The UK’s Recruitment and Employment Confederation cited “outdated assumptions” about temporary workers in the Resolution Foundation’s new Low Pay Britain 2024 report, which examines the new UK government’s proposed employment reforms.

One concern cited in the report was that strengthening employment protection — such as making it more difficult to dismiss regular workers — would lead to greater use of temporary contracts. It noted that some countries with stronger employment protections place limits on the use of such contracts.

“This may be something to consider if stronger employment protection does push more workers onto temporary contracts in the UK,” the report stated.

The REC’s response came from a statement by Deputy Chief Executive Kate Shoesmith:

“The workforce has changed dramatically since Labour was last in power, and it would make sense for the government to conduct a long-overdue workplace employment relations study to provide the evidence-base for a robust workforce strategy and to stretch planned new regulation of the labour supply chain to cover relatively new actors, such as umbrella companies and joint employment models.

“Without these, we risk outdated assumptions, such as in today’s think-tank report determining the future working lives of the 1 million temps who are placed into work in the UK every day. The reality is that flexible temporary work is giving people confidence to return to work or the skills they need to get into work and then progress, helping businesses manage workloads efficiently, and for entrepreneurs get their startups running. This is why our Voice of the Worker campaign launched this week is so vital because it provides policymakers with further insight into the lives of temporary workers and the often life-changing possibilities that working in this way can offer.

“This is why a continuation of the new government partnership approach with business and industry is vital to achieve a balance between individual people’s increasing desire for flexibility and employers’ increasing demands for a versatile workforce.”

The REC also reported results from a survey it commissioned of 530 temporary agency workers that took place in Britain between 7 June and 11 June. Among the findings:

• 53% believe that this is the right kind of role for their current stage in life.
• 81% say that their work provides a much-needed income.
• 79% say their work provides an important need for flexibility.
• 68% say that their work provides a greater work-life balance.
• 28% say that their roles work better for their family lives.
• 28% say that without temp work they would likely struggle to find any work.
• 34% would rather be in a temp agency job than a permanent contract.
• 15% say that if they were not in temp work, they would not be in paid work at all.