Employers in East Anglia are stepping up recruitment of temporary staff, despite new government regulations that have boosted the cost of employment. According to a survey carried out by specialist recruitment company, Pure Resourcing Solutions, 85 per cent of employers recruited more or similar levels of temporary workers during 2012 compared with the previous year.

Almost all employers questioned said that the Agency Workers Regulations introduced in October 2011 would not affect their volume of temporary recruitment, nor the length of time they recruit for.

The regulations give temporary workers the same basic employment and working conditions as permanent staff, and it had been feared that this would put employers off employing temps for more than 12 weeks, after which the main elements of the regulations kick in.

The survey, carried out across East Anglia, found that the main reasons organisations recruit temporary staff are for special projects or to cover maternity leave. However, other important reasons to engage temporary staff include: sickness cover or as an interim solution while a permanent appointment is being made. Anyone thinking of temporary employment should be aware that the two most prized qualities are special expertise and the ability to work in a team.

This Eastern region data from Pure is more bullish than a similar national survey carried out by the Recruitment & Employment Confederation late last year.

“We are delighted to find that employers in our specialist sectors of professional support are not being put off recruiting temporary workers”, said Gill Buchanan, Director of Pure Resourcing Solutions “However, we acknowledge that sectors such as manufacturing may be experiencing a greater effect. Temps are a highly flexible and cost effective way of acquiring expertise quickly, and today’s organisations need to be able to react faster than ever before.”

“Employer legislation continues to evolve”, adds Gill.“Many responsible employers will already have processes in place.”

Other new regulation which businesses need to be aware of and which will start to affect businesses of all sizes include a requirement to automatically enrol workers onto a pension scheme. Pure Resourcing Solutions carries out regular surveys into employment issues across the East Anglia region.

Copies of the full survey findings are available from Anna Hill, Marketing Manager at the company.