Agency Workers Regulations

What is AWR?

The Agency Workers Regulation, or AWR for short, is a European directive regarding the rights of Agency Workers, and those employed through intermediaries. Put simply, the legislation states that all temporary or contract Workers must be afforded the same rights (in terms of pay, working hours and holiday allowances) as regular employees after twelve weeks of continuous service. AWR comes into effect from October 2011.

What does it mean for Crunch clients?

Put simply – nothing. Crunch clients are all employees of their own Limited Company, in business on their own account and do not operate through an intermediary, meaning they are outside the scope of AWR. Our clients establish genuine business-to-business relationships with their clients – we’re just here to do their accounts.

What does it mean for Umbrella Contractors?

Unfortunately, nobody really knows yet. As Umbrella Contractors are classed as Agency Workers they are directly in the firing line of AWR. Umbrella Companies are currently looking for a viable solution to the challenges presented by the new regulations. Some believe they can simply do nothing and continue to operate legally, others are adopting the Swedish Derogation Model, whereby they take their Contractors on as full employees to avoid the worst of the financial fallout. However, the Swedish Derogation Model has recently been derided by leading employment experts as “no miracle solution”.

Going Limited

Crunch has always championed the Limited Company route – we believe it is the correct model, and cannot be changed overnight by new legislation. The returns enjoyed by Crunch clients are constant, guaranteed and usually greater than those offered by Umbrella Companies.

If you want to avoid the uncertainty and make sure you are completely clear of AWR by October, switch to Crunch today.
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