The ARC welcomes government plan to end gold-plating

Dec. 16, 2010 - PRLog -- The Association of Recruitment Consultancies (ARC) welcomes the Government’s commitment to end “gold plating” announced by the Business Secretary Vince Cable on 15th December.

Adrian Marlowe, Chairman of the ARC commented "This is a very welcome move by the Government. No one is asking for favours, all that is needed is for the Government to help British business compete fairly. That is the route to creating greater employment and prosperity for all.

“It makes sense that, in future, Directives will be directly copied into UK law rather than adding on an interpretation that many may disagree with.”

The ARC believes that the direct copying principle would address to a large extent one of the problems of implementing Regulations following an EU Directive. They are not subject to the same open debate as UK led legislation. Thus, as with the Agency Workers Regulations, the rules pass into law without a Parliamentary vote.

Marlowe continued  “We seem to have a history of shooting off our own feet.  As an example, the implementation of the Agency Workers Directive is a classic case of gold plating.  The UK Regulations contain measures that are not strictly required by the corresponding Directive and that put employers and recruiters at a disadvantage.”
“Another area of concern is the use of agreements between social partners. This gives disproportionate authority to a few organisations without checks and balances or necessary majority support for any measure, again as in the case of the Agency Workers Directive. If this device has to be used in future we urge Mr. Cable to ensure that the process from beginning to end is full, open and transparent.”

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ARC is a professional trade association providing a clear voice for recruiters. The association works with recruitment consultancies of all sizes and is committed to the positive promotion of recruitment business through good service and practise.