As the deadline for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ (BIS) consultation on the Agency Workers Directive (AWD) approaches, the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) is calling for those earning three times the minimum wage to be excluded.
According to APSCo, contractors earning more than £17.40 per hour, which is the equivalent to £33,930 per year, could have their work prospects harmed by AWD legislation.
“The Government has acknowledged that this legislation is intended to enhance the rights of ‘vulnerable’ workers and is receptive to the idea of excluding professional level temporary workers,” says APSCo chief executive Ann Swain. “It has indicated to APSCo that an exclusion based on an income threshold which is a multiple of the National Minimum Wage could be an appealing solution.”
90% of APSCo member contractors excluded
By applying the three times minimum wage rule, APSCo estimates that 90% of contractors working through its member agencies would be excluded from the provisions of the directive, which aims to give temporary workers the same rights as permanent employees after 12 weeks.
“We feel that three times the National Minimum Wage is about the right income level for the exclusion,” continues Swain. “It would mean that about 90% of workers placed by APSCo members are outside the scope of the legislation. This would be a workable solution, which would be easy to understand and enforce.”
APSCo’s announcement follows the Association of Recruitment Consultancies (ARC) call for contractors earning a simple one and a half multiple of the minimum wage to be excluded.
Contractors are hardly ‘vulnerable’
Former City IT contractor Dave Chaplin, now CEO and editor-in-chief of ContractorCalculator.co.uk, says that he certainly never felt vulnerable working for clients through agencies.
“Through all my years as a contractor, I behaved and was treated like a professional business-to-business services provider,” comments Chaplin. “Many contractors earn six-figure sums and can hardly be considered vulnerable!”
Chaplin’s sentiments are echoed by Swain, who says: “The kind of business professionals placed by APSCo members are highly-skilled, highly-paid individuals who cannot be considered ‘vulnerable’ workers. Their inclusion in this legislation would significantly add to the costs to end users of using these workers, thereby damaging their employment prospects.”
The kind of business professionals placed by APSCo members are highly-skilled, highly-paid individuals who cannot be considered 'vulnerable' workers.
Ann Swain, APSCo
BIS consultation
In addition to consulting with the Professional Contractors Group (PCG) and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), APSCo has been holding meetings with BIS to discuss ways of implementing the directive without damaging contractors’ work prospects.
APSCo says that during its discussions with the government department, indications are that BIS is not averse to the idea of excluding highly paid knowledge based professionals from any legislation, and is in fact receptive to the exclusion of contractors.
However, the basis for excluding contractors, whether on a salary scale or by another measure, is yet to be agreed. BIS is seeking the opinions of key players in the contracting sector, and contractors are urged to send their responses to the department via its website. Contractor responses could impact on how the legislation is ultimately formulated.