The importance of effective recruitment for employers and for the UK economy is increasingly recognised. At the same time European regulations which do not take into account the peculiarities of the UK labour market continue to pose a real threat to the provision of effective and flexible resourcing solutions.

As a result, the Recruitment & Employment Confederation has been at the forefront of the campaign to defend the flexibility of the UK labour market – in particular through extensive lobbying activities in the new EU Member States. A key part of this campaign has been to highlight the benefits that flexibility and a vibrant temp market can bring for both employers and job-seekers.

EU regulations threaten UK flexibility
The REC is the representative body for the UK recruitment industry, providing a range of services to agencies and employment professionals in all sectors of the UK economy. One of the key issues for members is the ongoing threat of the EU Agency Workers Directive which could have a significant impact on the UK labour market and would limit the potential of flexible working across the EU.

In its current draft, the Directive would require comparators to be established between temporary workers and equivalent permanent employees even for relatively short assignments. Ensuring that temporary workers receive adequate protection is crucial but a full range of rights already exist under UK law and regulations covering the provision of agency workers were reviewed just last year. The equal treatment provisions included in the EU Directive could create substantial additional bureaucracy for both employers and agencies

Protecting the viability of temporary work
Following extensive lobbying from business, the Directive was blocked in 2002. With EU enlargement, however, the blocking minority was no longer sufficient. There was a very real risk that the Directive could be pushed through, especially as there was only a fledgling recruitment industry in these new Member States and no lobbying voice at national level.

The Commission saw this as an opportunity and the Directive came back onto the agenda last year under the Dutch presidency of the EU. This coincided with worrying noises coming from the UK Government about possible concessions to the Trade Unions.

It is within this context that the REC decided to launch a bold and unprecedented lobbying campaign. As well as continuing to lobby the UK Government and the European institutions, we would take our message directly to the Governments in all the new EU Member States.

REC heads East
The campaign was launched with a first trip to meet the Polish Ministry of labour in October 2004. The REC has now met Government representatives from Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, Hungary, Latvia, Estonia and Malta. Meetings also took place with business representatives, trade unions and recruitment agencies in these countries.

Gaining access to these senior officials resulted from good links with the Foreign Office, the DTI and CBI Brussels.

Overall, the REC has undertaken over 50 meetings in the new EU Member States in order to take forward a number of key messages. The main message is that the effective provision of temporary work benefits business performance and provides opportunities for workers. The AWD would curtail these benefits. The meetings were also an opportunity for addressing some of the mis-conceptions that exist about the UK labour market.

Whilst there is more flexibility than in a number of other EU countries, the idea that the UK labour market is completely unregulated and that there is no legislation covering agency work in particular is way off the mark. Temporary workers in the UK benefit from a full range of rights and the idea that they are necessarily underpaid and exploited must be dispelled.

Meetings with Government officials in the new Member States have been extremely encouraging and there is a general recognition that some more flexibility is crucial in order to meet EU targets on job creation and competitiveness.

REC lobbying has complemented initiatives from the DTI and the CBI and ensured that the Directive remains blocked. Slovakia and Poland in particular are very supportive of the UK position. An additional and sustainable outcome has been the establishment of trade associations in the countries visited – in particular Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland. Lobbying activities are now being taken forward on a national level.

In the run-up to the UK Presidency of the EU which begins in July, the general consensus is that discussions will focus on the Working Time Directive rather than on the Agency Workers Directive.

However, this latter Directive could potentially have an equally – if not more – damaging impact on the UK labour market than removing the working Time opt-out.

As a result it is essential to remain on the front foot to ensure that no damaging compromise solutions are agreed. Any EU Directive in this area must enhance rather than limit the viability of temporary work and must take into account the substantial differences that exist across different EU labour markets.

There are some signs that things are moving in the right direction. In a recent meeting between the European Commission and the REC Board, Stéphane Ouaki, a member of Commissioner Špidla’s cabinet, made it clear that, “It is not the Commission’s intention to impose legislation that would impact on the UK’s jobs machine.”

The need for some flexibility in increasingly recognised. In the first instance, it will be up to the UK Government –backed by a number of the new EU member states to ensure that discussions focus on job creation and competitiveness rather than on the systematic and unsustainable imposition of yet more regulation.

For more information on the REC, please visit <a href=”http://www.rec.uk.com

Tom Hadley is Director of External Relations for the Recruitment & Employment Confederation