Initially it was unclear how many contractors AWR would affect. Many temporary workers already benefitted from high rates of pay than permanent employees. We have seen that many white collar workers were largely unaffected, as anticipated, but in order to establish fairness for all, the same procedures and attention to detail must be followed, ensuring every contractor’s full compliance.

At ICS we work closely with agencies and hirers, and will continue to do so in the future to perpetuate the flow of information between parties to mitigate the risks for those involved. The AWR presents the opportunity for positive change, as the flexibility and adaptability the ICS business model is attractive to an even wider range of agencies than before.

As agencies continue to seek the reassurance of tight operational procedures, clearer understanding of regulations and a choice of solutions available to their contractors, we are already seeing agencies consolidating their PSLs to only include partners who have the depth and expense to deliver.

Non-compliance liability rests with both the agency and the hirer. Robust processes, therefore, must be in place to observe each party’s responsibilities, such as in the event of a hirer failing to notify the agency of an increase in comparable workers’ pay. For this, would an employment tribunal place full responsibility on the hirer, or would the agency be liable in any way? Until we can deliver the results in test cases before going to courts, nothing should be left to chance.

ICS is built on a threefold philosophy of trust, care and compliance. Those three values were integral to our successful navigation of the complexities of IR35 and MSC legislation, and we apply the same values and processes to AWR.

The current climate has seen contracting become a major player for the economy, more so than ever before. We ensure the AWR legislation is applied with minimum disruption for our clients and agency partners.