Help wanted? Employers’ use of temporary agencies in the UK construction industry Chris Forde, Robert MacKenzie and Andrew Robinson Leeds University Business School, Leeds, UK Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the dynamics between employers’ use of temporary agency workers and the aspirations of agencies to expand their role further within organisations. Design/methodology/approach – The study focuses on the construction sector in the UK. A mixed methods approach is employed comprising a quantitative survey and qualitative interviews with construction employers. Findings – Construction employers’ use of temporary agency workers remains driven by “traditional” reasons, to meet short-term peaks in demand and for one-off tasks. Construction employers have widespread reservations about the use of temporary agency workers. There is little evidence of an expansion in the range of tasks or managerial functions being performed by agencies in construction. Together, these findings point to limits to the inexorable expansion of temporary agencies in the sector. Research limitations/implications – Further research is needed to assess the extent to which these reservations surrounding agencies, and the limits on the expansion of agencies that these reservations imply, are applicable to sectors outside construction. Practical implications – Employers’ lack of appetite for agency workers stem from perceived problems of quality of agency labour and a desire to maintain control over production. These reservations suggest that agency aspirations to increase their role and functions further in the construction sector are likely to be frustrated. Originality/value – Much research has pointed to the growth of agency working in recent years. The principal value of this research is in highlighting the potential limits to the inexorable expansion of agency working. The paper also reveals employers’ reservations towards agencies, which have been neglected in the literature to date. Keywords Temporary workers, Recruitment agencies, Construction industry, United Kingdom Paper type Research paper Introduction Against a backdrop of the rapid growth of temporary agency working over the last 20 years there has been widespread interest in employers’ use of this form of labour. This interest has centred on why employers use temporary agency staff and the roles and functions for which agencies are used within organisations (Osterman and Burton, 2004; Kalleberg and Marsden, 2005). A number of commentators have pointed to recent increases in the range of tasks and managerial functions performed by temporary agencies (Forde, 2001; Osterman and Burton, 2004; Ward et al., 2001). Yet, the effects of The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/0142-5455.htm The authors are grateful to participants at the 2005 British Universities Industrial Relations Association Conference, University of Northumbria for helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper. Employers’ use of temporary agencies 679 Received 4 December 2007 Revised 30 January 2008 Accepted 20 February 2008 Employee Relations Vol. 30 No. 6, 2008 pp. 679-698 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0142-5455 DOI 10.1108/01425450810910055