Regulation 13 of the AWR means that agency workers have the right to be notified by their hirer of any relevant vacant job posts, to provide them with the same opportunity as a comparable worker of securing permanent employment with their hirer. The EAT held that this does not mean that agency workers have the right to be able to apply for and be considered for internal vacancies on the same terms as those employees who are directly recruited employees. Instead, the EAT maintained that it is a right to be notified of the vacancies on the same basis as directly recruited employees, along with the right to be provided with the same information about the vacancies as the directly recruited employees. Regulation five grants agency workers with the same basic working and employment conditions as they would have been entitled to if they had been directly recruited by the hirer. The EAT held that this regulation had not been breached in respect of: • Agency workers’ shifts lasting longer than direct employees, as agency workers are not entitled to work the same contractual hours as comparable directly recruited staff • Failure to provide agency workers with training that mirrors that provided to employees during working time • Affording direct employees first refusal of overtime • The timing of rest breaks
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Tesco temporarily prohibited from ‘firing and rehiring’ 18 February 2021
Usdaw (one of Britain’s largest trade unions with over 400,000 members nationwide) has confirmed that it has won an interdict in the Court of Session in Edinburgh against Tesco. Tesco has since been temporarily prohibited from terminating employee contracts and subsequently rehiring employees on lower pay rates at its Livingston site.
The union states that the ‘fire and rehire’ process would have resulted in impacted staff losing out on anything between £4,000 and £19,000 per annum.
Tesco is said to be ‘surprised’ at the court’s ruling and is investigating ways in which it can legally challenge the result. Usdaw’s National Officer, Joanne McGuinness, commented:
“We are very pleased to have secured this victory for our members who faced a huge cut in wages after Tesco moved to renege on a longstanding collective agreement made in good faith. It is a major victory in the fight against ‘fire and rehire’ tactics, which are now being used by too many businesses. The court delivered a temporary prohibition and we are now calling on the company to honour the judgment and withdraw its plans at all sites. We stand ready to seek a permanent interdict for Livingston and a High Court injunction for the other sites to defend this unfair pay cut for hundreds of key workers.
Tesco can stop this now, by doing the right thing and withdrawing their threat to these longstanding staff, who have worked throughout the pandemic to keep stores stocked with the essential items we all rely on.”
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Supreme Court ruling: Uber drivers must be classed as workers, and not self-employed individuals 22 February 2021
In a landmark ruling, Uber has been told that it must classify its drivers as workers, and not as self-employed individuals. This has huge implications for the company and its drivers, and could potentially impact the wider gig economy.
The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals
Payroll: need to know
cipp.org.uk
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