The continued drop in the government’s official unemployment figures has been credited to the continued use of flexible workers in the UK, and the latest JobsOutlook from the REC has confirmed that the flexible workforce is continuing to experience high demand.
The REC’s survey of over 600 employers across a range of industries and sectors found that 27% are planning to increase their number of agency workers this quarter, with 21% planning increases over the next 12 months. Roger Tweedy, Director of Research at the REC, confirmed that there was little change in these figures from last month, but that “confidence is being sustained and we’re continuing to see a period of stability.”
Another question as part of the JobsOutlook was regarding employers overall assessment of the Agency Workers Regulations one year on. The results, which further confirmed research from both recruiter Adecco and ICS, found that 44% of those surveyed believed the AWR had had less impact than was originally feared, with a further 47% adding that they have had some impact, but not fundamentally changed the way they employ agency workers.
Regarding these findings, Roger Tweedy said that despite some fears about the potential “detrimental impact” of the AWR, most UK businesses have continued to understand the value of recruiting temporary workers and using flexible labour. He added; “we can be confident that the impact of the regulations has been a lot less damaging than some people feared it would be.”
ICS are one of the leading contractor accountants and administration companies and have helped thousands of contractors working in a range of industry sectors. We work with a team of experts in employment and tax law to ensure our services are fully compliant with existing IR35 legislation and the latest government regulations, such as the AWR.
