Being kept on

[kirkleyrunner]

So someone could be made a permanent employee of Angard, be paid a token amount between assignments, and not be entitled to equal pay?

[fishtank]

So someone could be made a permanent employee of Angard, be paid a token amount between assignments, and not be entitled to equal pay?

Yes.
How much they pay you between assignments is difficult to stick a number to because you have a zero hour contract.
It's supposed to be 50% of the pay you recieved on your last assignment but is that an average?

BIS advice. http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/em ... s-guidance" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Those who are likely to be outside the scope of the Regulations include;
• individuals who find work through a temporary work agency but are in
business on their own account (where they have a business to business
relationship with the hirer who is a client or customer)
• individuals working on Managed Service Contracts where the worker
does not work under the direction and supervision of the host
organisation
• individuals working for in-house temporary staffing banks where a
company employs its temporary workers directly (and they only work for
that same business or service)
• individuals who find direct employment with an employer through an
“employment agency”
• individuals on secondment or loan from one organisation to another –
this is usually where the main activity of the organisation seconding the
individual is not the supply of individuals to work temporarily under the
supervision and direction of another party

That kind of sums up your position.

[kirkleyrunner]

So although RM deny that Angard was created in order to bypass AWR, it does the job perfectly for them. It will be interesting to see what happens.

[Britvic55]

Simples! Zero hour contract, 'we are not under any obligation to provide you with work, just as you are not under any obligation to accept any work'. Obviously no work=no pay, Simples! I have a similar contract with the Council. But with Angard/Royal Mail, it could be the last minute phone call, 'can you come in, in 5 mins time', the give you a few hours work. So at min wage & the price of fuel, is it worth it? Bit of a no brainer, that one.

[jaym]

" Agency workers who have a contract of employment with an agency and who are paid between assignments ...How does agencies paying someone between assignments work? Because unless they are prepared to pay someone a living wage between assignments (which I can't see them being prepared to do?) Then this could turn into a total dissaster for the worker involved? As if they went from working fulltime down to being payed for 16 hours min wage retainer they would be stuck because they couldn't live on the wages alone.Yet couldn't get any tax credits or help with rent etc as they are being payed for 16 hours? What's more they couldn't jack in their agency retainer to apply for jSA because the jobcentre would then class them as volunterily jacking in their job so they wouldn't recieve a penny in benefits....This sounds like a Catch 22 situation?

[nomad11]

I guess they know that you have no choice but to continue. I want to work, but even if I didn't I couldn't leave as I would have made myself "voluntarily unemployed" and not entitled to benefit. That's why I said the only way out would be to find another job and move straight into it.
If RM actually want to keep good quality, reliable staff, they need to give an incentive to stay - ie a chance of a proper contract!
It's give and take, they can't expect people to just slave away on minimum wage forever.

As far as the Job center know you were only doing it as christmas cover only and the fact you can not be sure on getting paid they should understand surely

[kirkleyrunner]

Today I was asked to continue to work through Angard until March, when there might be a permanent RM contract available, depending on the "changes" (P&L etc). That would take me over the 12 weeks, so it will be interesting to see what happens.

[mail_watcher]

I was told that they did rolling contracts where you can be paid at the RM rate, but still contracted to Angard every 12 weeks. Well...