A spokesman at the Department for Business (BIS) told The Telegraphthat the new agency workers legislation, which entitles temps to the same pay and benefits as permanent staff after just 12 weeks in a job, will definitely come into force unchanged from when it was laid before Parliament last year.
This is despite the Prime Minister's office secretly commissioning its own legal advice to see whether the law could be moderated to reduce its impact on UK employers.
Downing Street was told by lawyers that the regulations were "gold-plated" with additional unnecessary rules, making the law burdensome and costly to implement.
A recent survey suggested almost 500,000 agency workers could lose their jobs just before Christmas as businesses moved to sack temps to avoid the new rules. The law is expected to cost employers £1.8bn a year to abide by.
Employers' groups have become increasingly confused over whether the Government plans to dilute the regulations to make it easier for companies to employ people.
By Louisa Peacock
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