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Query about my employment rights

William

| 0 Posts

20 Mar, 2018 13:55

Hi All

Sorry if this isn't in the right forum but I don't have full access just now and I really need some help. I have been working for a company for 3 months now as an agency worker, so am past 12 weeks. I cannot find anywhere whether my rights under the AWR extend to company perks. So for example where all directly employed staff get access to local discounts or offers, voucher schemes, etc. Would I be entitled to these as well or does it not extend to these type of 'fringe' benefits?

Many thanks. 

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  • David Perry

    | 0 Posts

    20 Mar, 2018 17:16

    I don't know what relevance you see in the 12 week comment, but the issues you raise are contractual as far as I can tell from your post - and we have no sight of your contractual agreements/policies.
  • David

    | 0 Posts

    20 Mar, 2018 17:36

    Hi William

    Basic pay and employment conditions only are covered for equivalence after 12 weeks so fringe benefits that aren't part of pay almost certainly aren't I'm afraidL see too

    www.michaelpage.co.uk/.../temporary-worker-faqs-agency-workers-regulations
  • Peter Stanway

    | 0 Posts

    20 Mar, 2018 17:36

    In reply to David Perry:

    hi David
    You appear to have missed the Agency Worker Regs and I suspect that coverage does include perks.
    Funny old world.
  • David

    | 0 Posts

    20 Mar, 2018 18:35

    In reply to Peter Stanway:

    I don't think it does include perks that aren't counted as monetary pay Peter

    - the link seems to concur - and in any event objective justification for the less than favourable treatment might be argued?
  • Daron

    | 0 Posts

    20 Mar, 2018 19:32

    Hi William,

    I think your entitlement to company perks will depend on whether the perks form park of the terms and conditions that are "ordinarily included in the contracts of employees". The relevant part of the AWR will be:

    an agency worker (A) shall be entitled to the same basic working and employment conditions as A would be entitled to for doing the same job had A been recruited by the hirer
    Paragraph (1) shall be deemed to have been complied with where—

    (a)an agency worker is working under the same relevant terms and conditions as an employee who is a comparable employee, and
    (b)the relevant terms and conditions of that comparable employee are terms and conditions ordinarily included in the contracts of employees, who are comparable employees of the hirer, whether by collective agreement or otherwise.

    I'm not an expert on this, so happy to be corrected.
  • David

    | 0 Posts

    20 Mar, 2018 22:24

    In reply to Daron:

    See too

    www.cipd.co.uk/.../equal-treatment-for-agency-workers_2010__7__tcm18-10716.pdf
  • Daron

    | 0 Posts

    20 Mar, 2018 22:45

    In reply to David:

    Thanks very much, David - that's very helpful. I'm very new to this - not current working in HR and just started a CIPD certificate a few weeks ago. Very keen to learn from everyone here. The forums here are very help.
    Best wishes
    Daron
  • Ray

    | 0 Posts

    21 Mar, 2018 09:13

    In reply to Daron:

    Daron, you may also find it useful to read the full guidance notes issued by the governement in 2011.

    On page 29 of this zipped PDF file you'll find a complete list of all the elements that are explicity excluded

  • William

    | 0 Posts

    21 Mar, 2018 12:41

    In reply to Ray:

    Thanks all. I agree from the link provided it seems I wouldn't be covered albeit more as a technical point - I suppose a good employer would include me in the perks (given we are not awash with agency workers) but they're not obliged to. While things like local discounts and voucher schemes do amount to a financial incentive I don't think they are direct enough to be covered by the scope of entitlement.
  • Ray

    | 0 Posts

    21 Mar, 2018 14:15

    In reply to William:

    To be honest William, I think most employers would not want to extend ALL employee perks to agency workers, simply because if an option arises to recruit them directly there will be little or no advantage to the agency worker in becoming an employee.....
  • William

    | 0 Posts

    21 Mar, 2018 14:31

    In reply to Ray:

    Yes that may be true in some cases, but working in a professional environment like HR the main advantage would be getting a permanent role! I get what you are saying if for environments such as warehouses or manufacturing where there may be a lot of agency workers, some of whom get taken on as employees later. For me on a long term FTC I am obviously looking for other roles because it can take a long time to find something suitable and I don't think there is prospect of being kept on permanently anyway.