Vulnerability of “Agency Workers" and the Need for Their Protection

Rajić Ćalić, Jovana (2023) Vulnerability of “Agency Workers" and the Need for Their Protection. In: Regional Law Review. Institute of Comparative Law, Belgrade, pp. 209-222. ISBN 978-86-82582-05-2

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Abstract

Temporary-work agencies present in the labor market worldwide as a result of the flexibilization of work, economic crises, globalization, and digitalization, as well as the unemployment. There are more people looking for employment than jobs offered by employers for recruitment. Those kinds of situations may put workers employed through agencies in a discriminatory position. In addition, law systems mostly do not regulate the establishment and terms of temporary-work agency. As a result, so-called agency workers are offered bad terms of work, which can lead to abuse of this institute. On those grounds agencies for temporary employment are established, creating a triangle of contract relationships. The employee is therefore responsible for his work to an agency, and there is a special relationship between the user undertaking and the temporary-work agency. This kind of relationship might be positive for employees and their rights, first of all as regards the additional chances for employment. It might be also welcome for a user undertaking in urgent need of hiring, inter alia. On the other hand, this kind of work might cause more vulnerability for workers, in the sense of minoring their working rights. In this paper, the author brings up the thesis that the lack of provisions for work of agencies for temporary employment and the lack of supervision of their work might put agency workers in a discriminatory position compared to other workers, and it might also lead to their exploitation. It can be also argued that the work of these agencies requires the permanent protection of agency workers.

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