06 December 2016

Agency workers are typically expected to be short-term or temporary staff, but new research has revealed that most are in full-time work but still receiving significantly less pay than their colleagues.

A new report from think tank the Resolution Foundation revealed that half of all agency workers are in permanent jobs and three-quarters work full-time hours, but the typical agency worker takes home £430 less a year than an employee in the same role.

What's more, it seems these low-paid workers are replacing full-time employees, as they are entering the workforce in increasing numbers. There are now 865,000 agency workers, up 30% since 2011, and the Resolution Foundation predicts this trend will continue, with one million agency workers forecast for 2020.

As well as pay, agency workers often lose out on fundamental employment rights, such as sick pay, parental leave and notice periods, and because they are usually classed as "workers" rather than "employees" it is more difficult for them to challenge unfair dismissals.

Furthermore, just as we have seen in the case of Sport's Direct, companies hiring agency workers are not their primary employer and therefore do now owe them the same duty of care as if they had recruited them directly. This makes it easier for unscrupulous businesses to exploit agency staff.

Furthermore, Senior Research and Policy Analyst for the Resolution Foundation Lindsay Judge explained that agency workers are spread across the economy and do not only work in low-skilled jobs: "One in five are in professional or management roles and a similar proportion work in typically higher-paying business activities," she said. "And of course it’s not just in the private sector that this way of working is found – one in five agency workers are in public sector jobs.

Agency workers were also more likely to be young, less qualified, be a migrant, and belong to an ethnic minority than employees.

Three in five said they would rather have a permanent job.

In our Manifesto for Labour Law – 25 recommendations adopted by the Labour Party – the Institute of Employment Rights proposes creating a new universal definition of "worker" that encompasses everybody in employment, thereby extending employment rights and collective agreements to all workers from day one. This would prevent employers from undercutting employees with agency staff and close the loophole some currently use to exploit vulnerable labour.

Read more about our Manifesto for Labour Law and purchase your copy here