indicator) reporting, Timetables with staff pictures, Current and Past Invoices, Document Library and Document Log all stack up to an impressive competitive edge over your competitor's offering.

Whatever contractual arrangement, or combination, you opt for to best manage the Agency Workers Regulations, we have a solution. Best of all, we have a solution that could save you money in other areas of the business.

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Hirers

Many hirers are still oblivious to the potential impact that the AWR can have upon them and their reputation, choosing instead to place their trust firmly in their labour suppliers and delude themselves that it isn’t anything to be concerned about.

However, under the Agency Worker Regulations the hirer has a number of responsibilities alongside its labour providers and would benefit from keeping a firm control over these responsibilities whilst keeping the appropriate paperwork safely to hand to back this up.

Features and Benefits of eZworkforce™ AWR Software

There are a number of different software options for Hirers who want to better manage the AWR:

Where hirers use a number of temporary workforce suppliers we offer the ability to graphically compare the performance and KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) of those agencies, using live data, which could be used to assess the quality of the service provided.
Integrated Document Management means the documents you need can be accessed on-site or remotely by those with the security privileges to see them. This feature means you can highlight any outstanding documentation required whilst storing signed documentation against the relevant file for when you need it.
Companies opting to internally manage their staff through the use of Temporary Staffing Banks could benefit through our advanced scheduling software solution. Helping to match skills requirements, availability and location against a task whilst allocating the cost to the appropriate cost centre.
Reviewing and better managing existing staff and skills could mitigate the use of temporary workforces in some cases by identifying transferable skills, unallocated staff, making better use of training and identifying any recurring labour demands.