After a few hectic years, the global regulatory landscape appears to be stabilizing for the staffing industry as 2023 ends, according to the Staffing Executive Regulatory Outlook report by the World Employment Confederation, the global body representing the staffing industry. Half of the staffing executives surveyed by the WEC believe the situation will remain neutral as they look ahead to 2024.

Globally, the overall regulatory outlook is positive in five countries. However, the impact of regulation changes is expected to be overall negative in seven countries.

Other findings from the report include:

• Of the countries surveyed, 82% require some form of government registration or licensing, while 85% require periodic reporting from employment agencies, especially on the number of agency workers assigned. In addition, 56% of the countries surveyed require an objective justification for the deployment of temporary staffing firm workers, such as a temporary replacement or a temporary increase of activities.
• Nearly three-fourths of countries studied, 74%, have legally recognized the temp staffing work contract. Other countries allow agency work, but no specific employment relationship for it has been recognized in law.
• In 76% of countries, there exists some form of social dialogue between the agency work sector and trade unions. Nearly half of surveyed countries, especially but not exclusively in Europe, 46%, engage in sectoral collective bargaining.