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Temporary Work Agencies: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow?

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  • John Purcell
  • Kate Purcell
  • Stephanie Tailby

Abstract

The complexities of the triangular relationship between employer, worker and agency are explored in two sectors to establish the extent to which the use of agency workers constitutes strategic and rational decisions on the part of employers. Evidence of strategic subcontracting to agencies is evident in the ICT examples, but, as in the healthcare case, organizational outcomes need to be understood with reference to workers’ preferences, the agencies’ own sophisticated strategies, operational pressures and labour market context. Relationships with agencies were embedded but inherently contingent, reflecting their own dependency on clients or, in the case of healthcare, government.

Suggested Citation

  • John Purcell & Kate Purcell & Stephanie Tailby, 2004. "Temporary Work Agencies: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 42(4), pages 705-725, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:brjirl:v:42:y:2004:i:4:p:705-725
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8543.2004.00337.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Beynon, Huw & Grimshaw, Damian & Rubery, Jill & Ward, Kevin, 2002. "Managing Employment Change: The New Realities of Work," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199248704.
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    1. Dorothea Alewell & Katrin B„hring & Kirsten Thommes, 2005. "Institutional Structures of the Flexible Assignment of Personnel between Enterprises. An Economic Comparison of Temporary Agency Work, Interim Management and Consulting," management revue - Socio-Economic Studies, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 16(4), pages 475-493.
    2. Kalleberg, Arne L. & Nesheim, Torstein & Olsen, Karen M., 2015. "Job quality in triadic employment relations: Work attitudes of Norwegian temporary help agency employees," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 362-374.
    3. Elizabeth George & Prithviraj Chattopadhyay & Carmen Kaman Ng, 2016. "The relationship between workgroup blending and perceived organizational inducements: The mediating roles of tasks and relationships," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 41(3), pages 538-562, August.
    4. J. Shackleton, 2007. "Britain’s Labor Market Under the Blair Governments," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 28(3), pages 454-476, July.
    5. Stefano Consiglio & Luigi Moschera & Mariavittoria Cicellin & Laura Borgogni & Chiara Consiglio & Pietro Menatta, 2017. "Well-being, dual commitment and job insecurity of Italian agency workers. Some Evidence from a National Study on the Temporary Work Agency Industry," Discussion Papers 2_2017, CRISEI, University of Naples "Parthenope", Italy.
    6. René Böheim & Martina Zweimüller, 2013. "The Employment of Temporary Agency Workers in the UK : For or Against the Trade Unions?," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 80(317), pages 65-95, January.
    7. Chris Forde & Gary Slater, 2005. "Agency Working in Britain: Character, Consequences and Regulation," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 43(2), pages 249-271, June.
    8. Genevieve Knight & Zhang Wei, 2015. "Isolating the Determinants of Temporary Agency Worker Use by Firms: An Analysis of Temporary Agency Workers in Australian Aged Care," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 18(2), pages 205-237.
    9. Chris Forde & Robert MacKenzie, 2010. "The Ethical Agendas of Employment Agencies Towards Migrant Workers in the UK: Deciphering the Codes," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 97(1), pages 31-41, December.
    10. Francis Green, 2008. "Temporary Work and Insecurity in Britain: A Problem Solved?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 88(1), pages 147-160, August.
    11. René Böheim & Martina Zweimüller, 2009. "The employment of temporary agency workers in the UK – with or against the trade unions?," Economics working papers 2009-12, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.
    12. Kristina Ročkutė & Inga Minelgaitė & Ligita Zailskaitė-Jakštė & Robertas Damaševičius, 2018. "Brand Awareness in the Context of Mistrust: The Case Study of an Employment Agency," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-13, March.
    13. Jari J. Hakanen & Annina Ropponen & Hans De Witte & Wilmar B. Schaufeli, 2019. "Testing Demands and Resources as Determinants of Vitality among Different Employment Contract Groups. A Study in 30 European Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-17, December.
    14. Rutvica Andrijasevic & Devi Sacchetto, 2017. "‘Disappearing workers’: Foxconn in Europe and the changing role of temporary work agencies," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 31(1), pages 54-70, February.
    15. Linda McDowell & Adina Batnitzky & Sarah Dyer, 2008. "Internationalization and the Spaces of Temporary Labour: The Global Assembly of a Local Workforce," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 46(4), pages 750-770, December.
    16. Lars W. Mitlacher, 2005. "Temporary Agency Work, the Changing Employment Relationship and its Impact on Human Resource Management," management revue - Socio-Economic Studies, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 16(3), pages 370-388.
    17. Di van den Broek & William Harvey & Dimitria Groutsis, 2016. "Commercial migration intermediaries and the segmentation of skilled migrant employment," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 30(3), pages 523-534, June.
    18. Kim Bosmans & Deborah De Moortel & Christophe Vanroelen, 2022. "Enforceability of rights in the temporary agency sector: The case of Belgium," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(4), pages 1519-1538, November.

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