Information Released in Response to an FOI Request
| Title | Agency Staff, Fixed Term Appointments and Casual Staff Assigned to the Scottish Executive |
| Description | Information released in response to a series of questions about agency staff, fixed term appointments and casual staff assigned to the Scottish Executive |
| Publication Date | April 21, 2005 |
| Charge | Free. |
1. Why does the SE have an Equal Pay Policy, but continues to pay Pertemps staff below the minimum for the grade, to do the same job, but on less favourable terms?
Answer: The Scottish Executive (SE) Equal Pay Policy applies to SE staff in its main bargaining unit. Temporary workers supplied to the SE by Pertemps Recruitment Partnership are Pertemps, not SE employees and as such are paid by Pertemps.
2. If the SE considers that Pertemps staff are not their employees, why is there a restriction on employing Pertemps staff for more than one year?
Answer: Temporary workers supplied by Pertemps are not employed by, but assigned to, the SE. The Civil Service is a reserved matter and the SE follows Cabinet Office's advice in matters, including the use of employment agency workers, that relate to it.
3. What continuing employment rights within the SE are there for Pertemps staff who have exceeded a year in the same job?
Answer: As stated above temporary workers supplied by Pertemps are not employed by, but are assigned to, the SE. They therefore have no continuing employment rights within the SE where the assignment exceeds a year.
4. How many enquiries has the SE HR teams been asked in each of the last 3 calendar years about unequal pay treatment of Pertemps staff working within the SE?
Answer: We have no record of any such enquiries being made.
5. How many Pertemps and other Agency staff have been employed, listed by grade, within the last 3 calendar years?
Answer: Pertemps and other employment agency staff are not employed by the SE. However, the table below provides the numbers for 2002 -2004 of employment agency workers assigned to the SE core departments under contracts that the SE has with employment businesses for the supply of temporary workers.
Pertemps & Other Employment Agency Staff
| Grade or Equivalent | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 |
| A1 | 353 | 349 | 329 |
| A2 | 4 | 4 | 14 |
| A3 | 50 | 117 | 143 |
| A4 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| B1 | 9 | 36 | 72 |
| B2 | | 2 | 3 |
| B3 | | | 1 |
| C1 | | 5 | 31 |
| Personal Secretary | 3 | 22 | 37 |
| Senior Personal Secretary | | 5 | 3 |
| Typist | | | 4 |
| Senior Typist | | 5 | 11 |
| Support Grade A1 | | 5 | 29 |
| TOTAL | 420 | 552 | 681 |
6. How many fixed term appointments or directly employed casual staff were in the SE, listed by grade, over the last 3 calendar years?
Answer: This information was published following a previous FOI request and is reproduced below:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/FOI/19260/temps