Recruitment agencies across the UK are continually bombarded with new and updated regulations. Ensuring compliance with each piece of legislation and the regulations that go along with it requires a great deal of administration and time. To support the agencies that we work with, the team at Exchequer Solutions use their knowledge and expertise with regards to these regulations to both educate clients and, with regards to some legislative requirements, take the administrative burden off their hands.
One regulation that the Exchequer team is frequently asked about, is the Agency Workers Regulations. This requires agencies working with contractors, to identify their status with regards to the regulations, to determine whether or not they will apply.
What are the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR)?
Introduced in October 2011, the Agency Workers Regulations aim to ensure that temporary agency workers receive the same basic rights within a hiring business, as permanent employees, after a period of 12 weeks within the same business. This ultimately means equal pay, breaks, overtime, public holidays amongst a number of other rights.
For contractors operating under an umbrella company, gaining contracts through a recruitment agency, AWR will apply and therefore the contractor will be entitled to a range of rights after twelve weeks. However, some umbrella companies operate under a ‘full employment model’ and therefore, in these cases, AWR will not apply to a contractor.
How does Exchequer ensure agency compliance with AWR?
From IR35 to right to work checks, expenses to SDC, and of course, AWR, our team can support your agency with them all.
Since their introduction, our team have been assisting agencies with AWR to ensure full compliance at all times. We do this by effectively monitoring the length of service for all contractors registered with our Umbrella PAYE payroll, as well as calculating parity pay on behalf of recruiters.
Is your agency looking for an umbrella company to support you through regulation and legislative requirements? Speak to our team today to find out more.
