Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to encourage employers to keep on staff initially hired on a temporary basis.

Investing in a permanent workforce can have business benefits, however it is for employers and individuals to decide whether this is appropriate in any given situation. The Government has taken some steps to encourage more individuals to discuss different working patterns with their employer where it suits them. As of 30 June last year, all employees with 26 weeks’ continuous service can make a statutory request to change their working pattern, for instance to request permanent hours. This is in addition to the Agency Worker Regulations 2010 which ensure all agency workers are entitled to information about relevant job vacancies within the hirer that would be available to a comparable employee or worker from day one of an assignment.