The business pressure group believes that owners of smaller firms will be less inclined to employ temporary workers as a result of the Agency Workers Directive creating more red tape and costs.

Experts at a leading freelance site have calculated that labour costs for UK business will rise from 10-20 per cent if the legislation is passed in its current form.

A survey conducted by the CBI in 2007 of over 500 firms, which between them employ some 1.1 million staff, shows that 58% of employers said that such a law would lead to a ‘significant’ cut in the use of temporary workers.

Rather than focusing on catching rogue employers, the Bill sets up a series of complex legalistic hoops for user companies to jump through, which will only lead to them cutting demand for agency staff. Only 14% of those roles would be replaced with new, permanent staff, with a majority of firms relying on increased overtime, according to the most recent REC/BMG 360 tracking survey of the views of temps, agencies and employers. (CBI, Feb 2008)

The CBI’s Deputy Director General, John Cridland said “Union attempts to lump all temporary workers under the category of ‘vulnerable’ simply do not wash. Temps have a wide range of employment rights covering working time, paid holiday, national minimum wage, health and safety and discrimination, and many are well paid.

Tom Hadley, REC Director of External Relations said “it is more than important than ever that the industry comes together to take our message to MP’s”. The Bill is set to be discussed at the House of Commons on February 22nd.