Agency and hirer messed up, employees are to pay the price. Is it right/legal?

wonski

I will try to make it as brief as possible.
Started job in 2008, employed by Kildare-based agency and signed 11month fixed-term contract with them, working for a large distribution centre. Was offered very good pay rate, as warehouse operative - starting at around 9E/hr, rising to around 13E/hr after initial 6 months probation period.
All went well at that time, we were paid exactly the same figure as permanent staff employed directly by hirer. Remember at the interview stage they were clearly suggesting, that after the contract runs-out, if there are no issues, we normally sign-up for next 11 months, and that happened, no issues at all, and the pay level was rising up in line with permanent staff.
The original pay rate was clearly described in our contracts, and there was no mention of it being night/evening/afternoon shift, but we were in fact starting later than most, and worked unsocial hours, so it seemed clear to me, and anyone else involved, that it's a premium for unsocial/evening hours.
All agency staff was offered next 11 months fixed term contracts until around last year, when they realized (this is my understanding) that most of us are already eligible for redundancy payments (regardless of being fixed-term employees), so they organized a meeting to inform everyone, that any further contracts are not guaranteed, and anyone on their 1st contract won't be hired for next 11 months, and - actually won't be hired anywhere in the future per their policy.

So far, nothing wrong there - apart from thew fact that they hired other guys to replace staff that they didn't want to be tied to for longer that they wanted, well humanity and investing in people is not on top of their list...
Anyway - here we are 4 years later, i was told to sign final 4 months fixed term contract with agency, and after that will be offered 20hours/week permanent position with the hirer. To avail of this, i will also sign 2E/hr pay cut for any hours worked up to 8'oclock, because after 4 years they decided that any hours before that should be paid at basic rate of 12.35/hr. They said it is unfair to other employees to be paid more?
At the same time they bring more and more staff from agency, but these lads are getting only 12E/hour after 8pm, and 10 before that.
To make it worse they let them start work early, to make up some hours, so they work let's say 50 hours a week for less money, doing exactly the samer job, while we are being penalized for being there for long time. To make it even worse some of the most experienced staff, that signed their contracts with company before they started all this crap, were told that they won't be likely to start their shifts early, as it is not economical for them to pay them extra for early start (and they cannot just change their contracts....).

At the meeting we were told that all this comes from the new eu directive, and agency is putting pressure on them to make sure the rates of pay are legal over the place.

So how the new EU directive works in favour of all this new agency people (again on 11 months contracts), when they are paid between 2-4 euro less for doing the same job?

How is this legal to offer me, after working 35-40 hours in average over last 4 years, part time contract with pay-cut, while the company brings more and more people everyday?

I will have to give up 4 years continuos employment with agency, to sign-up directly with hirer, losing any redundancy privileges (not that i want to use it, but i can't be sure what the company is up to at the moment.
Before anyone asks, the company itself is doing OK, no closures or bancrupcy on the way as far as i know.

If anyone have any information about the EU directive, and where to find proper information about how it actually affects us, i would be grateful.
Any input appreciated, thanks in advance.

Faolchu

are you a contract worker? do you have to submit your own tax returns etc thus making you self employed? I know you operate under an agency but are they in fact an umbrella company, you pay them/they deduct a small amount to keep your tax affairs in order for you? coz if that's the case then I'm pretty sure you have no rights to redundancy payments.

also as your on a fixed term contract once that specific contract has expired they can offer you anything they want for the next contract as its a new contract thus new terms can be applied. i would think it legal to do that, just like if its a new contract you're able to negotiate better terms, either party is able to decline the terms and there is no longer any relationship

also remember you were employed by the agency now you will be hired by the company directly so again this is a new contract of employment they can put in any terms they like

LegacyUser

Hi,

the transposition of EU directive has been signed on the 16th of May by the president.

this is the text:

http://www.oireachtas.ie/viewdoc.asp...11/b80c11d.pdf

Consider that is retroactive from 5th of December.

I have a permanent contract with a agency too, all the agency workers with some year of experience were asked to sign a permanent contract with a new company between agency and hirer. I am not sure if the new bill is related to permanent that signed a contract before the 5th of december 2011..there is a part of the law that is related to us:


(1) standing approved under
section 8, an agency worker shall, for the
duration of his or her assignment with a hirer, be entitled to the same basic working and employment conditions as the basic working and
employment conditions to which he or she would be entitled if he or
she were employed by the hirer under a contract of employment to
do work that is the same as, or similar to, the work that he or she is
required to do during that assignment.

(2) Subsection (1) shall not, in so far only as it relates to pay, apply
to an agency worker employed by an employment agency under a
permanent contract of employment, provided that—


8
(
a) before the agency worker enters into that contract of
employment, the employment agency notifies the agency
worker in writing that, if the agency worker enters into
that contract of employment, subsection (1), in so far as
it relates to pay, shall not apply to the agency worker, and
(b) in respect of the period between assignments and subject
to—


(i) Part 3 of the Act of 2000, and
(ii) any other enactment or any collective agreement that
makes provision in relation to terms and conditions
of employment relating to pay,
the agency worker is paid by the employment agency an
amount equal to not less than half of the pay to which he
or she was entitled in respect of his or her most recent
assignment.

in my idea people with 11 months contracts should be paid same money of the hirer's permanent worker (depend on the comparator).. but it could be unfair to pay permanent agency worker less than temporary..I don't know..

wonski

Thanks, and no - i am not contractor, employed by agency and paying tax as a paye. But you are right about the contracts - i sign the new one and agree to new conditions. Could be worse, so happy to keep the job anyway, and at the end i will loose only about 20/week, depends on hours.

I still would like to see if anyone had an experience of the new eu directive.
It won't apply to me, but hope the new guys can get paid what they should be paid. Thanks.