Looking after the Temporary Workforce: Innovise discuss ways to remain compliant in the face of Agency Worker legislation

15th December 2011

The cleaning industry is renowned for the use and employment of temporary staff. A valuable resource, temporary workers enables businesses to quickly fill the gaps and enable contracts to be seamlessly fulfilled in the event of unexpected absence. Further to the 1^st October 2011 when the new Agency Worker Regulation legislation came into force, cleaning businesses, like many other organisations that make use of temporary staff, were forced to focus on the processes that were in place to collect and monitor workforce / employment data.

Giving temporary workers the same pay and rights as permanent employees, this new EU regulation means that agency staff with 12 consecutive weeks of work under their belts is entitled to benefits such as overtime allowances, annual leave and breaks which they may not have experienced in the past. Great news for the temporary workforce... a somewhat lesser thrill for the company working to ensure they remain compliant to the new legislation.

Innovise, the UKs leading supplier of workforce management software for the FM industry, is one step ahead. Understanding the needs of the industry, through twenty years of successful business and partnerships within the FM sector, Innovise have risen to the challenge faced by many organisations. Determining the accrual of the 12 week qualifying period can be tricky to say the least. Factors such as maternity leave, breaks in employment due to ill health, holidays and jury service all have an effect on the qualifying clock and can both add and take days away from that magic 12 number. Ensuring compliance is always extremely important and is a task that can never be taken lightly. The need to work with workforce data and real-time information that is reliable and 100% accurate is paramount. Graeme Hughes, CEO of Innovise Software comments:

One of the UK’s most diverse industries, Facilities Management offers a wide range of services that can be applied to most if not all market sectors. Offering the complete spectrum, including cleaning, security and catering as a very small example, most organisations will offer these services as a single, bundled or fully integrated package. In order to meet the requirements of clients in an ever-changing economic climate, FM organisations utilise and rely on the temporary worker to provide a key and professional service. As such, it is only right that every care should be taken to look after each member of staff, temporary or otherwise, to ensure that they receive the benefits that they are rightly entitled to. We can easily facilitate this through our suite of workforce management software solutions.”

Renowned in the FM industry for the PASS, Servicetrac and TimeGate software solutions, Innovise have long enabled businesses to effectively recruit and then monitor and manage dispersed workforces of all shapes and sizes. Specifically tailored for the unique needs and objectives of the FM industry, the workforce management software solutions from Innovise enable the collection and collation of 100% accurate workforce data. Utilising powerful technology including biometric identification and NFC, Time & Attendance (T&A) and pre-employment screening data is captured in real-time and then collated in one space for quick, reliable reference. Web-based, the Innovise suite of solutions work to keep an organisation constantly on the ball with regards employment, Health & Safety. Lone Worker and SLA compliance. Enabling management teams complete transparency on workforce activity, Innovise software allows management to drill down on the data sorted for each employee in the business. In an instant, management (where ever they are based) can view an employee’s history, work schedule, or real-time productivity, being made aware of any upcoming or outstanding issues. This can include notification of the 12 week deadline.  Innovise provide organisations with the means to be proactive in their management, dealing with issues before they hinder the efficiency of the company.

Graeme continues:

“The level of accuracy and reliability of the information that is being captured through a software solution simply cannot be matched by a paper-based method of management. Working in a compliant manner requires businesses to produce evidence that proves that they are making the right checks, monitoring processes out in the field to ensure that work is being carried by a workforce in the correct way and that the company is reacting correctly with regards to their employees. Generating these reports and collating the data / evidence would take an organisation using traditional methods of management, considerable time and manpower. Through a software solution, you simply press a button and the hard work is done for you. Offering management peace of mind and employees a process that they can trust in, workforce management and compliance software is the way forward for the company that is serious about taking care of the people that are enabling its continued growth and success.”

To read the complete article in Tomorrows Cleaning, please click the magazine cover above. For further information on the October 1^st 2011 Agency Worker Regulation legislation, please click here.