How Fair Is Agency Work?

[Chilliepot]

How fair is agency work? This is a genuine question.

I started work for an agency. Its the first time I have done this. I dont get paid by the agency, but by a some organisation that calls itself my employer. So the electrical contractor pays the employment agency and the employment agency pays this organisation who then pay me under some sort of “Umbrella Plus” scheme.

This pay office with whom I sign a contract, pay me after some deductions. Its very complicated.

In rounded terms, these people receive say £500 for my weeks work. They then deduct £190 for “company costs”.

Then £23 as “retained income”.

This balance is then compared with a calculation <Hours x national minimum wage £6.31>. The difference between the two is also paid to me as “Profit related pay”. Tax and NI is subtracted from this amount.

Of course I can also claim for the cost of tools I buy and vehicle mileage and other things so this fluctuates.

This all seems to me like a lot of cash in deductions.

Is this reasonable? I mean what is the £190 for? I need the work but I am trying to work out if its all really fair or a bit of a rip-off. Would it be better to be self employed?

Looking for some opinions on this.

 

[m4tty]

Agencies are leeches. Avoid at all costs if possible. Wouldnt go near one mate

 

[Technician]

Would go with Matty on this.

I have no idea if anyone followed the events of the Budget this week.

Up till then, you had no choice upon retirement but to purchase an

Annuity.  All that changed with the Budget and it means that you can

now draw the ENTIRE pension as a lump sum on retirement.

But....and it is a big but.....the firms dealing with annuities were chipping

away at the pension pots of millions of us so that they could build

themselves nice brand spanking new premises.

During the budget speech the share value of these outfits dropped by

50% and kept dropping to a point where they are now 75% BELOW

where they were before the Budget.

Agencies are little better than this;  if at all.  They remind me of the many

pension companies and insurance outfits whose management costs

were too high and the customer was certainly not getting value for money.

 

[Chilliepot]

OK so the only alternatives as I can see, are 1) Being employed directly by a contractor or 2) Registering as self-employed. I have been overseas for some years but these seem to be the options. Right?

 

[pewter]

Find a rich old bird and become her sex slave.

 

[Steve3948]

If your trying to gain experiance an agency may be the only option for some until as such time you can satisfy an employer or contractactor you have what it takes.

If you are good at what you do you will have no trouble finding work with employer, contractor or even your own work.

I feel those that stay with and rely on agencies always seem to carry some baggage of some sort, be it standard of work, home issues etc.

However a few years ago a guy gave us call asking if we had any work to offer, he was working for an sgency but had just moved to the area hence he had no contacts in the area. I met up with him had a chat gave him a start and he was damn good. After about a year he decided he did not like the area and moved back to Devon.

 

[Doc Hudson]

Fairness is a relative issue. On the one hand providing an activity is legal and any agreed payment is made within the contracted timescales then it is fair. However most forms of employment involve two parties where often one feels they are worth more and the other feels they are paying their employees too much. Wherever you fit into any employment chain the basic rule that is always true is that the more links there are in the chain, then the more potential loss there is to the person doing the work, as everybody down the chain needs their share of the payment for jobs the workers are doing. So cut as many links out of the chain as possible to maximise your earning power. But, not all workers are capable of working for themselves, getting new work, doing all the admin side as well as the hands on graft is often beyond the abilities of some very good manual workers. How fair or unfair that reality is, can be debated as long as you like, I doubt that much will change though.

Doc H.

 

[Richard-the-Ninth]

Everyone is in it to make money, you could always change agency.

 

[steptoe]

a good few years ago I did almost solely agency work,

and it paid about double or treble rate the normal site guys were on,

but, and a BIG BUT,

although the work was fairly steady, it was flat out graft full time with no days off,

we [i say we, there was a sort of team of us] were pulled in to jobs that were falling behind on jobs with big penalty clauses.

7 days a week, as many hours as you could hack in a day, sleeping on site, maybe even in the back of your van,

perhaps 2 or 3months at a time,

nowadays, well, its up to you, work is work,

I wouldnt ever do normal agency work if I could help it,

but, if you have no work, and it feeds your family, then do it,

my only advice to you is get your own UTR number and make them pay you CIS ,!

do NOT let them tell you they cant, you will then be able to claim back some expenses etc at the end of the year,

as for their charges, well, thats up to you accepting them employing you, a bit like any employer, they only employ you if you make them money.

 

[Pete10001]

How fair is agency work? It isn't, bunch of money grabbing, non caring, fleabag leeches, ought to be hung drawn and quartered, barstewards a blemish on society. i

 

[Chilliepot]

Ok I get the drift. Thanks everyone for you opinions. I will certainly look into CIS. Its probably the best way to go. Thanks guys.

 

[binky]

that set-up sounds dodgy, ie your employer could fold overnight at no risk to the parent company. I would check out their trading history, or you could lose a lot of dosh. However I used to work for Manpower many years ago, and they were very fair employers, with earned time off etc etc, Still underpaid your true value, but that's the nature of the beast.

 

[batty]

I am surprised Deke hasn't commented on this he speaks very highly of them.

 

[Sidewinder]

I was asked about a year ago to do some agency work, so I told them that I already had a Ltd. Co. set up & I would invoice them for my work @ my charges, plus VAT and they could pay the company in full, & I had no need for their complex systems, as the company was fully insured etc. etc. VAT Reg'd, had it's own accountant and payroll etc. set up.

Noting, that they approached me.

Suffice to say, after that, and the rate quoted them, which was around twice what they were offering, I heard no more.

Their loss.

 

[NozSpark]

 

[kerching]

I cannot see any allowance for Anusol!

To me it appears that you are being "dry reamed"

Find out what the terms are of other agencies on your way to the Pharmacy

Just saying

 

[m4tty]

^^ pmsl :slap dry reamed ffs

 

[kerching]

^^ pmsl :slap dry reamed ffs

For tis a common expression around these parts, and wider afield......it is even making its way into popular literature

" brace yourself girl, I am coming in dry"............from. 'The Countess and the labourer' by Barbara Cartland

Just saying