---

Pensions Bill

I have a substantial team to help with my drafting. In responding to Amendment No. 118ZA, I will speak also to Amendments Nos. 118ZB and 118ZC. These reforms aim to extend the benefit of workplace pension saving to all those who wish to save. Accordingly, this Bill ensures that the reforms cover individuals who obtain work through agencies as a stopgap between permanent employments, a stepping-stone into permanent employment or simply because it suits their lifestyle. As is the case with most groups of workers, some agency workers will be on moderate to low earnings and are therefore among the target group for this reform. Most workers who find work through agency arrangements are routinely captured by the definition ““worker”” in Clause 77. In the example that the noble Lord gave of apple pickers, it may well be that the individuals had a contract with the agency or the farmer. Clause 78 provides a safety net for those who do not. Where there is no contract between the agency or client hirer and the agency worker, Clause 78 establishes a link that is equal to a contract for the purposes of Part 1. This is achieved by deeming the business that is responsible for paying the wages of the individual or, if this is unclear, the business that actually pays the individual, to be the employer for the purposes of workplace pension saving. It brings into scope any agency worker who, as a consequence of the nature of their employment relationship, would fall outside the definition of ““worker””. It ensures that all temporary workers are on an equal footing for the purposes of workplace pension saving. It also avoids the creation of an unhelpful division in the market for labour or the introduction of a perverse incentive that could influence the way in which businesses recruit labour. The noble Lord’s amendment seeks to remove any obligation on the employer arising as a result of this Bill in relation to agency workers. I make it clear that in the overwhelming majority of cases, the obligation will arise as a result of a contract. In the common practice whereby an agency supplies a worker’s services to an employer, the contract will routinely be with the agency. However, in the unlikely scenario that an agency worker is employed without a contract, the fallback position is that the obligation falls to the party that pays the agency worker. This follows the approach used in the National Minimum Wage Act and the Working Time Regulations and provides the necessary protection to ensure full coverage of these reforms for relevant agency workers. The noble Lord asked about pension contributions. When they are deducted from a worker’s pay, they must be handed over to the pension scheme within 19 days of the month following the month in which the deduction was made. I hope that that has clarified matters for the noble Lord and that he feels able to withdraw these amendments.