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30th October 2008

NEWS IN BRIEF

The European Parliament last week approved the proposal for a directive on Temporary Agency Work. It voted to support the Council's position – adopted in June 2008 – without amendments so it can now become law.

The European Commission estimates that over three million temporary agency workers currently working across the EU will benefit from better protection of their working conditions.

The Temporary Agency Workers directive will ensure:

• Equal treatment from day one for temporary agency workers compared to permanent workers in terms of basic working and employment conditions (including pay, holidays, working time, rest periods and maternity leave) unless social partners agree otherwise (as in the UK, which agreed 12 weeks earlier in the year – see LELR 122)
• Equal access to collective facilities (such as canteens, child care facilities, or transport services).
• Better access for agency workers to training both when working on an assignment, and in between assignments

The Commission's original proposal dates back to 2002. At the Employment Council in June this year, member states reached agreement on the longstanding issue of the Temporary Agency Work Directive, originally proposed by the Commission in March 2002. The Council formally adopted its common position on 15 September 2008, which was supported by the Commission and the European social partners.

Following the approval of the European Parliament, EU countries are now required to incorporate the provisions of the Directive in their national law. It will then come into effect within three years. In the UK the government anticipates that it will become law in either April or October 2010.

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