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Forthcoming Agency Worker Directive regulations will impact on the continuity of care in the health sector according to delegates at a recent series of seminars held by law firm Pinsent Masons.

Eighty percent of attendees at the events, held earlier this month in Birmingham, Manchester and London, agreed that agency worker regulations would not improve continuity of care as there was likely to be more turnaround of non-permanent staff at healthcare providers.

The Agency Worker Directive is due to come into force in 2011, and will grant temporary workers many of the same rights as permanent workers after 12 weeks of employment.

While all delegates believed there would still be a role for agency workers once the law is introduced, 80 percent believed it was likely there would be a move towards permanent working patterns as businesses sought to mitigate the impact of the regulations.

Pinsent Masons employment law Associate Rebecca Peck said, "As healthcare providers seek to deal with the impact of the Agency Worker Directive it's likely they will, as indicated by our survey results, aim to recruit more permanent workers. But there will still be a need to hire short-term temporary workers to cover for periods such as sickness or holiday leave. The fact that Agency Workers will be given the same rights as permanent staff after 12 weeks, even if they only work once a week during that period, means that many providers will seek to turnover their temporary staff much faster and more regularly than in the past where they might have had Agency Workers in place for several months.

"This more regular turnaround will surely have an impact on continuity of care, but if providers are not careful it could also impact on quality too. In addition, there are the obvious recruitment costs and administrative burdens to bear in mind. Healthcare providers will need to ensure they take every precaution they can to ensure a smooth transition when the regulations come into force. And despite this not happening for almost two years, now is the time to start planning for their introduction as there are a myriad of decisions which need to be made in the meantime."