The Regulations make temporary changes to the Agency Workers Regulations 2020 (SI 2010/93) to implement aspects of the Posted Workers Amendment Directive ((EU) 2018/957). These changes enhance the employment rights and protections that apply to a posted worker when they are sent temporarily to perform work in another EEA state.
In the explanatory note to the Regulations, the UK government states that the UK is already compliant with the Amendment Directive except in respect of an express obligation on a hirer to inform an agency of the posting of an agency worker. Therefore, the Regulations modify the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/93) to provide that:
- A hirer that posts an agency worker for a limited period to an EEA country where the agency worker does not normally work will have to notify the temporary work agency of both the EEA country of the posting and the date on which the posting will commence a reasonable time before the posting is due to commence.
- A temporary work agency may bring a claim in the employment tribunal against the hirer to recover any losses that the temporary work agency may suffer as a result of a penalty imposed by an EEA country for failure to comply with the provisions of the Amendment Directive or Posted Workers Directive. The temporary work agency, however, will not be able to bring such a claim if it is pursuing such losses through other civil proceedings.
Given the limited extent and duration of the changes, the explanatory note to the Regulations states that the impact of the Amendment Regulations will be ‘negligible’.
However, the Regulations will automatically expire at the end of the Brexit transition period (currently 31 December 2020).
