Adecco, the world?s biggest temporary employment agency, said on Wednesday that the fourth quarter had seen it escape most of its regulatory problems while sales and income accelerated.

J?r?me Caille, chief executive, said that after a tough start, the year had ended positively for Adecco, enabling the company to report full-year net income up 9 per cent to ?332m on sales that rose 6 per cent to ?17.2bn.