The primary principle of the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 is to protect the rights of temporary agency works and make sure they receive equal treatment in relation to their permanent employee peers.

The Agency Workers Regulations 2010 actually implements the EU’s temporary agency worker directive 2008.  Under Article 6 of the directive, agency workers must be informed of any kind of internal vacancies at their job in order for them to receive the same opportunities as their full time counterparts.

Coles v Ministry of Defence (MoD), examined Article 6 and whether it gives temps an additional right to apply for internal vacancies on an equal footing with permanent workers.

The MoD employed a mixture of permanent and temporary workers in Wales.  Coles was a temporary agency worker who acted as a technical liaison officer.  When the MoD advised of internal vacancies, all workers could see the openings, but permanent employees in the redeployment pool were given priority.

At this point, Coles argued that this kind of prioritisation denied him the opportunity to apply for any job that he had held temporarily.  He further claimed that this was in fact a breach of Article 6 because he wasn’t given the same opportunity to find a permanent position as other permanent employees.

The employment tribunal disagreed with Cole and ruled against him but he appealed.  The EAT also agreed with the tribunal and dismissed Cole’s appeal.  It was found that although temporary agency workers do have multiple different rights relating to equal treatment, Article 6 only refers to providing information about vacancies.  What this Article does not do is prevent any kind of preferential treatment between permanent and temporary employees.

Human resource experts refer to this case as a useful clarification of the meaning of Article 6 and a great win for employers who abide by these rules and regulations.