EU Commission: Commission welcomes UK deal on agency work

Vladimír Špidla, the EU commissioner for employment, social affairs and equal opportunities, has welcomed a May 2008 agreement between the UK government, trade unions and employers on equal treatment for temporary agency workers, hoping that this will clear the way for the adoption of an EU Directive on the issue.

On 20 May 2008, the UK government, the TUC and the CBI signed a joint declaration on “fairer treatment” for temporary agency workers - an unusual step in the UK context, where such national agreements are rare.