Daniel Barnett appears in leading agency workers’ case
Daniel Barnett acted for the Claimant in Angard & Royal Mail v Kocur, a decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal handed down in December 2020.
Mr Kocur was an agency worker, supplied to the Royal Mail by its wholly owned subsidiary employment agency Angard Staffing Solutions. He brought a number of claims, which have previously been ruled upon by the EAT and Court of Appeal. This latest appeal rolls up multiple legal issues on the rights of agency workers under the Agency Worker Regulations 2010.
In a 72 page judgment spanning eight legal issues on the rights of agency workers, the EAT held (amongst other things):
- the rights of agency workers to be informed about permanent vacancies does not extend to giving them the right to apply for those jobs. So it is lawful for Royal Mail to refuse to consider applications for internal vacancies from agency workers, as long as they inform the agency workers about the vacancies that they then can’t apply for.
- the requirement for parity of pay between direct hires and agency workers includes the timing of pay, not just the amount of pay, so an agency worker is entitled to the same contractual terms on timing of pay as an ordinary worker.
- the Agency Worker Regulations do not require equality between direct hires and agency workers when it comes to the content of working time. So it is lawful for direct hires to be given training, while agency workers continue to work on the job, as long as they are paid the same for the hours they work
- there is no requirement to give the same level of detail on an agency worker’s payslip as appears on a direct hire’s payslip.
This claim was partially successful. You can read the transcript here.
Find Out More
Daniel Barnett is a leading employment law barrister practising from Outer Temple Chambers in London. With 25 years’ experience defending public and private sector employers against employment claims, he has represented a Royal Family, several international airlines, FTSE-100 companies and various NHS Trusts and local authorities.
To find out more about Daniel books, contact Nick Levett (+44 (0)20 7427 4908) or or Adam Macdonald (+44 (0)20 7427 4906).
News 15 Dec, 2020
