UK laws on temporary workers have been criticised by a senior judge.
Presiding over the unfair dismissal case of a temporary estates officer against Haringey Council, Mr Justice Bean was prompted by his decision to make comment on the legal status of temporary workers.
He ruled that the claimant could not be considered as an employee of the council or the employ¬ment agency, but commented: "The state of the law regarding the status of long-term agency workers is, in my view, far from satisfactory, but it will need legislation to change it."
The TUC recently published a report on flexible workers which revealed that nearly half of all agency staff would prefer a permanent job.
Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC, told Personneltoday.com: "Agency workers have very few rights and this can lay them open to exploitation at the hands of unscrupulous employers.
"New laws are needed to stop temps from being unfairly dismissed, being paid less per hour [than full-time staff] and being denied sick and maternity pay."
The news comes in the wake of the government's decision to block a bill which would have granted temporary and agency workers the same rights as permanent employees.
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