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EU Gives More Rights To Agency Workers |
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Britain's 1.3 million agency workers will get the same pay and conditions as permanent staff after being employed for 12 weeks under a new EU deal.
Employment ministers meeting in Strasbourg also updated Europe's working hours deal.
They allowed the Government to keep its opt-out from a maximum 48-hour week and restored flexibility for on-call workers such as junior doctors.
Business Secretary John Hutton described the outcome as "a very good deal for Britain".
The Government had flatly rejected original EU proposals to grant equal rights from day one of an agency contract.
Mr Hutton said the compromise agreement coupled with the 48-hour week opt-out would help retain crucial flexibility in the work place.
"It provides a fair deal for workers without damaging Britain's economic competitiveness or putting jobs at risk," he declared.
The updated deal on working time clarifies the position of "on-call" workers.
It distinguishes between "active" on-call time, which counts towards the maximum working week, and "inactive" working time which does not.
A person getting an uninterrupted night's sleep while on call, for example, would now be deemed to be inactive.
The deal, which comes after months of stalemate over the issue, still has to be approved by the European Parliament.
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