BOND INTERNATIONAL SOFTWARE PARTICIPATES IN LIVELY AGENCY WORKERS REGULATIONS (AWR) DEBATE WITH MPs

BOND INTERNATIONAL SOFTWARE PARTICIPATES IN LIVELY AGENCY WORKERS REGULATIONS (AWR) DEBATE WITH MPs AT APSCO RECEPTION

- Bond International Software and APSCo bring legislators and recruiters together to discuss the implications of the AWR at House of Commons Reception -

Bond International Software, the recruitment and HCM specialist, sponsored and took part in a lively AWR reception at the House of Commons on 13th September 2011. The reception was hosted by the UK’s leading professional recruitment industry body APSCo, and was also attended by Peter Stephens, Director of Labour Marketing, Strategy and Operations from the Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) and Jim Dowd MP. BIS has been responsible for implementing the AWR, which came into effect on the 1st October 2011, and thus Peter Stephen’s input was gladly welcomed by all attendees.

Following on from a successful client event that Bond recently held on the subject of AWR compliance, Bond International Software sponsored the reception. As an affiliate member of APSCo, and the only software provider to sponsor the event, Bond International Software demonstrated its commitment to helping its clients become and remain AWR compliant.

The APSCo House of Commons Reception is an annual, high profile event that attracts senior recruitment sector executives to listen to relevant parliamentary guest speakers. This year, with the introduction of the AWR just around the corner, the 180 recruitment sector executive attendees took the opportunity to quiz Peter Stephens and Jim Dowd MP about the implications that the regulations may have on their recruitment businesses.

Attendees were also invited to participate in a review of a further 200 pieces of employment law, which BIS will be working on over the next few months.

One point of contention raised was why BIS had not decided to introduce a blanket exemption for personal service company contractors, or temporary workers earning more than certain level of pay, and as such could not be considered ‘vulnerable.’ Stephens and Dowd however, alleviated concerns by stressing that whilst a rumoured last minute review of the regulations was unlikely, the Government will be assessing how the AWR is working in practice and make any changes it deems necessary in a few months’ time.

Tim Richards, Managing Director of Bond International Software, comments, “Recruitment consultants across the UK have been hugely concerned about the implications that the AWR may have on day-to-day tasks, and this isn’t without warrant. The temporary recruitment landscape will be unrecognisable thanks to the introduction of the AWR, and recruiters are therefore desperate for clear guidance as to how to avoid the penalties associated with breaching the regulations. Events such as the APSCo House of Commons Receptions are invaluable to the recruitment industry, as front line practitioners and legislators can be brought together to discuss the implications of the regulations in fine detail. Bond shares APSCo’s commitment to educating the industry about how to respond to the regulations, and has provided software solutions that enable recruiters to become and remain compliant.”