The new EU Agency Worker directive (AWR), which came into effect in October 2011, aims to protect temporary workers by providing increased wages, rights to holidays and sick pay after an inital 12-week trial period.

However research from a new survey suggests that 29 per cent of the 42 recruitment agencies surveyed intended to terminate short-term contracts before the 12-week qualifying period was up.

Ann Swain, Chief Executive at APSCo, stated:

The majority of workers affected are likely to be young graduates. At a time when unemployment among young people has surpassed one million, any barrier to securing work has to be questioned.

According to APSCo, despite the concern over employers terminating contracts early, just 19% of recruiters think that the AWR is contributing towards the reduced demand for temporary staff.