Public and Commercial Services Union

How many agency workers does the government employ?
We do not have a complete set of figures for the use of agency workers across the civil service and other bodies. The most recent information we have suggests that agency workers form a significant proportion of staff in many areas.

• Fujitsu (tax credits) - 80%
• RPA Newcastle - 55%
• RPA Workington - 35%
• Driving Standards Agency - 20%
• Scottish Parliament 20% approximately
• Home Office 10%
• Learning and Skills Council at least 8%
• Welsh Assembly Government 7%
• Department of Health 7%
• MOD DARA 5% approximately

Comprehensive information about agency worker use and conditions is needed to help with campaigning, negotiating and organising agency workers.

Although we have some very interesting anecdotes, we need to have an overall clear picture to see how widespread the use of agency workers is, and to get an idea of the scope of the problem of exploitation.