The Northern Ireland Government has announced that Agency-hired workers within the Public Service are to get parity in pay and annual leave.
Currently, these workers are entitled to the same basic employment and working conditions as if they had been recruited directly only after 12 weeks spent in the Public Service.
Minister for Finance, Conor Murphy (pictured) said this would end in December and a tender would be put out for a new contract for a supplier of staff.
Mr Murphy said Agency workers would have the same pay and annual leave as permanent staff the moment they began working for the Public Service or in other Government-run bodies.
“As is the case in many organisations, agency workers play a key role in the Public Service and the delivery of services,” Mr Murphy said.
“Under this new contract, agency workers will have parity with Civil Service permanent colleagues in terms of pay, annual leave and paid time off for medical and dental appointments from day one,” he said.
Mr Murphy said the Government was committed to looking after the health and wellbeing of all those working for it.
“I believe these enhanced arrangements for agency workers demonstrate our commitment to workers’ rights,” he said.
More than 23,000 people are employed in the Public Service. At the last count there were more than 2,500 agency staff.
In May Mr Murphy’s Department approved a two per cent pay rise for Public Servants, backdated to August 2019 and costing around £23 million ($A41.5 million).
Belfast, 8 October 2020
