Legal Status of Temporary Agency Workers in Great Britain

Seminar paper from the year 2011 in the subject Law - Civil / Private / Industrial / Labour, grade: A, University of Manchester (School of Law), course: Employment Law, language: English, abstract: The relatively recent case of James v London Borough of Greenwich, [2008] IRLR 302 has shaped English employment law surrounding the legal status of temporary agency workers. In recent years, there has been a shift in the attitudes surrounding the employment status of agency workers by the both the judiciary and Parliament. This paper is aimed at critically assessing the implications of James in order to determine whether the current position benefits both the private recruitment industry and individuals who value flexibility in their working arrangements. This will be outlined only after a brief, but concise, summary of the legal position prior to the decision in James.

Samar Dehghan is a lawyer and a practicing member of the Law Society of British Columbia in Canada. Ms. Dehghan obtained a Bachelor of Arts (B.A) in Economics from the University of British Columbia and went on to obtain her Bachelor of Laws (Honours) (LL.B.) from the University of Manchester where she graduated with First Class Honours. She was the recipient of the RG Lawson Prize for Public International Law and the Dauntesey Prize in International Law. She is also a member of the prestigious Golden Key International Honour Society.