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Workers win AWR case

07.02.13

An employment tribunal in Watford has ruled that over 150 Barnet Council workers will receive compensation amounting to hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The council were unable to provide the number of agency workers that they employed. This breached a relatively unknown Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) ruling, introduced in October 2011. Unison requested the details during an investigation into recent staff transfers and redundancies.

The judge described Barnet Council's inability to provide the information required as "a relatively serious failure", Protective awards of 60 days and compensation of up to 50 days pay for the workers was the final outcome of the case.

"Today's landmark decision is an important step forward in protecting workers when they are under threat of redundancy or transfer. It must act as a warning to other councils that they must provide information on agency workers to unions or suffer the consequences," said Dave Prentis, the General Secretary of UNISON.

"Across the country, councils are cutting and outsourcing services. Workers need to be protected from having their rights ridden over roughshod. Today's decision is recognition of the difficulties that unions face when employers withhold information that could and should be given."

Contractors with Consort do not fall into AWR as our services are provided under a business to business contract. When AWR was introduced, it brought with it an increase in administration for recruitment companies. Our existing approach to the provision of services, along with our standard contract (or those negotiated) help ensure that our clients remain outside of the scope of another bureaucratic and costly barrier to business.

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