A new law is now in place that will enable businesses impacted by industrial action to plug staffing gaps with agency workers.
Thanks to a change in the law coming into force today, businesses can now provide skilled agency workers to fill vital staffing gaps caused by industrial strike action.
With industrial action across a range of sectors threatening to disrupt crucial public services, the government has worked at speed to repeal trade union laws that restrict employment businesses from providing temporary agency workers to fill vacant positions caused by staff striking.
From today, businesses most affected by industrial action will be able to call upon skilled, temporary staff at short notice to plug essential positions. This will help to mitigate the disproportionate impact strike action can have both on the UK economy and society by allowing crucial services, that we all use on a daily basis, to continue functioning.
Today’s change in the law will apply across all sectors, for example, in education where strike action can force parents to stay at home with their children rather than go to work.
Reforms will help ensure crucial public services and people’s daily lives remain uninterrupted by staff strikes
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said:
“In light of militant trade union action threatening to bring vital public services to a standstill, we have moved at speed to repeal these burdensome,1970s – style restrictions.
“From today, businesses exposed to disruption caused by strike action will be able to tap into skilled, temporary workers to provide the services that allow honest, hardworking people to get on with their lives. That’s good news for our society and for our economy.”
While this law change will provide greater flexibility to businesses, companies will still be required to abide by broader health and safety rules that keep employees and the public safe. In addition, it will be the responsibility of individual businesses to hire temporary workers with the correct and suitable skillset and/or qualifications to meet the obligations of the role.