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Agency workers and zero hours - the story of hidden exploitation BALL, Malcolm, HAMPTON, Colin, KAMERADE, Daiga and RICHARDSON, Helen <http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7036-5476> Available from Sheffield Hallam University Research Archive (SHURA) at: http://shura.shu.ac.uk/16682/ This document is the author deposited version. You are advised to consult the publisher's version if you wish to cite from it. Published version BALL, Malcolm, HAMPTON, Colin, KAMERADE, Daiga and RICHARDSON, Helen (2017). Agency workers and zero hours - the story of hidden exploitation. Project Report. Derbyshire Unemployed Workers Centres. (Unpublished) Copyright and re-use policy See http://shura.shu.ac.uk/information.html Sheffield Hallam University Research Archive http://shura.shu.ac.uk

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Page 1: Agency workers and zero hours - the story of hidden …shura.shu.ac.uk/16682/1/Report final.pdf2 Agency workers and zero-hours contracts - the story of hidden exploitation The Never-Never

Agency workers and zero hours - the story of hidden exploitation

BALL, Malcolm, HAMPTON, Colin, KAMERADE, Daiga and RICHARDSON, Helen <http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7036-5476>

Available from Sheffield Hallam University Research Archive (SHURA) at:

http://shura.shu.ac.uk/16682/

This document is the author deposited version. You are advised to consult the publisher's version if you wish to cite from it.

Published version

BALL, Malcolm, HAMPTON, Colin, KAMERADE, Daiga and RICHARDSON, Helen (2017). Agency workers and zero hours - the story of hidden exploitation. Project Report. Derbyshire Unemployed Workers Centres. (Unpublished)

Copyright and re-use policy

See http://shura.shu.ac.uk/information.html

Sheffield Hallam University Research Archivehttp://shura.shu.ac.uk

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Agency Workers and Zero Hours - The story of hidden exploitation

Derbyshire Unemployed Workers’ Centres

Research report by:Dr. Malcolm Ball - North Derbyshire Unite Community BranchColin Hampton - Derbyshire Unemployed Workers’ Centres

Dr. Daiga Kamerade - University of SalfordProfessor Helen Richardson - Sheffield Hallam University

July 2017

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The Never-Never Girl - invented by Kelly Girl

• Never takes a holiday, never asksfor a raise.

• Never costs you a dime for slacktime (when the work drops, youdrop her).

• Never has a cold, slipped disc orloose tooth (not on your timeanyway!).

AcknowledgementsWe would like to thank thevolunteers from DerbyshireUnemployed Workers Centres –particularly Jeannie, Charles andRichard – who helped us withthis research.

We are indebted to the 31temporary agency and zero-hours contract workers whoagreed to be interviewed abouttheir experiences.

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The story begins when Unite the Unionwere alerted to reports of draconianworking conditions and terms of

employment in Sports Direct and uncovereda litany of hidden exploitation amongstagency workers in the Sports Directwarehouse in Shirebrook, Derbyshire andthose on zero-hours contracts in their retailstores. Unite were at the forefront ofhighlighting the harsh working conditionsexperienced by thousands of workersincluding low pay, precarious workingarrangements, a dependence on agencyworking and a culture of fear.

The campaigning by Unite and others led tothe company being subject to media andparliamentary investigation and in April2015 the Channel 4 Dispatches programmeaired the ‘Secrets of Sports Direct’. InJanuary 2016, Unite presented writtenevidence to the House of CommonsBusiness, Innovation and Skills Committee,concerned about the issues affectingemployees in Sports Direct and thedifficulties that limited their representation.

For more than two decades the issues ofzero hours contracts and temporaryemployment agencies have been the subjectof discussion at the union conferences andat the annual conference of the TUC. Therehas been nationally published research ledby the TUC, ACAS, and others and hasidentified some of the problems for tradeunions and their members arising fromchanging workplace practices. In the UKthere has been a rise in Temporary AgencyWork (TAW) since the financial crisis, withevidence suggesting the flexibility it offers,

has one-sided benefits favouring employers.Similarly zero-hours contracts leave workersvulnerable, subject to bullying andharassment and unable to plan their lives orbudget effectively.

Yet the campaign often brought challengesof ‘why are you picking on Sports Direct’and clarification was required about theextent of further hidden exploitation inworkplaces across the local economy.

The following report is based on workcarried out from January 2017 to July 2017by the authors and others, involving semi-structured interviews with 31 workers onTAW or zero-hours contracts. We alsointerviewed managers from 4 local agenciesand representatives from DerbyshireUnemployed Workers Centres, Unite theUnion, North Derbyshire Unite Communitybranch and Derbyshire Law Centre.Statistical analysis was undertaken toascertain the extent of TAW and zero-hourscontract working in the UK and the EastMidlands region through enquiry of theAnnual Population Surveys from the Officeof National Statistics.

We provide details of our interviewshighlighting the experiences of those onTAW and zero-hours contracts. This storyexposes the impacts of hidden exploitationand we make a number ofrecommendations to tackle the harsh andimposed regimes of TAW and zero-hourscontracts. We also showcase examples ofcollective struggle – showing change ispossible and can be dramatic.

Preface

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ContentsAcknowledgements ................................................................................................................. 2

Preface ...................................................................................................................................... 3

Contents .................................................................................................................................... 4

Summary ................................................................................................................................... 5

Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 6

The extent of temporary and zero-hours contract working in the UK ................................ 10

Table 1: Type of contract and labour market share in the EU (source: EMPL, 2016) ........... 10

Table 2: Types of temporary work in 2016 (source APS March 2016 - April 2017) ............... 11

Table 3: Regional differences in TAW (source APS March 2016-April 2017) ......................... 11

Table 4: Migration status and TAW (source APS March 2016-April 2017) ............................ 13

Workers’ experiences of temporary agency work and zero-hours contract working .......... 13

Table 5: Interviews with agency and zero-hours contract workers ...................................... 14

Job Centre Plus, the benefit system and sanctions ................................................................ 15

The experience of being an agency worker ........................................................................... 17

Hours and notice of work ........................................................................................................ 20

Zero-hours contracts ................................................................................................................ 20

Contract and pay issues ........................................................................................................... 23

Training ..................................................................................................................................... 26

Life, health and well-being ..................................................................................................... 26

Collective struggle .................................................................................................................... 30

Recommended Actions ............................................................................................................ 31

Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 33

References ................................................................................................................................ 34

Appendices - The law and Temporary Agency Work ............................................................. 37

Data source ............................................................................................................................... 38

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• Agency working and zero-hours contractsmeans insecure work with unpredictablehours and often either too few hours ortoo many hours which for many affecttheir standard of living, family life andhealth and well-being. Many TAW and zero-hours contract workers are in poverty, leading to debt and housing problems.

• In 2012 TAW reached its highest levelsince 1992 (Forde and Slater, 2014) andconstituted 6.84% of the total netemployment growth between 2010 and 2016.

• TAW is becoming more common amongstthe self-employed.

• Younger people (under 25) areconsiderably more likely to be in TAWthan older people. There were nosignificant gender differences in thoseundertaking TAW.

• Members of the Black, African andCaribbean labour force are more than 3times likely to be an agency worker thanthe average (Judge and Tomlinson, 2016).

• Migrants, especially those who hadarrived in the UK recently areoverrepresented among temporaryagency workers.

• There are significant regional variationsin the extent of TAW with the EastMidlands having the highest levels of TAW.

• The demand for TAW is driven byemployers’ demands for flexibility, notworkers’ preferences. Many temporaryagency workers are in a temporary job

because they could not find permanentwork. Only every fifth of the temporarilyagency workers actually prefer atemporary job and many are forced inTAW because they cannot findpermanent employment. The majoritywe interviewed would not choose towork for an agency, would notrecommend working for an agency andwould like to see zero-hours contractsbanned.

• Temporary Agency Work often carries a‘pay penalty’ (Judge and Tomlinson,2016). In most occupations temporaryagency workers earned less per weekthan permanent workers.

• Temporary Agency workers are oftenunder-employed with fewer hours thanthey want either on zero-hours contractsor working in involuntary part-time jobs.

• Working on zero-hours contracts canseriously damage your health and well-being. Often very short notice is given ofshift times and hours are varied, insecureand unpredictable. Reports were ofcontrol and punishment regimesparticularly if ‘your face didn’t fit’.

• Contracts and pay slips can be veryambiguous. These are often on-line onlywith difficulties in accessing. Some reportnot having a written contract or clear payslips. Confusing charges and bogusdeductions are sometimes made. Manyreport not knowing whether they areworking for an employer, an agency orare classed as self-employed. Agencyworkers do not know whether theircontract abides by the Agency WorkersRegulations 2011.

Summary

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It was through the Sports Direct campaignthat North Derbyshire Unite Communitybranch came across evidence of agency

working and the extensive use by agenciesof zero-hours contracts. For Malcolm Ball, alocal activist and member of the NorthDerbyshire Unite Community branch:

“Agency working represents a seriouschallenge to free and effective tradeunion organisation and to fairemployment. The right to work, topermanent employment and to theequal access to employment rights mustbe available to all workers”.

It was also becoming evident that the growth in agency and zero-hourscontracts were closely linked toconditionality that has been a feature ofclaiming Jobseekers Allowance (JSA)particularly since 2006. The marked rise inbenefit sanctions changed labour marketconditions that unemployed workers facedwith often a requirement that a JSA claimantsign up with at least two agencies. ColinHampton from the Derbyshire UnemployedWorkers Centres proposed that:

“Conditionality heralded the subsidy bytaxpayers of Private EmploymentAgencies through Governmentregulations. Many people are not drawnto sign up for employment agencies bychoice but by enforcement - this is indirect contravention of the UnitedNations Declaration of Human Rights thatenshrines the free choice of labour”.

The Sports Direct campaign had shone a light on the issues and it was these workers’ stories that led us toembark on a systematic study of the extentand reach of agency and zero hours work inthe County.

The political economic context is important.In recent years there has been decliningunemployment throughout Europe and thelabour market in the UK today has a recordnumber of people in work. The UKunemployment rate in the last quarter of2014 reached its lowest level for 6 years at5.8%. Yet this has been accompanied by arise in temporary, insecure and precariouswork. TAW constitutes a significant part ofthis job growth (IPR, 2015). Flexibility in thelabour market allows people to work part-time, temporarily or be self-employedrather than being unemployed (MacInnes,2016). However, whilst this changing, post-recession labour market has higher than

Introduction

Undercover reporters from the Guardianrevealed that Sports Direct warehousestaff received below the minimum wagelargely as a result of enforced end-of-shift searches. 80% of staff are on zero-hours contracts at the firm controlled byBritain’s 22nd richest man – billionaireMike Ashley. Many are recruited by theagencies Best Connection and TranslineGroup. Transline implement a rigorous‘strike system’ with punishments metedout and after six ‘strikes’ within sixmonths, contracts are terminated. Strikeoffences include spending too long inthe toilet, chatting or wearing one of802 banned clothing brands.

Workers have been deducted 15 minutespay for clocking on 1 minute late but arerequired to finish a job before clockingoff - yet over working is notcompensated. “The precarious agencycontracts whilst not illegal make italmost impossible for workers tochallenge unfair treatment within thisculture of fear” suggested Uniteregional union officer Luke Primarolo.

(Source: Goodley and Ashby, 2015)

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expected levels of employment, it is alsounderpinned by a growth of temporary andinvoluntary part-time work and work that isincreasingly precarious, low paid and withvery little job security.

Temporary agency workers often fulfilpermanent job needs but are deniedpermanent employee rights (ILRF, 2009).The wages received often cannot support anindividual or household. Precarious work ishard to define but a useful framework isfrom Olsthoorn (2014) who suggests thatprecarious work lies at the intersectionbetween three dimensions of employment.

The work may be insecure such as involvingfixed time contracts or temporary agencywork. There may be unsupportiveentitlements, for example little access toincome support when unemployed and lastlyemployees are often vulnerable, for examplevery reliant on this work with limited - if any -other choices (EMPL, 2016). Precarious workmeans an unpredictable pay packet,significant pay penalties and subsequentimpacts on personal and family lives.

The Jobs-to-Rent study concluded that TAWdoes not offer long term prospects of betteror permanent jobs and TAW offersinsecurity not flexibility (IPR, 2015). Thisincludes an inability to plan financially,increased debt and little access to credit orsecure housing such as access to mortgagesor tenancy agreements. Organisation ofchildcare or care of others and to enjoy anyplanned leisure time can be significantlyaffected (Hudson, 2015).

Although the Labour Force Survey in thesummer of 2014 suggested that 1.7 millionworkers reported they were in some form oftemporary work, the numbers may besubstantially more (Hudson, 2015). Asinterviews have shown, the workers oftenlack awareness of the type of contract theyare on. TAW arrangements can be variedand complex, making it hard to accuratelyidentify who is a temporary agency worker.For example, temporary agency workersmaybe employed directly by the temporary

work agency as employees of the agencyand sent out to customer companies towork on an hourly basis at the customer’spremises; they may be engaged by thetemporary work agency on the basis of acontract for services, so although they arenot employees of the agency, they are stilldeemed to be workers; they may besupplied by a temporary work agency to thecompany who then employs them. Agencyworkers work through an agent andtemporarily for the hiring firm. There are avariety of types of agency includingintermediaries which operate as umbrellacompanies, master/neutral vendors and‘preferred suppliers’ (Forde and Slater, 2014).

Flexibility is often an employer-led choicewith few benefits of flexible workingavailable for workers. The drivers are thefinancial crisis and its aftermath and aconcern has been a sharp increase in the useof zero-hours contracts and morewidespread use of agency workers since therecession (Hudson, 2015).

Although underemployment and otherforms of precarious work can occur in timeof economic growth or stability, economicrecessions are more likely to generateunderemployment because new jobcreation is low. This has often led to jobinsecurity, involuntary part-time ortemporary work and abuses of employmentrelations such as non-compliance withlabour legislation and agreements.

Labour market flexibilisation andcasualisation has shifted risks to workers.This has affected all types of workers, forexample 53% of University academics are onsome sort of insecure contract (UCU,November 2016). Work can becomeprecarious - when employment agencies areinvolved, as a result of outsourcing of workand when work is inappropriately classified –for example as short-term, independentcontractor working, bogusly self-employed,zero-hours, short hours (underemployment)and with the use of term-time only contracts.

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Zero-hours contracts have been associatedwith sectors that are low paid and havecasual working practices such as food andhospitality and the wholesale and retailsectors. However a feature has been itsextension to significant parts of public andoutsourced services such as education andhealthcare. In April 2013 there were almost100,000 zero-hours contracts in use in NHShospitals – an increase of 24% since 2011(Hudson, 2015). The number of peopleworking on zero-hours contracts hasreached a record high of nearly 1 million;the signs are that the trend may havereached a peak (Monaghan, 2017). In theperiod 2014-2016, around 14% of agencyworkers were on zero-hours contracts –almost 5 times the current national average(Judge and Tomlinson, 2016).

Since 2010 of those 2.6 million who havestarted a new job, a third (900,000) havebeen classed as self-employed. Employmentstatus is crucial to all aspects of working lifedetermining rights and obligationsenshrined in law. However, the term self-employed is a broad one. A self-employedperson is not paid through the ‘Pay-As-You-Earn’ tax system and do not haveemployment rights such as holiday and sickpay, minimum wage and employer pensioncontributions (Field and Forsey, 2016).

A shift towards self-employment appears tobe a permanent feature of the UK labourmarket; however, there has also been asubstantial rise in the level ofunderemployment reported by the self-employed (MacInnes, 2016; Flanders, 2012).A recent report suggests that ‘freedom’ and‘flexibility’ of self-employment is reporteddifferently on either side of theemployment relationship and that there hasbeen evidence of enforced self-employmentand accompanying abuse of employmentand taxation practices.

This has been termed the ‘Hermesisation’ ofthe economy after the ‘gig economy’ parceldistribution firm Hermes (Field and Forsey,2016). CIPD (2013) said 47% of ‘gig’

economy participants don’t feel like theyare their own boss. ‘The notion that Uber inLondon is a mosaic of 30,000 smallbusinesses linked by a common platform isto our minds faintly ridiculous’ said thejudges in the Uber employment tribunalwhere the ruling was that Uber drivers arenot self-employed and should be paid the‘national living wage’ (Osborne, 2016). TheCitizens Advice Bureau has suggested thatnearly half a million people could be falselyclassified as self-employed (Osborne, 2016).Often migrant agricultural workers areregistered as self-employed ‘another policy-induced practice through which agenciesand British farmers extract more profit fromlabour’ (Maroukis, 2015:18).

Many enjoy few benefits of self-employment e.g. choosing work hours butbear all of the costs such as NationalInsurance contributions (Field and Forsey,2016). Sources of insecurity are inadequatepay, shortage of basic humanity intreatment of workers, absence of flexibilityand commonly accepted practices oftenassociated with self-employment, confusing

Hermes is one of the UK’s largest parceldelivery firms with a gross profitreported of 68 million in 2014-15 – a risefrom 38 million in 2011-12. Its 10,500couriers work on a self-employed basisdespite working for this one company.Thus Hermes is under no obligation topay pension or National Insurancecontributions and can withdraw work atvery short notice with no right ofappeal. Hermes couriers report poor ITsystems that record work done,confusing and changeable ways in whichmonthly earnings are calculated and agross shortage of basic humanitydemonstrated such as area managersharanguing staff to leave the bedside ofsick and dying relatives and return towork.

(Source: Field and Forsey, 2016)

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pay packets and deductions and the ever-present fear of losing work (Field andForsey, 2016).

The agency industry umbrella organisation –Recruitment and EmploymentConfederation (REC) suggest that employershave learnt from the recession that theneed “to be able to respond to fluctuationsin demand is now recognised as essential tobusiness competitiveness” (Maroukis,2015:13). REC says ‘it is useful for employersto flex their workforce to managefluctuating demand and cover absences’(REC, 2014). However agency work is not atransient form of employment increasingly.Three-quarters of all agency workers areworking full-time which suggests that this isnot work to fit round other commitmentsbut instead the main source of earnings(Judge and Tomlinson, 2016).

Many TAW workers have long tenuresuggesting that this is permanent work andnot a temporary arrangement. Weinterviewed Danielle from the agency ‘NCsolutions’ (name changed) who discussedchanges since the recession: “since therecession companies’ phone up wanting ’15tomorrow’ or ’20 for an evening shift’. Pre2008 temp workers were just there for thespike times. Post 2008 now there’s been alot of trimming and fewer temps. Additionsneeded are not to cover e.g. holidays ofpermanent staff – now permanentcolleagues cover”.

Organisational transformations mean‘business needs’ create additional workplacepressures, the issues are ‘flexibility’ forwhom and on whose terms (Smith, 2016).Rather than experiences of mutualflexibility, agency workers often faceuncertain working hours and cannot live onthe random hours and so random payoffered (Maroukis, 2015).

A recent review was commissioned by theTheresa May government into ‘workingpractices in the modern economy’ led byMatthew Taylor. It painted a rose-tintedpicture of ‘the British way’ (Taylor, 2017:9)to have a ‘goal’ of ‘good work for all’. Thewritten submission by Unite to the reviewwelcomed the recognition by MatthewTaylor that too many workers feel they lackcontrol or a voice in the workplace.Historically exploitative workingarrangements by employers - such as the‘casual dock labour scheme’ where workersturned up to be selected (or not) at thedocks - reflected fragile trade unionism withthe burden of demand fluctuation placedon the worker rather than absorbed by theemployer. In the contemporary workplacewe are often witnessing a ‘race to thebottom’ in terms of pay and conditions –the argument remains: ‘Trade unions andcollective bargaining are an important partof addressing the imbalance of power’(Unite, 2017)

Studies have linked the rise of TemporaryAgency Work (TAW) to cuts in public sectorservices with workers bearing the brunt ofthe crisis – for example in the healthcaresector (IPR, 2015; CIPD, 2013). Traditionallythrough agency workers, employers managepeaks and troughs at work as a short-termsolution but such work has often beenlinked to poor levels of training and less jobsatisfaction (Hudson, 2015). However sincethe recession use of agency workers hasrisen beyond fulfilling short term needs. In2014 the Labour Force Survey showed asizeable portion of agency workers inManufacturing (19.4%); distribution, hoteland restaurants (17.2%); banking, insuranceand finance (22%) and publicadministration, education and health(23.8%) (Hudson, 2015; Judge andTomlinson, 2016).

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Although the majority of workers are in formal employment and agency and zero-hourscontracts are not the norm, nevertheless – along with bogus ‘self employment’ - theyare a growing feature of UK workplace contracts. Precarious forms of contracts and

working practices are a growing trend in the European Labour Market – a concern given thatstandard open-ended contracts are the least susceptible to risks of precariousness.

Table 1: Type of contract and labour market share in the EU (source: EMPL, 2016)

The extent of temporary and zero-hours contract working in the UK

Type of contract Labour market Comments share in the EU

Open-ended full-time contracts 59% Decreasing trend

Part-time work 7% Involuntary part-time work accounts for 25% of part-time work; part-time work of all kinds is an increasing labour market trend

Freelancers 10% Stable trend in the EU but growing in the UK – high risk of bogus self-employment status

Fixed term contracts 2% Stable trend

Temporary agency work 1.5% 1.7% in UK. Sources suggest the number is nearly 1 million in the UK

Zero-hours contracts 5% in UK Highest within EU

Internships Not known 46% of 18-35 year olds in the EU have completed at least one internship

Informal/undeclared work 4% Stable trend

To analyse TAW in the UK, this researchreport used data from the UK AnnualPopulation Surveys (APS) (ONS Social SurveyDivision, 2013). Selected findings show that:

• Of all employees in the UK, 1.29 per cent(or 341,022 workers) were temporaryagency workers in their main jobs.Between 2010 and 2016 an additional

1,581,083 people became employed inthe UK, of them 108,078 were temporaryagency workers, which represented 6.84per cent of the total net employmentgrowth during this period. Forde andSlater (2014) also found that in 2012 therate of TAW in 2012 reached thehistorically highest point since 1992.

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• Agency work is more common among theself-employed. 2.2% of the self-employed (or 107,804 people) havereported that they are paid a salary orwage by an employment agency.

• There are significant regional variationsin the extent of TAW: the proportion oftemporary agency workers was thehighest in East Midlands, North West andLondon but the lowest in Wales andScotland. Not all regions with thehighest levels of temporary work had the

highest levels of TAW. For example,while South East had one of the highestlevels of temporary work in general, thelevel of TAW there was under thenational average. In contrast, EastMidlands had the highest levels of TAWbut the level of temporary work ingeneral was not so high in this regioncompared to other regions in the UK.This suggests that in some regions of theUK some forms of temporary work aremore or less common than others.

Table 2: Types of temporary work in 2016 (source APS March 2016 - April 2017)

Table 3: Regional differences in TAW (source APS March 2016-April 2017)

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• The demand for TAW is driven byemployers’ demands for flexibility, notworkers’ preferences. A half oftemporary agency workers are in atemporary job because they could notfind a permanent job. Only for roughlyevery fifth of temporary agency workers,the temporary job is their choice.

Workers who are working in certain workarrangements by choice have morepositive experiences, higher well-being

and job satisfaction (Kamerāde &Richardson, 2017; Loughlin & Murray,2012) than those who have acceptedcertain working arrangements, e.g.agency work, because they could notsecure a job they preferred. Thereforewe could expect that a considerableproportion of temporary agency workersmight not have positive experiences oftemporary agency work.

TAW driven by employers’ demands canhave negative effects on workers workexperiences, health, well-being andproductivity. Only few temporarilyagency workers actually prefer atemporary job and many are forced inTAW because they cannot findpermanent employment. In the APS, ahalf (51.32 per cent) of temporary agencyworkers said that they were employedtemporarily as they could not find apermanent job. Only for roughly everyfifth (18.31 per cent) of temporaryagency workers a temporary job wastheir choice, that is, they worked in atemporary job because they did not wanta permanent job.

• In most occupations temporary agencyworkers earned less per week thanpermanent workers. The largest negativedifference (-£45) in weekly net pay was inprofessional jobs, followed by process,plant and machine operator jobs (-£37)and skilled trades (-£29) .

• Temporary agency workers are as likely aspermanent workers to work full-time butless likely to have worked overtime.

• Younger people (under 25) areconsiderably more likely to be in TAWthen older people. There were nosignificant gender differences in thoseundertaking temporary agency work.

• One in five agency workers are aged 16-24 and tend to lack formal qualifications(Judge and Tomlinson, 2016). Membersof the Black, African and Caribbeanlabour force are more than 3 times likelyto be an agency worker than the average(Judge and Tomlinson, 2016).

• Migrants, especially those who hadarrived in the UK recently areoverrepresented among temporaryagency workers. Although in 2016migrants constituted only 14% of allemployees, migrants were 40% of alltemporary agency workers. Labourrental agencies in host countries andoften with transnational branches incountries of origin facilitate cross-bordermovements or placements (Maroukis,2015).

• Temporary agency workers had theshortest tenure lengths. On averagetemporary agency workers had been withtheir current employer for only 2.54years, compared to 9.04 years forpermanent workers and 3.73 years forother non-permanent workers.

These net pay averages are adjusted means: the average weekly net income calculated after taking into account the worker’s sex, age,occupation, industry, sector, region and working hours. The adjusted means were estimated using regression analysis.

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We conducted interviews with workers

– mainly from Chesterfield -

employed by an agency or on zero-

hours contracts. Details are in table 5. Names

have been changed to ensure anonymity. Out

of the 31 interviewed, 3 were not working for

an agency but were on zero-hours contracts.

28 were Temporary Agency Workers. Some of

these were also working on zero-hours

contracts. 6 of these said they were looking

for any work and were offered various roles. 7

were offered roles they had been looking for.

15 were offered work outside of their sector. 7

worked for an agency by choice and 21 did not

– similar to the national picture.

Table 4: Migration status and TAW (source APS March 2016-April 2017)

Workers’ experiences of temporaryagency work and zero-hourscontract working

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There are well over 20 profit makingagencies operating in the region with newagencies being set up and mergers andacquisitions evident – for example, Translinewere recently bought out by NMS projects(part of the Russell Taylor Group) afterfacing financial difficulties as a result of theSports Direct publicity. They lost severalclients including Amazon and ASOS (Butler,2017). Most of the agencies declined to be

interviewed, but 4 did participate. Nameshave been changed but we includestatements from Ollie from Blue SkyPlacements, Danielle from NC Solutions,Amy from Star Staffing and Stewart fromBetter Staffing Agency. We also helddiscussions with representatives fromDerbyshire Unemployed Workers Centres(Colin Hampton), Derbyshire Law Centre(Andrew Montgomery), North Derbyshire

Agency workers and zero-hours contracts - the story of hidden exploitation14

Agency or zero-hours Type of work looking for Work found by agency Choice to work for contract workers an agency?

Adnan Warehouse Factory No but expected

Alan Any Factory, bins Yes

Alexandra Education Education Resigned to it

Amelia Full-time admin Reception and data entry Yes

Ben Admin/customer service Sports Direct No

Bob Cleaning or factory Cleaning and factory No

Callum Security Security Yes

Charlie Retail Packaged goods No

Cheryl Admin Call centre No

Damian Any Storage and warehouse No

Danny (zero-hours only) Care work Not applicable Not applicable

Dave Milling turner Milling turner No

Dee Any Various roles Yes

Dennis Any Care work, hotel catering No

Frank (zero-hours only) Education Not applicable Not applicable

Harry Catering Pot washing No

Jackie Admin/office work Cleaner No

Jake Sports or with children Fast food No

Jan Education Admin (education) No

Jez Construction General labouring Yes

Jim Any Factory No

Josh Landscape gardening Packing, injection moulding No but no other way

Kath Customer services Telesales No

Len Machining Machining and labouring No but no other way

Lisa Any Call centre No

Michael Labouring Construction No

Rick HGV HGV Yes

Sam Business management Van driving No

Sarina (zero-hours only) Catering Not applicable Not applicable

Tony Catering Lock keeping, pub work, school Yes

Wayne Warehouse Factory No

Table 5: Interviews with agency and zero-hours contract workers

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Unite Community (Malcolm Ball) and Unitethe Union Regional Official who is based inNottinghamshire (Luke Primarolo).

The semi-structured interviews were shapedby understanding issues that have beenraised through reports, campaigns, unionwork, and anecdotal evidence from contactwith temporary agency workers andworkers on zero-hours contracts throughDerbyshire Law Centre and DUWC. Wewanted to find out whether people wereworking for agencies or on zero-hours as achoice, whether the work offered matched

their skills and what kind of work they werelooking for, issues around pay, terms ofconditions and contracts and how TAW orzero-hours contracts fitted with other areasof their life including the impacts onstandard of living and health and well-being. Lastly we left it open for people toadd anything they wanted to discuss. Togain the agency perspective we alsointerviewed managers of 4 local agencyfirms. In this next section we discuss thethemes that arose from the interviews withsome selected illustrative quotes.

Job Centre Plus, the benefit systemand sanctions

The first contact with agency workoften starts at the Job Centre whereclaimants are encouraged - or coerced

- to sign up with agencies. The ‘ClaimantCommitment’ means claimants have toevidence that they are ‘actively seekingwork’ and usually this includes signing upwith agencies. This can be resisted but ifdirected to, then not doing so breachesagreement conditions and leads to sanctions(JSA Survival Guide, 2017). As Bobexplained:

“I got offered a job with an agency inManchester with no expenses for traveland so on. I said ‘no’ and then wassanctioned for refusing work”.

The sanctioning of JSA and Employmentand Support Allowance (ESA) claimants wasstrengthened by the Welfare Reform Act2012 with one-fifth of JSA claimants beingsanctioned between 2008 and 2012 – usuallybecause they were unable rather thanunwilling to comply with conditions

imposed (Webster, 2014). Colin Hamptonfrom DUWC noted:

“Sanctions and agency workingsignificantly changed the labour marketconditions that the unemployed workerfaced. The jobs on offer at theterminals at the Jobcentre Plus officesbecame predominantly Agency jobs”.

“It is clear that sanctions are not anevidence-based system designed topromote the employment, wellbeingand development of the labour force.This is a chaotic system, based onideology and characterised by cruelty,incompetence, inefficiency, malpracticeand dishonesty, which is doing immensedamage to the least privileged in oursociety, and working against many otherpublic and voluntary programmes aimedat addressing social ills”.

(Webster, 2014)

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Ben explained the process:

“I was told to attend an interview withTransline at the Job Centre” - Ben,Sports Direct.

What compulsion also means is thatagencies and organisations do not have tomake an effort to attract workers with‘appealing’ terms and conditions. There isthus no incentive to consider quality ofoffers or place quality ahead or on par with profit.

Derbyshire Law Centre stressed how peoplewere much worse off when persuaded bythe Job Centre to sign up with agencies:

“Job Centre Plus moves people ontoagency work – they are much worse offwith an agency. People sign up formultiple agencies – some are dreadful –either maliciously or otherwise have noidea of their requirements andobligations. Caring and cleaningagencies especially are bad. Also getpeople (often bogusly) to sign up asself employed – to reduce theirobligations. There are many myths thatgo around – often perpetrated byagencies themselves that zero hoursworkers are not entitled to holiday pay,statutory sick pay etc Agencies arewilful and belligerent about basicemployment rights. Employees canenforce seeing payslips and contractsbut often don’t” - Andrew, Derbyshire Law Centre.

However for some claimants it wasn’t clearfrom the start that work offered was TAW:

“I worked in a call centre for an agency. Iwas told about the job at the Job Centrebut I wasn’t told I would be workingthrough the agency. It was full-time - 10-7.I only got 2 x 15 minutes break. It was a

long and boring day. It isn’t my choice towork for an agency, I would never havegone for the job if I had known”

“You had 2 weeks trial before being madepermanent. I got paid OK for the first 2weeks and then I worked a full day andwas told not to come back. When I said ‘sowhere’s my pay for today’ they said ‘askthe agency’. That was the first I knew that Iwas working for an agency” - Cheryl.

Others were not impressed with Job Centre Plus:

“Get a job through the job centre?You’ve got to be joking – they onlyhassle you and threaten you” - Michael.

“Having a criminal conviction (caused by poverty in the first place)often means an Agency will notinclude you on their lists, which leadsto false declarations, themselves acriminal offence. The probationservice though has been more helpthan the Job Centre or all the agenciesput together” - Bob.

There were mixed impressions fromagencies themselves about Job Centre Plus.For Ollie from Blue Sky Placements:

“Working with the Job Centre has become‘atrocious’ over the past 10 years. It isn’tviable to use them, not many people are

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seriously looking for work but use it inorder to get the welfare package. Theresponse from the Job Centre admin ispoor”.

The testimony from our interviewees beliesthis view. For Danielle from NC solutions,experiences were better in terms ofpromoting agency business:

“With the Job Centre Plus – relationshipshave improved over the past 5 years andnow NC solutions get a free room forrecruitment and Job Centre Plus advertiseour open days”.

The experience of beingan agency workerMany of the temporary agency workers weinterviewed felt they stood out inworkplaces with at times a stigma attached:

“I felt different to permanent employees” - Tony;

“I was treated differently at work because Iwas agency. The best aspect was leaving – Iwouldn’t recommend agency work”- Damian.

This can affect working and social lives andwell-being:

“There is a stigma/different approachwithin companies towards agencyworkers; you're often seen separately,sometimes by other workers, andsometimes treated harshly or unfairlyby managers; this can also impact onhow you feel about mingling socially atwork (i.e. it often seems better not to)- this can lead to contracts being shortones, to your making little progresswithin the company structure, and toan overall feeling of low self-esteemand if you raise such issues, you'relikely to be dropped, or get fewerhours”. - Jan

The work was often insecure:

“You can’t say no and even if you’ve donenothing wrong they can just say – go.Sometimes it’s just random. It’s veryinsecure” - Josh.

“You’re often not told by the companywhen they end your contract and soevery temp job turns to a nightmare” - Jan.

Evidence from Derbyshire Law Centre:

In 2015-16 there were about 1200employment enquiries of which 220were taken on as case work and 15-20%of these were issues related to agency,zero hours and self employment status.Asked if things were getting worse overhis time at DLC – yes worse, far worse -there are lots more problems about self-employment status and zero hours.

Those on zero hours are terrified to takea grievance – fear that they will get nofurther work. Zero hours staff areusually also on welfare benefits and thisfluctuates week by week and cannotbudget therefore face repossessionproceedings or eviction.

Migrant workers are also terrifiedbecause of their immigration status –there is a rigid test and they are notentitled to benefits but can work. Somany are working stupidly long hoursbut are worried about complaining. –you are beholden to the contractor foryour total livelihood. Generally thegovernment’s draconian ways ofworking with claimants etc is blinkered –the impact of all their measures is muchmore than just one job.

Continued

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Wayne also explained about the pitfalls ofrefusing work:

“I got a phone call at 11 o’clock at night as Iwas getting into bed. They offered me asingle night shift (unloading pallets) andcalled it a ‘work placement’. I turned itdown and have had no contact with theagency since. Basically you can’t refuse ajob”.

For many temporary agency workers thiskind of work is a second best job outcome(Judge and Tomlinson, 2016). Michaelagrees:

“It is my 2nd choice to work for an agency!”

Many like Ben and Dave wanted full-timepermanent work:

“No I would rather work directly for acompany. I want a full-time permanentjob” - Ben.

“It isn’t my choice to work for anagency. I got the jobs through websites. I wanted full-time permanentand was well thought of with hintsand vague promises but I was nevertaken on permanently” - Dave.

The agencies themselves admit that most want permanent jobs butcompared to our interviewees conjure up adifferent image of those who choosetemporary work:

“We have a mixture of temporary andpermanent staff. The vast majority wantpermanent jobs but some want days off toplay golf and therefore want hours to suitthem” - Stewart, Better Staffing Agency.

Wayne reiterates the role of the Job Centrein working for an agency:

“I want full-time work. I don’t chooseto work for an agency – it’s what theDWP [Department of Work andPensions] expected me to do”.

Alan and Alexandra though had somepositives to say about agency working:

“I worked for years with agencies doing allsorts. If you’re with a good agency you’relaughing. I like it, if you fancied a changeyou could have one – the only drawback isno pension. As long as you stay away fromzero hour’s stuff, you’re OK” - Alan;

“I wanted a permanent job but haveworked for agencies for 8 years – I now feelresigned and focus on the positives ofagency work - if you don’t need regularwork, I would recommend agency work. Itsuits people who don’t have commitmentslike a mortgage or children – there may notbe a regular income” - Alexandra.

Michael however felt there was one goodthing about agency work:

“The best thing about agency work isthat you can stick 2 fingers up and go –you can walk off – that’s the only goodthing. One place shouted at me ‘If youwalk off I’ll not give you a reference’ – Ijust laughed HA HA I’ve no kids and livealone, I don’t need the work THATbadly. The main complaint is what theycharge – double what you get and theyLIE LIE LIE about what you are going toget” - Michael.

Employment issues give rise to housingissues which give rise to family welfareissues and debt. The welfare benefitssystem is a nightmare – sanctions galore.It makes no overall financial sense to putpeople in this position

(Andrew, Derbyshire Law Centre)

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Case study: Education sector – Andrew, Alexandra and Jan

“The positives: Variety of workplaces meansyou're not sucked into petty workplace politics.Instead, schools are grateful to you, and youget thanked. You get varied experience, anddon't have to 'belong'. If it doesn't work outfor any reason, you can simply quit, and takeon something more suitable. It's very flexible,which works for the schools as well. It's anideal way to get experience if you're young andjust starting-out. The negatives: Noguaranteed regular income so necessary forrent/mortgage and planning your life. Youdon't know when you may be 'phoned-up andrequired to work. You can be rung-up at 7.30am, or not, and if you are you're expected to beat the school 10 minutes ago!. The pressure isusually from the agency rather than the school,who are just grateful someone turns up.Placements are becoming increasinglycompetitive, you may be offered a 'trial' - I havealways been paid for the 'trial', but it wassuggested once that I wouldn't be, it wouldhave meant turning down an opportunity for along-term placement”.

Alexandra, teaching assistant.

“As an agency worker you can’t have anormal life. While in work I couldn’t workenough hours for a decent standard of living.In reality it was difficult to plan time off –negotiating time off could lead to loss ofhours or termination of contract”.

Jan, education admin.

“I received training but not paid (Alexandra,teaching assistant). Yes I’ve had training – butonly ‘as you go’ or ‘on the job’ ofteninadequate for what the job demands”.

Jan, education admin.

“One example – a teaching assistant in aschool - she works different hours each week.EVERY WEEK she has to have her housingbenefit reassessed. There are often mistakesbut it’s hard to check. If housing benefitdecide they’ve overpaid they take themaximum amount of overpayment back (i.e.£10 a week) regardless of what’s owed.Everything is designed to trip up the claimantand make things hard. This leads to multipledebts with people paying whoever shouts andthreatens the loudest – people prioritise thewrong debts e.g. leave rent unpaid”.

Andrew, Derbyshire Law Centre.

For the majority of those we interviewed, agency work was not a choice,or something they would recommend:

“I only work for agencies because I couldn’tfind any other way. I’ve done the CVbuilding course and I send them off – but Idon’t get any reply. I want a secure job andstability. I’ve got a lad now you needstability - if there’s nothing else but it’s notideal” - Josh;

“I’ve had 5 or 6 agency jobs over 3years – I’d rather avoid them and workfull-time. To friends and family I say –NO, don’t work for an agency, only as alast resort” - Bob;

“I wouldn’t recommend agency work,there’s nothing good about it” - Jim;

“The good thing was getting money.The bad thing was ‘being spoke tolike crap’, It was horrible. Theyweren’t organised and there was notraining” - Cheryl.

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Hours and notice of workA feature of the current labour market isunderemployment with involuntary part-time working or workers not getting thehours they want or need to live. This has abig effect on health and well-being(Kamer�de and Richardson, 2017). Many ofthose we interviewed struggled with thehours offered and notice given:

”I would have liked more hours – I hadto pester” - Tony;

“Agency hours are often irregular, whichmeans you're losing pay and JSA -therefore, you can't predict your income; itcan also lead to problems withhigh/emergency tax codes (short-term, butoften leading to inadequate income for oneor two weeks, i.e. the 'working in hand'period)” - Jan;

“The shifts are 12 hours long and vary. Iget a phone call with hours notice” - Jim.

“The agency told me I’d work for 40hours a week, but I only got one shift infour weeks - they’d text me at the lastminute to say if I was wanted or not” - Jackie.

“Most jobs adverts with agencies say minimum 2 weeks andmay result in a full-time job –rubbish. If you’ve done the workyou often get laid off e.g. after 4days. In the last 2 years it’s got a lotworse working for agencies” - Michael.

For many the issue was the unpredictabilityof the work:

“Before [the agency] they might phoneyou in the morning and you’d just havetime to pack a few sandwiches and getthe bus” - Josh;

“I’ve worked for two agencies – terrible experience with inconsistentworking patterns from 6am to 6pm.However I never got enough hours. I don’tmind the work; it’s that you can’t predictthe hours” - Damian.

Zero-hours contractsZero-hours contracts were not popular withour interviewees. It was something imposedand often has ensuing problems overhousing and budgeting. Andrew fromDerbyshire Law Centre explained:

“We often have to go to court and thenexplain to the judge what zero hourscontracts are and the problems theycause in rent paying etc and whypeople struggle to budget. It is verydifficult overall”.

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Workers found issues with the notice given of shifts and the fact that thehours of work were not guaranteed. Thismeant fitting work around othercommitments was difficult. The Fastfoodcocase study illustrates a common theme ofzero-hours contracts being that of controlof the workforce – not just having a flexibleworkforce but also one where shifts weregiven as ‘grace and favour’ and woe betideif your ‘face didn’t fit’.

“ I was on a zero hours contract and onlyfound out when I was working from theagency about 2-3 hours before I was due tostart” - Jackie.

“The agency would give about a weeks’notice of shifts (or the firm would),however sometimes it was the day before(especially workers whose face didn’t fit).It was a 37 hour week and weekly paywhich was great. However I worked at thesame place 3 times and was always finishedbefore Xmas – the firm avoided holiday paythat way” - Dave.

“I get zero hours contracts with theagencies – unless I get pre-arranged long-term work at a particular place. I find outabout shifts at any time – maybe an earlymorning phone call the same day, or I mayget some notice. I don’t have ‘usual’ hours”- Alexandra.

Case Study: Fastfoodco: Jake and Sarina:

“I worked for Fastfoodco on a zero hour’scontract. They employ loads of workers – farmore than they have hours for but they keepcontrol of sickness, holidays, people leaving andso on, this way, but that means not givingpeople enough hours to live on (Jake). When Isaw the job on-line it said full-time - it isn’t.

“Details of shifts get posted every week. Theycan change all the time. Night shift 5-2 am -35-40 hours, but sometimes I just get 1 shift. Ifyou’re 16 you work 4 hours and then a breakbut over 18 and its 5 hours before a break”.

Sarina.

“Notice about shifts was bad – the rota for thenext week was given on a Thursday butsometimes not until Friday and this meant thatyou couldn’t plan anything. I usually got 25-30

hours a week – 20 hours if they weren’t busyand I was paid the minimum wage, this isn’tenough hours – I could only afford the rent andmy phone”.

“The day shift began at 05:30 and the nightshifts ended at 06:00. You were meant to haveat least 11 hours breaks between shifts as aminimum and often I was given only this –hardly enough time to get home and sleep.Even full-time permanent staff could be on only15 hours (if their face didn’t fit). You needed tobe friends with the shift organisers – friendswould get the best shifts. Out of spite somefull-time workers only got 1 or 2 shifts a weekat times. I needed 45-50 hours at Fastfoodcoto live properly on the wage”.

Jake.

“There are lots I could tell you but I’m toofrightened. They’ll find out and then…”

Sarina.

There are around 1 million people in theUK on zero-hours contracts. McDonald’sis one of the largest ‘accommodationand food’ employers and around 22%are on zero-hours contracts. McDonald’semploys around 115,000 workers, 42%are under 21 – young, highly casualisedwith a low level of organisation, bullied,victimised if they speak out and faceirregular work patterns. 30% of workersin this sector are migrant workers fearfulof their status.

Sherry, 2017.

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“I’m a van driver on zero-hours contract –nothing is written down. I would be calledin the night before my shift and sometimesat 6 am in the morning I was needed. Iworked between 20 and 50 hours a week. Igot the same pay as others but noholidays” - Sam.

Dennis and Danny also spoke about a‘punishment regime’:

“There was nothing positive about zerohours – it was used as a weapon against me– my hours were dropped if I wasn’t servileto management” - Danny.

“Many people were dissatisfied with zerohours – you either had too many hours ortoo few. They overloaded the ‘efficient’worker – if you were ‘good’ they wouldn’tleave you alone. However if you refusedhours then your overall hours were cut as apunishment – I realised that that was thesystem. I felt this happened to me(punishment). One older worker – he wasgood and very flexible and they tookadvantage of him. He was asked to domore and more night shifts – he didn’t wantto do so many. Then he was asked to worka morning shift – the day after working allnight. They went on and on and heaccepted once and then they asked againand again. He said NO SORRY – they tookall his hours off him for 3 months” - Dennis, ex-care worker.

For those working on zero-hours contractsvia an agency then access to paid work or tobetter paid work is controlled by theagency. Malcolm from North DerbyshireUnite Community branch discussed the‘hidden’ exploitation involved:

“Their contract and their income is fromthe agency and we discoveredconsiderably more ‘hidden’exploitation. These included bullying,sexual harassment, working when ill,workplace births and miscarriages”

Hours and shifts can be used as a controlmechanism sometimes within a punishmentregime. As Colin from DUWC noted:

“Hours and work were being used todiscipline the workforce and peoplewho were not willing to workunreasonable hours would besubsequently refused hours”

The Law Centre were also aware of various‘punishments’ metered out e.g. if a workerrefused to work longer hours or raisedHealth and Safety issues:

“Punishment is withholding work orreducing hours” - Andrew, DerbyshireLaw Centre.

Like many who are campaigning to stopdraconian working practices, many of ourinterviewees would like to see the end ofzero-hours working, for example:

“Zero hours are wrong, you shouldnever be employed on one because ofthe uncertainty” - Sam.

“I don’t have a good thing to sayabout working on a zero-hourscontract, they should all be banned” - Jackie.

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Contract and pay issuesOne of the striking features of this researchwas that workers often had no writtencontract or this was only available on-lineand was difficult to access. Many did notknow whether they worked for an agency,for an employer or were classed as self-employed. However classification as wehave seen is crucial in terms of pay, rightsand obligations.

“I didn’t get a written contract and it’szero-hours. I didn’t get a contract anddon’t have a wage slip. I don’t know ifI’m paid the same as the permanentemployees and the same holidays? Idon’t know – not without challenging. I don’t have paid holidays” - Jim.

“I’ve been working a couple of months on azero hour’s contract but not got a writtencontract yet. I am sometimes called in for ashift with 24 hours notice. I’m not sureabout payslips, they’re sent by email Ibelieve but I’m not sure and don’t knowabout deductions” - Harry.

It is also difficult to compare terms andconditions with others who work for thesame firm:

“One job – there were about 2 or 3different contracts people were on –some agency, some sub-contractedfrom another firm. The best were thefull-time contracts – more pay and 20weeks sick pay” - Rick.

A significant part of the Law Centre workinvolves helping people to distinguish whattheir employment status is:

“One sales worker was deemed self-employed even though she wore acompany uniform and was trained to use acompany script – this points to being acompany employee – not self employed. If

there is a high degree of control over yourwork – then this suggest you are anemployee. The sales woman was beingsexually harassed at work. However as aself employed person she cannot claimharassment under the Equalities Act 2010.So firstly she had to prove she was anemployee and had been made to sign acontract as self employed. This happens alot. Preliminary hearings at tribunals etcoften are to establish that people areemployed not self employed” - Andrew,Derbyshire Law Centre.

One agency agreed that self-employmentwas bad news for many workers:

“Self-employment – the scheme is oftenmorally wrong, these schemes are to avoidtax - the effect is that workers need extramoney to pay for things like sickness” - Stewart, Better Staffing Agency.

Sometimes workers signed contractsreluctantly – it was that or no job andsanctions:

“The company was a trainingpartnership provider and it was a 1 yearcontract. The payslip ‘took the mick’ –at first I refused to sign the contractbecause it was so vague but I was givenan ultimatum – no sign = no job” - Kath.

“On the bank holidays the agencies didn’t pay you – another way of robbing you. Allthe terms and conditions and rightsyou had to find out about yourself –I wasn’t told upfront – so I had tofind out about bank holidays andput in for a holiday then – to getpaid. Otherwise I wouldn’t be toldand would lose out” - Dave.

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People sign all sorts of things when they first start work without checking.Andrew from Derbyshire Law Centre hasseen a lot of issues amongst care workers onzero-hours contracts and also those onflexible shift work:

“It’s often difficult to distinguish whatthe contract says or what theentitlement is to minimum hours. On-line contracts and payslips are a bigproblem for many workers – they can’taccess it. Often there’s no contract oraccess to one and it’s really difficult toidentify the relationship between theemployee and contractor”

“Often the pay slips are on-line onlyand so you can’t necessarily checkeasily what the deductions etc are. Theyoung ‘uns don’t know aboutcomplaining about charges etc Agenciessometimes pay for breaks butsometimes not. If you get on with thetimesheet boss then you are paid forbreaks – others are twats, or if yourface doesn’t fit its deductions for a 20min break here, 20 mins there” -Michael.

Kath had a struggle to establish her status:

“They kept on trying to put me on anapprenticeship wage, saying I was anapprentice. I said NO, I am employedfull-time and am doing the work justlike anyone else. After a year they saidquit or go on as an apprentice. I quit.It was so crap” - Kath.

Pay slips can also be confusing and with unexplained deductions made and lots of inconsistencies betweendifferent agencies:

“My payslip was on-line and veryconfusing. I didn’t understand thedeductions for National Insurance andtax” - Cheryl.

“There’s massive inconsistency – with some agencies I got holiday forms,with others no. I got nowhere near thesame pay and conditions as permanentstaff – usually about £1.50 difference,sometimes £4” - Bob.

“The payslip was clear except they took45 minutes off for breaks – whether Ihad them or not” - Rick.

“In the 1st company I was paid a standardtravel time regardless of distance and socould make some extra money. The 2ndcompany didn’t pay for travel. I foundmyself in a bad situation – my bike wasstolen and I had to go by bus. I didn’t evenearn enough to pay for my public transportand had to get a loan from the company. Iwas expecting a payout for my stolen bikeand had to delay paying rent. So thecouncil took me to court and I had to pay£250 court costs. I decided ENOUGH – I leftmy home and the job” - Dennis, ex-care worker.

Healthcare agencies and care serviceproviders reduce labour costs and exactcontrol over migrant healthcare workersby offering accommodation with feesdeducted directly from salaries andensuring staff are available 24/7 for theagency. It is also common practice tomake deductions like National Insuranceeven when they are informally employedand deduct emergency tax until this isexposed and complaints ensue.

Maroukis, 2015

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However, the worst case scenario’s involvedworkers who were not paid at all:

“I’ve worked for agencies and not gotpaid. Some try and charge you just tobe paid. Agencies are either those thatpay in-house wages – these are usuallyminimum wage. Some pay out ofhouse wages – so via a third party. Thelatter often advertise e.g. £10 an hourand sound great but then try and sneakin service charges and admin fees andyou end up near or less than theminimum. Often they’re sneaky andput the charges between the NI and taxlines and so it looks like some sort ofofficial government charge” - Michael,labourer.

Adnan’s story is similar to Wayne’sexperiences:

“I have worked for a number of agenciesalways short term basis and on zero-hourscontract. At one agency I was called in forwork along with others. We had one 15minute break. I got no payment, they saidit was only induction. I have been paid forinduction in the past. I know they took onone person because someone I know wasthe one person who got offered work. Idon’t think is it right to make you workwithout payment” - Adnan.

Amy from Star staffing said these workplacements and induction were anextension to the interview process with awork trial enabling the employer to findreliable workers with a good work ethic,the right attitude and those prepared toundertake training. She also bizarrelyproposed that with an unpaid work trial:‘this is to benefit the candidate more thanthe company’.

Jim sums up:

“I’m not respected and I’mundervalued”

Case study: Rectico and Starstaffing - Wayne’s story

“A couple of weeks ago they (Star staffing)rang me and offered me a work placementwhich could lead to a job. It was withRectico. It is a small company maybe 60employees. I went along, there were about15 other people from the dole. We weretold we needed to wear boots. We weretold the shifts were 10 am until 6pm.

On the first day I turned up but then sat inthe canteen for an hour then got sent away.I got told to go away and come back thenext day. They said come along and seehow you get on and we will be taking onworkers. They called it induction. On thesecond day I was put to work operating amachine. I worked for four hours andexpected to be paid. It was straightforwardwork but even so I was given no trainingand no health and safety information.There was one guy who was helpful. Therewas no paperwork I didn’t sign anything orreceive anything. After the four hour shiftwe were sent home

The next day I got a phone call to say I wasnot wanted again and that there would beno payment as it was only induction.Everyone who was there in the groupexpected to be paid, I asked the otherpeople they said yes we will be paid. Thecompany said they only wanted people withexperience and so weren’t going to offerme work. I feel that’s unfair they shouldhave said so in the beginning because theyknew I had no experience. I went with avery positive attitude. Now I feel let down”.Wayne

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TrainingWhen starting a new job one basic hope isto receive training for that job especiallywith an induction and Health and Safetytraining. It is also hoped that workers cangain experience and achieve progression atwork. Some reported receiving training,for example Callum who was hoping to be acertified events security worker:

“The Job Centre set me up with thetraining - Health and Safety,procedures, evacuation, techniques touse when people are coming at you” -Callam.

Sam also was given paid training:

“I got training about goods handling –it was paid”

However for many training was either notforthcoming, was limited or involved studyat their own expense:

“I’ve had no training” - Jim.

“I received no training – just a couple ofhours sat with someone” - Cheryl.

“Yes I got training at the pub – it wasn’tpaid” - Tony.

“There’s not very much training givenon a zero hour’s contract job” - Jackie.

“No [training] but I have my ownforklift certificates” - Josh.

“I had to complete unpaid trainingbefore I started work as a zero-hour’scontract care worker” - Danny.

Dennis received training from the caresector agency but found the training‘grotesque’:

“The training – it was in an office nextto the company. Some of it wasappalling. Older people were describedin terms to scare you e.g. if you go tothe shop for them and you injureyourself you will be sacked. In a firesituation don’t help the person out – itsnot safe. If the person broke their legwhilst you were helping them awayfrom the fire, they might sue you. Ifyou are working with someone whodoes more than the contract says thenyou must report them even if they’reyour friend. It was a grotesque form oftraining – all to protect backs andmaximise profit” - Dennis, ex-careworker.

Training is also about progression and Harry soon realised that this wasunlikely:

“I’m paid above the minimum wagewhich is good but I can’t progress frompot washing in the kitchen – there’s noother shifts” - Harry.

Life, health and well-beingA rise in the use of zero-hours contractscould be contributing to poor mental healthof especially young people a report fromUCL Institute of Education suggested.Researchers found that those employed onzero-hours contracts were 50% more likelyto report poor mental health than those inmore secure employment.

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Those with a precarious relationship to thelabour market are more at risk of poormental and physical health. They foundthat the worry of having no work orirregular work triggers physical symptoms ofstress – including chest pain, headaches andmuscle tension (UCL study, 2017; IOE, 2017).Other research has noted the negativeimpact of underemployment – a feature ofagency and zero-hours contracts - on healthand well-being. In particular health andwell-being suffer if there is a mismatch withthe hours you need for living securely andproviding for dependents and what you are

able to work (Kamerāde and Richardson,2017). This mismatch can also involveworking too many hours:

“I’m working too many hours, there’snot enough left over for myself. I can’tplan my time off and the work doesn’tfit in with my family life” (Jim)

“Family life was disrupted – with shiftsand sleep-ins then I was sometimesaway from home 3 days at a time” -Danny.

However for others the issue was too few hours:

“I couldn’t get a reasonable standard ofliving – I didn’t get enough hours. It wasgood I had weekends off and plan activitieswith the kids but then in the week I could

get very short notice of long shifts whichaffected family life” - Sam.

The unpredictability of the hours and thework caused a number of problems whentrying to fit it in with family and other life:

“I can’t plan my time off and miss seeingmy children and grandchildren” - Lisa.

“Was OK when I was single – now wouldbe a problem. It’s good that you can jumpinto it and you get a quick response.Having kids though – it’s bad; you needstability” - Josh.

“Good things were that it was a local job – Ican’t afford a car and cycle everywhere(although each time I got this job I’d buy acar but then would have to give it up whenthe work dried up) – I could never planstuff, never settle in” - Dave.

The inability to plan and settle in describedby Dave can lead to anxiety and stress:

“I want full-time hours. It makes meanxious not having the security of full-time hours” - Harry.

“I didn’t know whether I was coming orgoing [with the agency], I had mentalhealth problems and it affected me thatway” - Jackie.

Whilst at work it is important that workers are safe. For agency workers this can be an issue:

“It is very clear that Agency staff arenot treated as well by companies aspermanent staff in terms of Health andSafety; this can lead to doingdangerous tasks (in my case involvingchemicals and plastics) in order to avoida sanction” - Bob.

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Raising Health and Safety issues can bediscouraged:

“One thing that gets me is Health andSafety – it’s the LAW that employersshould provide e.g. hard hats, boots,high vis jackets etc. I have NEVER seenan advert that says this is provided.Usually say ‘Must have your own PPE’(personal protection equipment) – thisis against the law. I’ve argued beforeabout Health and Safety – in one placeused needles were just put in a milkbottle and chucked in the skip. Peoplewere throwing stuff out of windowsetc I complained to the agency andguess what - I was laid off and didn’thear a peep about any work for 3months – coincidence or what!?! Then itwas a busy time, so I started gettingcalls again” - Michael.

From the agencies perspective we were toldabout the hassle of regulatory demands:

“There is a health and safety industryout there that is lobbying for increasedcertification. More and more firmswant certificates checked and CRBchecks provided by the agency or tempworker” - Ollie, Blue Sky placements.

The Agency Worker Regulationswere ‘the bane of our lives’ butthings have settled down” -Stewart, Better Staffing Agency.

Case study: Care sector - Dennis

“Dennis is an ex-agency zero hours contractcare worker. He has a severely disabled sonand life was a big struggle to get what his sonwas entitled to. So he decided to givesomething back and qualified as a psychiatricnurse. Dennis became the main carer for hisson but then his son started to have anindependent living arrangement so it wastime for Dennis to go back to work.

The Job Centre saw his background andsuggested work through care agencies. Thereis a context to Dennis’s story –the Councilwere facing millions of pounds of cuts. Inparticular one-third of the adult social carebudget was cut and yet the level of care needwas increasing.

The most drastic cuts were amongst adultcare especially the elderly. It appeared toDennis that care agencies were replacing thedirect involvement of council contracted carework. Contracts were given to 53 privateagencies who were all competing forindividual care package work. It was obvioushow money was being saved. Dennis said: ‘Itwas a horrific experience, almost surreal. As aworker my experiences pushed me out ofcare work. It was a case of self-preservation, Ihad to pull out. The price of care is too high.I worked for 2 agencies – you can only callthem unscrupulous.

A few things alarmed me. The rotas weregiven out. Older people purchase their careby time e.g. a bath is allocated ¾ hour. Youpay for that time not for a bath. I travelledfrom client to client by motorbike. My rotasaid a bath call from 09:00-09:45, then travelto the next client (15 mins). Next client 09:30???!!!

What they had decided using informationfrom ‘expert’ workers is that a bath didn’tneed ¾ hour – however the older person stillpaid for ¾ hour time – the company wascutting time and stealing time and money.Things started to get tighter, there were morebids, more contracts, the company wanted

continued

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Studies about agency working suggestpeople going into work when sick andinfringing Health and Safety regulations(Maroukis, 2015):

“if we were late or sick, a mark wouldgo on our record. We were told that ifwe were sick, it would go on ourrecord” - Ben.

“I’m never treated sympathetically byagencies when I’m sick” - Len.

“I had an accident on my bike going towork – it injured me and broke my bike.My contract was terminated for notproducing a doctor’s note when ill” -Damian.

Sick pay could be an issue:

“Supposedly there was sick pay but ifyou were sick they would phone youup – ‘if you don’t come back you’refired’ It was a piss take, a shockingcompany” - Kath.

“5 weeks ago I found out I had cancerand have had my kidney removed. I’mgoing back for various hospitalappointments to decide on the nextcourse of action – chemo or whatever.The doc signed me off straight away for3 months and said – come back if youneed more. I went to the agency andasked about sick pay. The guy waspretty good and said, yes he thought I’dget sick pay but would have to checkwith Head Office. I went back when mypay didn’t appear on Friday. He said yesI’m pretty certain you’re entitled and willget it on Friday and backdated. I didn’tget it. The guy said it was Head Officedelaying. He said he got it sorted and soI should have it backdated THIS Friday. Iknow I’ll have to go back to the lawcentre if it’s not there. I should haveclaimed Job Seekers Allowance at theJob Centre. I’ve not had my money forweeks now” - Rick.

Andrew (Derbyshire Law Centre)emphasised how agency and zero hours arestrongly linked to lots of other issues, inparticular housing. He spoke about theincrease in people making enquiries becauseagency work and zero-hours contracts oftenmeans very low pay and precarious pay andso leads to a wait for supporting benefitsand therefore to threats of losing yourhome. For others survival meant living with parents:

“I am really desperate to get work. It ishard at my age because my family say Ishould be working and they can’t affordto support me anymore. I am worried Iwill become homeless” - Adnan.

more work from the same staff.

The manager called us to a meeting – hestarted shouting – there’s lots of work, youmust work harder, you must remember thatyou’re all dispensable. They had anagreement with the Job Centre to get asupply of workers and so he was telling us itwould be easy to replace us. The turnoverwas incredible – people were coming andgoing. You got young new people promotedto senior and then were put under so muchpressure – but then they’d leave because theycouldn’t cope. It was a delinquentarrangement.

So I moved to another company – this onewas committed and said that not less than anhour per client would be spent. However,ultimately the same things started to happen.The council pressurised the company to takeon more work because of the bankruptcy toone of the other care firms. They weredesperate and in the end the companystarted to do ½ hour slots rather than thehourly ones and never went back to theirprevious standards. I now work in a hotel(zero hours) and have a Saturday job in acafé”. Dennis, ex-care worker.

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“I still live with my parents so living isreasonable – not if I had my own placeto live though” - Harry.

Many TAW workers struggled withmaintaining a decent standard of living:

“My standard of living was not good. Ifound it difficult to make ends meet” - Ben.

Survival strategy can involve accessing foodbanks when working.

“I don’t have a good standard of livingworking for agencies. I have to usefood banks, charities and the support offriends and family” - Bob.

A study about use of food banks uncovered anumber of crisis drivers: ‘drivers include noincome through being sick, facing benefitsanctions and working precariously such ason zero-hours contracts with not enoughwork offered to make ends meet’ (Beatty etal, 2017). Colin from DUWC agrees:

“Workers taking zero hours work toavoid the threat of sanctions could betrapped in abject poverty when hoursworked were cut and leaving the jobmay result in a sanction”.

“As a care worker I was always in debt. I was caring forothers but ended up in poverty” - Dennis, ex-care worker.

Other research discussed ways to safeguardagainst recurrent poverty: ‘securing a jobwith decent benefits and prospects providedprotection against ‘recurrent poverty’ ratherthan moving from unemployment to the‘periphery’ of the labour market where jobsare often temporary and unstable’(Tomlinson and Walker, 2010).

Collective struggle

It is possible to develop union organisationand the impact can be dramatic. A strikeby New Zealand fast food workers led to

the outlawing of zero-hours contracts –employers are no longer allowed to ‘requireworkers to be available for work while notguaranteeing it’. Unite believes the UKshould follow the lead of legislators in NewZealand and bring forward a package ofmeasures to regulate precarious andinsecure work.

In the summer of 2016 there was anunofficial strike by Deliveroo food deliverersfollowed by workers from UberEats walkingout and storming Uber HQ. These included

many migrant workers. In April 2016, 40fast food workers dressed as ‘evil RonaldMcDonalds’ were part of an internationalday of action and demonstrated in Glasgow.They held a ‘precarious work picnic’ with‘unhappy meals’. Many new unionmembers were recruited by the Bakers,Food and Allied Workers Union withdemands for £10 an hour, guaranteedcontracts and respect at work. (Sherry, 2017:74).

‘Let’s learn from New Zealand’

Len McClusky, Unite GeneralSecretary

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As a result of the Sports Direct campaigning,McDonalds have been trialling fixed hourscontracts and later this year contractoptions of a guaranteed 4, 15 or 30 hours aweek will be offered to all their workers(Blagg, 2017). An unofficial walk out by a(mainly) migrant workforce at Bart’sHospital Trust happened after cleanersfound out that the new company owner(Serco) were stopping paid breaks andimplementing a 10 year 1% pay deal. Aftertwo walk outs and canteen meetings breakswere reinstated. Unite are to ballot on pay(Sherry, 2017). ‘We’re cleaners, not dirt’ saidworkers on their 5th day of the biggestcleaners’ strike in British history (Whitehead,2017). The Unite workers – employed byagencies and on zero-hours contracts – aredemanding a 30 pence an hour increase.

Unite in its evidence to the Business,Innovation and Skills Committee stated that‘we are committed to workers having theright to join a trade union of their choiceand for their terms and working conditionsto be the subject of free discussions withtheir employers. We recognise thatemployment agencies present a seriouschallenge to that free workplace industrialrelations. We are also persuaded that zerohours contracts work in favour of theemployer. They are usually employed as anact of compulsion on the unemployed as aconduit into work or benefits. The balanceof force rests with the employer/agency andthe worker has little or no choice. This isunlikely to change without a change ofemployment law and of Government’(Unite, 2016). The drive for unionisation hasbeen at the heart of collective action:

“Campaigning needs to be multi-dimensional. There are many pressurepoints in the system of employmentlegislation and we need to use them all.There are many opportunities with localtrade union and communityorganisations to engage incampaigning. They need to be takenand we need to learn from each other”.

Malcolm, North Derbyshire Unite Community branch.

There is much to be done. In their evidenceto the House of Commons Unite the Unionrecommended an extension of the remit ofthe Gangmasters Licencing Authority tostrengthen the regulatory framework. Itfurther referred to the regulation andrestrictions covering the use of agencyworkers across the EU. There wererecommendations covering zero hours andshort hour’s contracts and the value ofadequate and appropriate trade unionrepresentation (Unite, 2016). The ‘Britishway’ of the Taylor report (2017)recommended a baseline of protection,routes to progression and rights andentitlements for self-employed people.However the tenet of the report remainedin the dream world of ‘genuine two wayflexibility [that] can provide opportunitiesfor those who may not be able to work inmore conventional ways’ and stressed ‘notnational regulation’ but ‘strong corporategovernance’ (Taylor, 2017:9). The TAW andzero-hours contract workers we interviewedwill not be holding their breath inanticipation of positive change from this report.

Other reports have made similar demandsbut with more ambitious ways to ensureachievement including legislation and tradeunion involvement. The TUC ‘Great JobsAgenda’ suggests there should be: a voice atwork; learning and progression; regularhours; fair treatment and respect; healthyworkplaces (TUC, 2017). From the health

“If you fight you may lose, ifyou don’t fight you will lose.”

Bob Crow (RMT)

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and zero-hours contracts study it is clearthat there must be recognition of theimportant relationship between health andwork. Better quality jobs must be offeredwhich enhance rather than damage mentalhealth and well-being (UCL study, 2017).Zero-hours contracts, short term contractsand mutations of self-employment arewholly exploitative work practices and thereare calls for clear coding for ‘gig’ economyworkers of ‘self-employed’, ‘workers’ or‘employees’ (Field and Forsey, 2016; Judgeand Tomlinson, 2016).

Unite (2017) in its submission to the TaylorReview stressed that no worker should bestripped of their rights because they do notwork in a traditional workplace. Uniteresearch has shown that workplaceorganisation improves job quality which canlead to higher productivity (Hoque et al,2017). In addition having a trade unionvoice often leads to reporting of a positiveexperience in terms of being treated fairlyand workers feeling in control of theirworking environment. Trade unions andcollective bargaining can also help reduceinequality (Unite, 2017).

With this in mind, reflecting on theevidence provided in this research report weendorse the following recommendedactions from Unite and others:

Recommended Actions• A collective voice and trade union

representation. Employers should berequired to agree collective andindependent consultationarrangements when requested by arecognised trade union or by 5workers in non-unionised workplaces.Trade unions should have a right toaccess workplaces. All workers shouldhave the right to be represented byunions in the workplace.

• Ban zero-hours contracts and enduncertainty around the number ofhours working.

• The use of agency workers should belimited to the occasions that they arenecessary and for short periods.

• There should be compulsorycollective bargaining for agenciesand for companies recruiting fromabroad.

• End bogus self-employment. Changethe law to give people a default rightto qualify for all employment rightsunless an employer can demonstratethey are genuinely self-employed(O’Grady, cited in Allen, 2017) -extend existing rights to all those inwork, not only those who qualify for‘employee’ status.

• There should be from day-onewritten statements setting out payand conditions, including expectedhours of work, for all workers.

• No-one should have to sign up for atemporary employment agency inorder to claim benefits.

• End age discrimination in theNational Minimum Wage with onerate from aged 18 years and @ £10 asa minimum per hour.

• Abolish sanctions for non compliancewith ‘Claimant Commitments’

• Work should be safe and secure,including guaranteed hours. Workersshould be able to expect stable hoursor permanent contracts.

• Training, development and careeropportunities should be provided.

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This story must end with Sports Directand what has been achieved so farthrough campaigning and collective

action. The campaign included developinglocal, national and international coalitionsand lobbying of MP’s that resulted in HMRCinvestigations, a summons of CEO billionaireMike Ashley to address a parliamentaryselect committee and Sports Direct agreeingto a review into working practices andcorporate governance.

Evidence has been submitted by Unite tothis review and their campaigning has alsoled to a wage increase and minimum wagefailsafe policy, changes in post shiftsearching policy (monitored and randomsearches meaning for the vast majorityexiting the warehouse now takes 5minutes), grievance and disciplinary policiesas per the permanent and direct employees,the ‘six strikes’ policy is gone and there is anestablished Unite branch with officersdrawn from a variety of nationalities foundamongst the workforce including from theUK, Poland and Slovakia.

In this report we have highlighted thegrowth in insecure work, particularly poorexperiences of working for agencies and onzero-hours contracts. Employment practicesare questionable and at times draconiancreating unhealthy work arrangements and

a climate of punishment and fear. Contractsare confusing with bogus self-employmentstatus utilised along with other means tocircumvent employer and agencyobligations. Permanent and self-employedagency workers have tended to be missingfrom accounts of TAW (Judge andTomlinson, 2016). This flexibility benefitsemployers and profit rather than claimantsand workers. Frances O’Grady from the TUCsuggests that ‘Insecure work is costing thepublic coffers about £4 billion a year in losttax and higher benefits’ (Allen, 2017).

We started with the story of Sports Direct -it is a story that has not ended. The‘independent review’ promised, involved itbeing carried out by company solicitors whohave not engaged with the Unite branch.Also at the 2016 shareholders meeting itwas agreed that guaranteed hours contractsshould be offered as an option rather thanthe common practice of offering zero-hourscontracts – largely used in the Sports Directretail arm (stores). Research is being carriedout with a strong suspicion that workers donot know of the option to take upguaranteed hours. If this is the case thenthis will be raised again at the next AGM inSeptember 2017.

The struggle and the story continue.

Conclusion

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The law and temporaryagency work

Recruitment agencies cannot charge afee for finding work but can chargefor certain services such as CV writing

and training – although they must give fullwritten details of these charges and cannotmake using these services a condition offinding work. The agency must give writtenterms of employment which can’t bechanged without giving notice (gov.uk,2016). However apart from the licensing ofagencies by the 1973 Employment AgenciesAct and the 2003 Employment Agencies andEmployment Businesses regulations therehas been few requirements placed onagencies which have often fallen outside ofthe scope of much employment legislation(Forde and Slater, 2014).

In 2002 the European Commission set out adirective on agency working built on theprinciple of non-discrimination. However itwas opposed by the UK government on thebasis that it threatened the ‘balancebetween flexibility and protection’ (Fordeand Slater, 2014:12). In October 2011 theEuropean Union Agency WorkersRegulations came into force offering newentitlements to agency workers.

On day one agency workers should be givenaccess to workplace facilities such as thecanteen, car parking or transport services orchildcare amenities. After 12 weeksworking for the same employer (continuousemployment with a client firm) then there isa commitment to provide equal treatmentto staff on open ended contracts. Thismeans equal pay, paid annual leave, equalrest breaks, automatic pension enrolmentand paid time off for attending ante-natalappointments (Forde and Slater, 2014; BIS,2011). However in Britain theseentitlements do not include access to

training (Forde and Slater, 2014). The 12week period starts at zero again if workersget a new job in a different workplace, havea break of more than 6 weeks or stay at thesame workplace in a new role that is‘substantively different’ for example hasdifferent pay and uses different skills(gov.uk, 2016).

However the Trades Union Congress (TUC)has noted agencies and employersattempting to circumvent these regulationsby invoking the so-called SwedishDerogation – Payment BetweenAssignments (SD-PBA) clause. Under SD-PBAagencies employ workers directly so theyare employees of the agency not TAWers.The agency has to guarantee pay for at least4 weeks during the time that they can’t findwork for the employee (Churchard, 2013).Workers though forfeit equal pay andconditions offered by the AWR and so areoften vastly out of pocket. Under SD-PBApay between assignments must be at leasthalf received when at the last workassignment and cannot be below theminimum wage (Forde and Slater, 2014).However few agency workers have thechoice of AWR or SD-PBA contractsexplained to them and there is littleknowledge of these contracts and rightsamongst workers. Workers are not alwaystold that having an SD-PBA contract meansgiving up entitlement to equal pay (Fordeand Slater, 2014). Employees on SD-PBAcontracts have to be available for work andthere is evidence that agencies are offeringwork assignments many miles away fromworkers homes (Forde and Slater, 2014). In2013 it was found that SD-PBA contractswere used extensively in UK call centres,food production and logistics firms and useof these contracts had increased by 15%since to recession. As many as 1 in 6 agencyworkers are on SD-PBA contracts(Churchard, 2013). Staff often fall underthe radar of AWR (Maroukis, 2015).

Appendices

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To analyse temporary agency work inthe UK this research report used datafrom the UK Annual Population

Surveys (APS) (ONS. Social Survey Division,2017). The APS combines data from twowaves of the main Labour Force Survey withdata from local sample boosts in England,Wales and Scotland. Data are collectedthrough face-to-face and telephoneinterviews with a multi-stage stratifiedrandom sample of approximately 150,000households and around 320,000 individuals(ONS, 2012). This report employs the APSdata from 2010 to 2016. The cross-sectionalanalyses of the prevalence and workingconditions of TAW were based on APSMarch 2016/April 2017 data. Thelongitudinal analysis of the trends in TAWwas based on annual March/April APS datasets for the period from 2010 to 2016.

In 2016/2017, the APS data consisted of anationally representative sample of 108,099employed adults (aged 16+) in the UK, 51.53% of them were female. The average ageof the respondents was 42.17 (SD 13.35).The average response rate for the APS isapproximately 55 % (ONS, 2011, p.21).Therefore, to reflect the size andcomposition of the general population ofadults in the UK by correcting for systematicnon-response and sample design, allanalyses presented in this paper wereweighted the person weight available in the dataset.

Data source

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