Agency workers regulations, new contract

lazy_swan

i work for an agency in a warehouse for a well known store.

have been asked to sign a new contract.

letter states " in order to continue your assignment with **** you will be required to sign the attached terms......"

the new terms contains ".....you will not be entitled to the rights conferred by regulation 5 of the agency workers regulations 2010 insofar as they relate to pay. "

is this legal?

Should i sign?

kazwookie

I cannot help you, but there are new agency works reg coming out October 2011, whixh may be of interest to you.

http://www.bluearrow.co.uk/about/news/Pages/Agency-Workers-Regulations.aspx

scheming_gypsy

If it isn't legal it doesn't matter if you do sign, although it sounds like it's an opt out form for the new regulations.

KiKi

lazy_swan wrote: »

i work for an agency in a warehouse for a well known store.

have been asked to sign a new contract.

letter states " in order to continue your assignment with **** you will be required to sign the attached terms......"

the new terms contains ".....you will not be entitled to the rights conferred by regulation 5 of the agency workers regulations 2010 insofar as they relate to pay. "

is this legal?

Should i sign?

Does this help:

"Pay Between Assignments or ‘Derogation Contracts’

The Regulations allow an opt out from equal treatment on pay for those agency workers on a permanent contract of employment that are paid between assignments. Other employment conditions are still covered including holidays, and the agency worker must be informed that they are signing a contract which removes them from the equal treatment provisions for pay."

Does that apply to you? That's the only opt-out I'm aware of. Employers can't just 'opt out' of the law.

KiKi

Jarndyce

Join a union now. You are going to need them in 3 to 4 months time.

My view would be (without the time to research it exhaustively) that there is no scope to opt-out from the Agency Workers Regulations. The whole point of them is to protect agency workers from these sorts of practices. Therefore the clause, whether signed or not, is unenforceable and void - the law would always take precedence, obviously, over what the employer did or what you signed.

Reg 5 requires that agency workers are paid the same as comparable employees once they have been there 12 weeks, unless they are employed on a permanent contract by the agency (and therefore paid a retainer between assignments), in which case there would be no need to sign an 'opt-out' - the law would apply.

Question is what you do about it. I would perhaps write back and query it first, but depending on how much and how long you want to keep your job, you might think it best to sign it, and think about making a claim later, perhaps after seeking advice from your union.

KiKi

Jarndyce, could it be that they are saying the pay element of reg 5 doesn't apply because all the workers are agency staff (and therefore no perm staff comparison is available)? Clutching at straws, I know...

Jarndyce

KiKi wrote: »

Jarndyce, could it be that they are saying the pay element of reg 5 doesn't apply because all the workers are agency staff (and therefore no perm staff comparison is available)? Clutching at straws, I know...

Because they are agency employees. That's the only interpretation I could think of , but then they wouldn't have to sign anything for that to apply. The OP needs to clarify whether they are paid a retainer even when they are not working - if not, then this sounds like a very naive and ultimately doomed attempt at the employer trying to circumvent the law.

monty_python

interestingly i have what seems to be the same contract going around my work which people are refusing to sign. By signing the contract you are agreeing to change from an employee to an industrial worker thus losing your employee rights but gaining worker rights except opting out of regulation 5 gives you no right to equal pay.


hours of work: it is a condition of your employment that you undertake work when required by the company. If without good cause, you decline or refuse to work on any particular assignment then the same shall be regarded as gross misconduct,entitling the company to terminate your employment.

3 REMUNERATION:
3.1 save as provided for in clause 8 you have no entitlement to pay in respect of any period when you are not on assignment

between assignments:
clause 8
8.2 subject to you being available to work on assignment and not having unreasonably refused any offer of suitable work the company shall pay to you,during any period between assignments,the minimum remuneration. (whatever that is?)

hours of work:
the company guarantees to offer you a minimum of 336 hours in each successive 12 month period of continuous employment paid at a rate atleast equivalent to the national minimum wage currently in force. For employees who work part time this shall be pro-rated based upon a 35 hour week.

oh yeah its a pertemps contract incidently.

need any more info let me know. pretty sure this is the same one.

the_potential

monty_python wrote: »

interestingly i have what seems to be the same contract going around my work which people are refusing to sign. By signing the contract you are agreeing to change from an employee to an industrial worker thus losing your employee rights but gaining worker rights except opting out of regulation 5 gives you no right to equal pay.


hours of work: it is a condition of your employment that you undertake work when required by the company. If without good cause, you decline or refuse to work on any particular assignment then the same shall be regarded as gross misconduct,entitling the company to terminate your employment.

3 REMUNERATION:
3.1 save as provided for in clause 8 you have no entitlement to pay in respect of any period when you are not on assignment

between assignments:
clause 8
8.2 subject to you being available to work on assignment and not having unreasonably refused any offer of suitable work the company shall pay to you,during any period between assignments,the minimum remuneration. (whatever that is?)

hours of work:
the company guarantees to offer you a minimum of 336 hours in each successive 12 month period of continuous employment paid at a rate atleast equivalent to the national minimum wage currently in force. For employees who work part time this shall be pro-rated based upon a 35 hour week.

oh yeah its a pertemps contract incidently.

need any more info let me know. pretty sure this is the same one.

If the above is true, what is the point in having these new regulations, when Companies can find loopholes and just get round the rules!!!

bristol_pilot

OP might want to consider joining another agency. Many agencies have apparently chosen NOT to activate the opt-out clause as it means the worker becomes a permanent employee of the agency and has to be paid by the agency between assignments.

monty_python

what if contract signing was withheld till 1st october?
if agency do not use you (ie give you work) but do not go as far as firing you if you do not sign contract would waiting untill full implementation of law give you a better case down the road when arguing your rights because come the 1st oct 2011 you would still be an employee and not an industrial worker hence technically still have all the rights of your old contract and be fully protected by the new legislation? atleats until you sign the new contract which incidently null and voids your previous one.