Temporary staffing legislation varies by market and the industry is generally well-regulated. Restrictions which do apply usually fall into one of four areas: length of assignment, reason for the assignment, levels of pay and benefits, or sector prohibition. In certain markets, in addition to national and/or local legislation, the recruitment industry also seeks to actively negotiate collective labour agreements with social partners in order to operate more efficiently. General changes to employment legislation may also have an impact on the competitiveness and the costs of the staffing industry.

The UK, US and Australian recruitment markets are the most liberal in the world. Northern continental Europe has long-established recruitment markets but here, regulators seek to balance the need for flexibility with an obligation to ensure that the rights and benefits of temporary workers are on a par with those of permanent workers. In Southern and Central European markets, recruitment is a relatively new industry sector and legislation is still maturing, as is also the case with Japan.

There is a correlation between liberalisation and the size of the professional/executive recruitment sector in each market; in principle, the more relaxed the legislative environment, the larger the size of the professional/executive recruitment market. With social acceptance comes liberalisation and subsequently further social acceptance for alternative work arrangements, a more positive image and a greater likelihood that more highly educated personnel will seek temporary or contract employment opportunities.

From time-to-time, some legal developments have had an adverse impact on our industry. However, the overriding worldwide trend is for further relaxation of legal restrictions.

The increased mobility of workers positively impacts the staffing industry and allows agencies, workers and employers alike to benefit from cross border synergies. The United States Senate approved a bill in May under the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act that establishes a guest worker program for temporary workers and removes the limits on visas from foreign nurses entering the United States as guest workers. In September, Poland announced it was easing restrictions on Eastern European and Asian workers in order to fill gaps in the labour market due to the mass migration of Polish workers to Western Europe. France, Spain, Portugal and Finland also announced that they will be gradually easing restrictions on entry for workers from Central and Eastern Europe. Between now and 2011, further transitory measures will be implemented across the EU toward an eventual full lifting of restrictions for all EU countries.

The UK passed legislation in October banning all forms of age discrimination. Under the UK Employment Equality (Age) Regulations, employers are prohibited from using age discrimination or bias of any kind in all practices and procedures, from the hiring process to workplace interactions. In addition to the UK, many countries worldwide also have legislation in place to fight age discrimination. Vedior strongly supports equal opportunities for workers and is committed to upholding this important legislation through our Code of Conduct.

In November 2006, the European Parliament approved a final draft of the EU Services Directive. The exclusion of temporary work from the scope of the directive is disappointing in that it weakens perceptions of the value of staffing services, although from a practical perspective it has no direct impact on Vedior’s expansion in the EU given our established presence in the majority of member states.