The Temporary Agency Work Directive''
2008/104/EC
is an

EU Directive A directive is a legal act of the European Union that requires Member state of the European Union, member states to achieve particular goals without dictating how the member states achieve those goals. A directive's goals have to be made the go ...

agreed in November 2008 which seeks to guarantee those working through employment agencies equal pay and conditions with employees in the same business who do the same work. It is the third piece of legislation in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

's employment law package to protect atypical working (the others being for part-time workers and fixed-term workers). Though it was proposed in 2002, the British, German, Danish and Irish governments blocked its enactment until 2008.

Provisions

The Directive on temporary agency work includes two main principles, which are at the same time at the centre of a balanced approach to regulation on temporary agency work: Article 4 sets clear limits to prohibitions and restrictions that may be imposed on the use of temporary agency work. These are only justified on grounds related to the protection of temporary agency workers, to ensure that the labour market functions properly and that abuses are prevented. EU Member States are obliged to review prohibitions and restrictions on temporary agency work until and to report to the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

. Article 5 establishes the principle of equal treatment for temporary agency workers. The basic employment and working conditions shall be – for the duration of the assignment at the user company – equal to those of a worker employed directly by that company to occupy the same position. Article 5 allows for derogations from this principle for open-ended contracts providing pay between assignments (Article 5, paragraph 2), to uphold collective labour agreements (Article 5, paragraph 3) or based on agreements of social partners (Article 5, paragraph 4).

Purpose

As with several other EU directives in the area of employment and social policy, the political purpose of this directive is to set common minimum standards for temporary agency work in the EU. The political goals this serves is to prevent "unfair competition" between different member states. Common minimum standards are preferred by politicians to prevent a "

race to the bottom Race to the bottom is a Socioeconomics, socio-economic concept describing a scenario in which individuals or companies compete in a manner that incrementally reduces the utility of a product or service in response to perverse incentives. This pheno ...

" where every country tries to deregulate to attract business, and, theoretically, all end up "losing". The political goals are to ensure a higher

standard of living Standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available to an individual, community or society. A contributing factor to an individual's quality of life, standard of living is generally concerned with objective metrics outsid ...

and

quality of life Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...

, consistent with the aims of the

Treaty on European Union The Treaty on the European Union (2007) is one of the primary Treaties of the European Union, alongside the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The TEU forms the basis of EU law, by setting out general principles of the EU's ...

.see, Art.3 TEU and ''Defrenne v. Sabena (No.2)'' where the

European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ), officially the Court of Justice (), is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Union, it is tasked with interpreting ...

holds that Europe is not just an economic union, but intended also for social development. Critics contend that the policies increase labour market inefficiencies and ultimately raise unemployment levels and reduce business output, leading to lowered living standards for those not already securely seated in permanent positions in the labour market.

Notes

References

;Articles *N Countouris, 'The Temporary Agency Work Directive: Another Broken Promise?' 00938(3) ILJ 329 *E McGaughey, 'Should Agency Workers be Treated Differently?' (2010) {{SSRN, 1610272 ;Newspaper stories
Guardian
(21 May 2008)
EU Observer
(17 December 2008)

External links

Full text of the proposed Directive
(COD 2002/0149) with introductory text laying out its aims.
Full .pdf text of the implemented Directive
(2008/104/EC)
Agency Workers Regulations 2010
implementing the Directive in

UK labour law United Kingdom labour law regulates the relations between workers, employers and trade unions. People at work in the UK have a minimum set of employment rights, from Acts of Parliament, Regulations, common law and equity (legal concept), equity. ...

European Commission website on the Directive on temporary agency workNational transposition laws in the Member StatesEU Sectoral Social Dialogue on temporary agency work, including the joint declaration (2008) on the DirectiveEuropean Confederation of Private Employment AgenciesUni-EuropaThe invisible hand of the EU Temporary and Agency Workers Directive
– An essay from a worker's rights perspective European Union labour law European Union directives 2008 in law 2008 in the European Union European Union employment directives 2008 in labor relations Temporary employment

Provisions

Purpose

See also

Notes

References

External links