The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is calling on the government to stand firm against renewed EU and union pressure to resurrect a draft directive affecting up to 250,000 temporary workers.
EU governments are meeting this week to discuss proposals on the draft Agency Workers Directive that would put temporary workers on an equal footing with permanent staff after just six weeks on an assignment.
The CBI argues this would heavily reduce the benefits of flexibility that such workers offer to firms, undermining the incentive to employ them.
Its annual employment trends survey, carried out with recruitment specialists Pertemps, showed that 58% of workers said if the directive became law it would lead to a ‘significant’ cut in the use of temporary workers, putting 250,000 placements at serious risk.
"This important section of the workforce has an uncertain future if the government caves into pressure for a new EU law," said CBI deputy-director general John Cridland.
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