Agency Workers Directive - Pointless EU Directive?

With the Agency Workers Directive (AWD) hanging over our heads and the inevitable collapse of our government's opposition to it by agreeing to a "compromise" I thought it was a good time to have my say.

The AWD for the skilled sectors is pointless. It's that simple. Why would clients bring in Temporary workers with skills they need for projects which could take 6 months in the knowledge that they can only have them as temporary workers for 12 weeks. Projects often have agreed timescales that change, difficulties that can arise, budget changes, whatever it may be, a temporary worker is often needed for over 12 weeks. They don't want the same rights of a permanent employee, they like working as a temporary worker and they like the benefits that come with that. In the skilled sectors the usual draw is the higher hourly and daily rates that they can earn.

Why don't they just take a permanent employee on you ask? Well, the project is just that. A project. There is no permanent need for this skill set. In fact it would be a flagrant waste of money to bring this skill set in house on a permanent basis.

There are other examples. Covering long term sick leave. Why would you want two members of staff doing the same job on a permanent basis?

The temporary workers market is key to the UK's economy. The ability to bring in people on a short term basis is beneficial to both the worker and the business. To force companies to basically make them permanent after 12 weeks is wrong. Admittedly I am focussing on the skilled sector (IT, Finance, Professional Services) but surely even in other sectors the AWD will just lead to less temporary worker demand, more unemployment and then gloomier economic predicitions.

Why change something that isn't broken? From all the reports I have seen generally 80% of temporary workers are happy with their lot. So why change the whole system and rules?

Temporary work isn't just a good way to earn money but also to try and select a career. It gives you that opportunity to sample different working environments, industries, people and locations. The AWD would cut down on this.

The UK does not have the same economy as the rest of the EU, it simply does not need or want this directive. For that reason I hope someone sees sense and gets it thrown out.

Recruiter - IT Recruitment

There has been a drop in the number of new IT openings according to new research.
The research made available by ReThink Recruitment, an IT recruitment firm, has shown that the number of IT vacancies at IT firms has dropped by 18% in the last year and from 16,185 to 13,351 in the last three months. Banks appear to be tightening their IT budgets at the credit crunch bites.
As it stands investment banks are responsible for posting 37% of all IT vacancies. This contrasts with 61% in 2007. Retail banks on the other hand are now posting twice as many vacancies for the finance sector in the past year with a jump from 12% to 26%. Hedge funds now account for more IT openings than conventional fund managers.
Jon Butterfield, managing director, ReThink Recruitment, had this to say: “Investment banks are freezing IT spending in some areas, as they scale back their expansion plans. Growth in demand elsewhere, however, such as compliance and risk management, in response to the credit crunch and the Société Générale scandal, is providing some ballast to the market.” “Demand for IT skills in the finance sector is still significantly greater now than 12 months ago, so we should take some comfort from that. Retail banks, in particular, are investing heavily in e-banking and bolstering internal systems to combat online fraud. A lot of work is going on to try and speed up the processes needed to achieve compliance with money laundering regulations.” * - From Recruiter