The European Union (EU) has issued a proposal for a new law on temporary work rights, it has emerged.
As reported by the Abeceder website, the EU and trade unions are seeking to resurrect the Agency Workers Directive law, which would grant agency workers the same rights as permanent staff after just six weeks of an assignment.
The proposal comes as an employment trends survey of over 500 firms by Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and Pertemps has found that temporary employees comprise three per cent of an average workforce, the article notes.
However, CBI deputy director general John Cridland opposes the law, telling the website that "hundreds of thousands of jobs will be put at risk" because employers will be less inclined to take on temporary staff.
He added that many women returning to work after having children rely on temporary work, as employers do in seeking to manage surges in demand.
"As proposed, the directive would seriously undermine the flexibility that temps [temporary workers] offer to firms, hurting the economy and making them far more likely to rely on overtime flexibility from existing workers instead," Mr Cridland said.
Last week the government announced its intention to crack down on rogue recruitment agencies that are alleged to take advantage of vulnerable workers, such as migrants.
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