AGENCY WORKERS REFUSED TO APPLY FOR HGV DRIVING JOBS

[Robbo57]

Can anybody advise if Royal Mail are committing any offence under the 2010 Agency Worker Regulations by refusing to allow Manpower agency workers the right to apply for several HGV Class 1 driving jobs that have recently been advertised on the jobs board at the location where we work. Many of those agency workers have been hired by Royal Mail for many years at this location in the Midlands and have therefore completed the 12 week qualifying period to be fully covered by the Agency Worker Regulations a very long time ago. Yet they have been told that the jobs are only available for Royal Mail staff to apply. This does appear to be contrary to the statutory rights afforded to agency staff under AWR which states the following;



Rights of agency workers in relation to access to employment

13.—(1) An agency worker has during an assignment the right to be informed by the hirer of any relevant vacant posts with the hirer, to give that agency worker the same opportunity as a comparable worker to find permanent employment with the hirer.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1) an individual is a comparable worker in relation to an agency worker if at the time when the breach of paragraph (1) is alleged to take place—

(a)both that individual and the agency worker are—
(i)working for and under the supervision and direction of the hirer, and
(ii)engaged in the same or broadly similar work having regard, where relevant, to whether they have a similar level of qualification and skills;
(b)that individual works or is based at the same establishment as the agency worker; and
(c)that individual is an employee of the hirer or, where there is no employee satisfying the requirements of sub-paragraphs (a) and (b), is a worker of the hirer and satisfies those requirements.
(3) For the purposes of paragraph (1), an individual is not a comparable worker if that individual’s employment with the hirer has ceased.

(4) For the purposes of paragraph (1) the hirer may inform the agency worker by a general announcement in a suitable place in the hirer’s establishment.

[aposter]

I would guess that the positions won't be classed as new vacancies but as duties, so they will be allocated on seniority of applicants from within RM

[markadam1962]

I would guess that the positions won't be classed as new vacancies but as duties, so they will be allocated on seniority of applicants from within RM

Seniority in 2013!!! Hahahahaha So if the same logic was to be applied to football Owen and Becks would still be playing for England. Thatcher would still be PM.

[Robbo57]

The problem is that everybody is forgetting the 2011 Agency Worker Regulations which does now provide agency workers with many rights and conditions which they were previously not entitled to. In turn, such a blanket ban by Royal Mail on agency workers even being allowed to apply for these jobs (which they have in fact already been doing for many years) would appear to be completely Unlawful under these new regulations. It goes without saying that if the company do now realise their error on this point of law and lift the ban on who can apply, the end result will in all probability still be the same.

if this is nothing more than local management not being aware of the current AWR legislation, then I have to say that Royal Mail are still at fault as they should have now briefed all management of their responsibilities to all staff (Agency and directly employed) of the right to apply for vacancies within the company relevant to their particular job and skill level.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

I would guess that the positions won't be classed as new vacancies but as duties, so they will be allocated on seniority of applicants from within RM

Seniority in 2013!!! Hahahahaha So if the same logic was to be applied to football Owen and Becks would still be playing for England. Thatcher would still be PM.

Your own logic fails because those jobs were filled on skills where even in Royal Mail that trumps seniority to some degree. As with skills, seniority has its place in selection of duties but only when the tasks themselves are much of a muchness. Seniority should not apply if there is a skill function in the task which is not generic.