Agency Workers Directive would be delayed say Tories

Shadow minister for corporate governance and business regulation Jonathan Djanogly has told the conservative conference this week that the implementation of the Agency Workers’ Directive (AWD) will be delayed until December 2011, should the Conservatives
win the next general election. He said the directive would cost British businesses £40billion over the next decade and consequently the Conservatives would campaign against early implementation.

Kevin Green, the REC's Chief Executive commented on the announcement saying that: "The REC has been calling on the Government to delay implementing this Directive until the last possible moment in 2011. We are pleased to see the Conservative Party recognises that the cost of getting the implementation of this Directive wrong, could be huge. It is vital that the labour market recovers before the regulations are implemented. This will also give recruiters and their clients the time to plan how best to ensure that equal treatment after 12 weeks works in practice. This is a complex issue and by waiting until December 2011 we can ensure that we minimise the adverse affect this legislation may have on jobs."