How the new regs impact on agency workers, employers

New XpertHR research finds that, for two organisations in three (65.1%) there has been no change in their use of agencies to help find temps since the introduction of the Agency Workers Regulations 2010, although the use of agencies has fallen in 22.1% of organisations.

Under the Regulations, after completing a 12-week qualification period, agency workers have the same entitlement to basic working and employment conditions as if they had been recruited directly by the hirer into the same role. "Some commentators envisaged that the introduction of the Regulations would therefore reduce the role of employment agencies in sourcing temporary labour," says Rachel Suff, XpertHR author of the report. "This has not happened to any significant extent, but the new legal framework has still affected employer practice in some ways."

For example, the majority of employers think that the Regulations have placed a significant administrative on their organisation and that the cost of using temps means their organisation is less likely to use them now and in the future (55.5% and 51.7% respectively).

Nonetheless, three employers in four (76.7%) disagree with the statement that "the Agency Workers Regulations have had a detrimental impact on my organisation's resourcing capability."

The survey report is based on feedback from 160 employers about their use of agency workers. It reveals that, regardless of the 12-week qualifying period for basic working and employment conditions, two employers in three (64.4%) provide agency workers with the same conditions from day one of their assignment.

Line managers are central to the implementation of most people management activities and managing agency workers is no exception. It makes sense that almost nine employers in 10 (87.9%) have therefore taken steps to inform line managers of the hiring organisation's new legal obligations under the Agency Workers Regulations.

The research also examines the quality of the working relationship between agency and hiring organisation, and whether employment agencies represent value for money.

In three organisations in four (75.8%), the relationship between agency and employer has stayed the same since the introduction of the Agency Workers Regulations in October 2011, but in 15.4% of cases it has improved slightly. The majority of employers (54.4%) agree that the services provided by their employment agencies represent value for money.

FACTFILE:
The research is based on feedback from 160 employers. Rachel Suff is available for interview.

http://www.xperthr.co.uk is the UK's most comprehensive online source of legal compliance, good practice and benchmarking information made available to HR professionals as a single subscription service. XpertHR is part of Reed Business Information.

Leadership And Employee Priorities Need To Change, As Organisations Head Into The Unknown

Organisations need to adapt their leadership practices and recruit and develop employees with five specific traits and a mindset for success if they are to remain relevant in the turbulent economy, according to Hemsley Fraser, the learning & development specialist.

The company claims that the days of hiring people for a steady job, with a predictable workload, are over. Instead, organisations need to recruit and develop employees who are talented, resilient, adaptable, imaginative and trustworthy.

These five traits form the mnemonic TRAIT. "Today's organisations are heading into the unknown and this is creating wholly new challenges," said Todd Turner, Chief Executive Officer of Hemsley Fraser. "I can't say what our organisation is going to look like in a year's time and I don't know many companies that can. To survive in this uncertainty, every organisation needs employees who have these five specific traits.

Adaptability will be key and individuals will need to become, to some extent, a Jack or Jill of all trades. The most important thing is having the right mindset because that will impact on whatever job they're asked to do." Turner adds that moving into the unknown puts even greater pressure on leaders.

"Technology, global connectivity and the sheer scale and complexity of the organisations that we can now create pose unprecedented leadership challenges," he said. "Leaders should be asking themselves: am I equipped to lead into the unknown? Meeting this need will be a key area for development in the future."

Those organisations that are anxiously waiting for 'change' to be over so they can stabilise again need to realise that it's not going to happen, claims Turner.

"You have to adapt your leadership practices and recruit and develop employees with the right traits and the right mindset for success," he said. "The only other alternative is to continue to take extra long lead times to adapt to every single change that comes your way."

Hemsley Fraser is working with multinational organisations to create customised leadership and personal effectiveness programmes that will enable individuals, HR departments and leadership teams to respond to the challenges of moving into the unknown. An article providing advice on how to lead into the unknown can be downloaded free from www.hemsleyfraser.co.uk

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Better web filtering that does not see it in black and white!

Surfwall Remote from Omniquad is an advanced security system that not only puts employers in full control of their employees’ web access but also allows employees to access blocked sites and, all with the bosses’ approval!

If your company’s web security system only sees security in terms of black and white, you’ll be fully aware of how frustrating it is for employees to be denied access to Ebay, social networking sites and personal email accounts like hotmail. There is no doubt that a blanket ban on many categories saves businesses time and money by preventing wasted hours and potential threats from dodgy downloads, but many of these systems are far too rigid in their approach and leave employees feeling frustrated.

(EDITOR: One especially useless service provider actually blocked staff at a newspaper publishing house from even being able to upload content to the company news sites!)

There are many genuine reasons why some employees may need access to Facebook for example, particularly if your company has a Facebook page and there is no reason why employees can’t access certain sites during lunch hours. Yet businesses still need a high level of security and control over what employees can and cannot access on their networks.

Security firm Omniquad have now solved this taxing problem by launching an upgrade to their Surfwall Remote security system. This cloud based service allows employers to control web access using over 90 site categories such as gambling, games, adult, news, sport, media streaming etc. This allows employers to either block, limit access or allow full access to certain employee groups. However - and this is the clever bit - these categories can be further configured so that employees are allowed access to Facebook for example, but not any of its applications or video streaming.

What’s more is that time restrictions can be set on these categories so that employees can access certain sites during their lunchbreak or after work hours. And should an employee have a genuine reason to visit a blocked site, they can override their boss and be granted access for a specific time, as the policy editor of the system now includes a Temporary Exclusion feature. The IT administrator will be informed of this access and the reasons why and will be given a further option to grant permanent access or not.

This soft approach not only makes life easier for employees but keeps businesses safe and in full control of web usage.

Surfwall Remote does not require any downloads or software, just a simple, easy setting change on the network that takes a few minutes of your time. After that a clear, user-friendly interface will guide you through the policy settings where you can also get full statistics on web usage, including real-time reports which you can view by user, session or bandwidth. Policies can be changed instantly and full usage reports emailed daily, weekly or monthly.

Right now businesses can try out Surfwall Remote for 30 days with no obligation to buy. So find out how we can make both you and your employees happy and productive!

Contact details:
Find them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter (tweet us @omniquad), check our website www.omniquad.com or email info@omniquad.com , telephone 020 7533 6541

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