APSCo launches manifesto ‘for 2015 and beyond’

Nick Elvin

The Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) has published its new manifesto calling for action in a number of areas of future policy to reflect the diverse structure of the recruitment sector.

APSCo hopes to see government policy that will “support and protect the vulnerable while also encouraging growth and removing undue burden on the professional sector”.

The manifesto, entitled Accessing Professional Talent in a Global Market, focuses on a number of key areas including: 

• Focused government-industry engagement: APSCo is calling for a junior minister with a specific remit over flexible employment and engagement within the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills.

• A new regulatory framework that will draw a clear distinction between highly paid, highly skilled professionals and lower paid, lower skilled and sometimes vulnerable individuals.

• The creation of a European policy that defends the UK’s flexible recruitment market.

• The recognition of the value of professional talent to the British economy: APSCo is urging policy makers to ensure that while legislation protects vulnerable workers, it does not stifle the professional recruitment sector.

• The recognition of the differences between the professional recruitment sector and the staffing industry as a whole: APSCo points out that agency workers are not all the same, and the majority of professional contractors opt out of the UK’s Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations because they are not relevant.

• More action on late payment regulation, specifically dealing with issues such as pay when paid clauses which restricts access to affordable finance.

APSCo’s chief executive, Ann Swain said: “As campaigning gets under way in the run up to the UK’s 2015 general election it is time to influence political policy, which will ensure future growth and prosperity for the UK. Our country’s global competitiveness, the key to this brighter future, is inexorably linked to the continued development, and flexibility of its labour market.”