The vast majority of IT contractors and other temporary staff are treated fairly by employers, according to the Association of Recruitment Consultancies (ARC).

Last week, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS) announced it had recovered nearly £200,000 in unpaid wages for agency workers in the last year.

Considering that the sector has a turnover of around £20 billion each year, £200,000 is an "insignificant sum" which proves that most workers are treated fairly by their employers, the ARC claims.

According to the ARC Chairman Adrian Marlowe, complaints to the EAS were only made by 0.0013 per cent of the entire agency workforce of 1.2 million, with only a fraction of these complaints being upheld.

"It is about time that the efforts of the vast majority of recruitment firms that are compliant and do treat their workers properly is recognised," he added.

Making its announcement last week, the EAS said it had achieved "notable success" in 2009 and had set new targets to ensure even greater protection for temporary staff in future.