The Influence of Labour Law on the UK Economy: A Mixed Methods Exploration

The employment rights of temporary agency workers have received significant attention throughout Europe. Debate amongst EU member states culminated in December 2008 with the agreement to adopt the Agency Workers Directive. News of the agreement, and the UK’s resulting adoption of the Agency Workers Directive in October 2011, has met with a mixed response at various levels of the UK economy. The aim of the current study was to establish the impact of the Agency Workers Directive by conducting statistical analysis of the Labour Force Survey between 2009 and 2014 and in-depth interviews with recruitment consultants. This applied research provided a ‘before and after’ insight into the adoption of the Agency Workers Directive