Agency workers are being 'exploited', says think-tank

Agency workers are the "forgotten face" of the UK's workforce and their "exploitation… remains unaddressed", says a leading think-tank.

Resolution Foundation, which campaigns on issues around low pay, says the use of agency staff is on the rise, surging 30 per cent to 865,000 since 2011 and set to reach one million by the end of the decade.

Women accounted for 85 per cent of the increase in the last five years and workers are more likely to be part of an ethnic minority or born outside the UK.

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The use of agency staff is most common in the health and social work sectors, followed by manufacturing. Despite popular stereotypes, "half of all agency workers… work on a permanent basis and three-quarters work full-time".

Resolution Foundation estimates workers are "paid on average £430 less than an employee in the same role", says the BBC.

However, it says, the issue is about more than pay. Agency staff "are not entitled to sick pay or parental leave pay, have no notice period and little recourse in the event of dismissal", says The Guardian.

Under law, most agency workers are defined as "workers", meaning they are entitled to the minimum wage and holiday pay, as well as sick pay and maternity pay.

After 12 weeks in one role, they must get the same pay and leave rights as an equivalent worker who is directly employed at the same organisation.

However, they are only entitled to sick pay after three months of continuous employment with one organisation and are not entitled to full maternity leave, which guarantees at least an equivalent job on the mother's return.

Nor are they entitled to unfair dismissal protection, redundancy pay or a minimum-notice period.TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "Agency workers don’t deserve to be treated like second-class citizens but they are often paid less than their permanent colleagues, even when they do exactly the same job.

"We need the government to toughen the law to create a level playing field for agency workers. Too many employers are getting away with treating them unfairly."