Business

Contract packers have expressed relief following the failure of European ministers to reach an agreement on an EU directive on agency workers’ rights in December.

Rodney Steel, chief executive of the British Contract Manufacturers and Packers Association (BCMPA), said the EU Directive on Temporary and Agency Workers could have had a “serious impact” on contract packing because of its potential effect on labour flexibility.

“However, it is likely that this issue will come back on the European Council’s agenda in time,” he said.
The directive would give temporary workers, such as those employed through agencies, the same pay and holiday and pension entitlements as permanent staff, after six weeks of casual employment.

Steel urged BCMPA members to remember that under current UK law, simply calling people agency staff did not prevent them from having the same employment rights as full-time staff.

“It is how the relationship is built and operated from day to day that matters,” he said.

Although the UK led the opposition, the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR) said the government continued to support the directive’s underlying principles.

“We want a directive that offers appropriate protection to agency workers but does not damage economic flexibility or close off what is a valued route into employment for many people,” a BERR spokeswoman said.