Your rights as a temporary agency worker

As a temporary agency worker you’re entitled to:

    paid holiday
    rest breaks and limits on working time
    no unlawful deductions from wages
    the National Minimum Wage
    freedom from discrimination under equality legislation
    protection under health and safety laws
    details of job vacancies with your hirer
    the same access to shared facilities and services at work as other comparable employees

Shared facilities and services might include:

    access to a canteen or food and drinks machines
    a workplace crèche or mother and baby room
    car parking or transport services (eg local pick up service, inter-site transport)
    a staff common room
    a prayer room

Your hirer can only refuse you access to facilities if they can ‘objectively justify’ denying you access. Cost alone is unlikely to be a sufficient reason.
Maternity, paternity and adoption pay

You may qualify for paid leave (eg statutory maternity, adoption or paternity pay) if you take time off to have a baby or adopt a child.
Statutory Sick Pay

You can get Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) like other workers. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) can help decide what you are entitled to.
Redundancy pay

Temporary agency workers are not entitled to redundancy pay or to claim unfair dismissal, which are rights available to employees.
After 12 weeks in the same job with the same hirer

If you qualify, you’re entitled to the same basic terms and conditions as if you had been recruited directly, including:

    basic pay, including holiday pay, overtime and bonuses linked to your performance
    working time – eg not having to work more than 48 hours a week if comparable workers don’t have to
    annual leave - you may get extra pay to cover this if it’s above your legal entitlement
    night work
    rest breaks and rest periods
    paid time off for antenatal appointments

It doesn’t matter if you are working full time or part time.

Your rights are based on those of a comparable worker - ie someone directly recruited by the hirer to do the same job at the same time.

If there are no comparable workers or employees you’re not entitled to equal treatment.

You’re entitled to find out the hirer’s terms and conditions for someone directly recruited.

inf. source:www.gov.uk/agency-workers-your-rights/your-rights-as-a-temporary-agency-worker

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Using a recruitment agency to find staff

Employers using agencies to find temporary or permanent workers have certain responsibilities.

Agencies that find staff for other businesses, but pay the staff themselves, are known as ‘employment businesses’.

If you take on workers through an employment business, they’re responsible for ensuring the workers’ rights under working time and minimum wage rules.

Agencies providing workers for agriculture, food processing, horticultural and shellfish-gathering industries are known as ‘gangmasters’ - if you use one, you need to make sure they’re licensed.
Employers’ responsibilities

As an employer, you’re responsible for:

    agency workers’ health and safety
    ensuring they have the same access to shared facilities as other workers
    letting them know about relevant job vacancies in your business

However, you can stop providing work to an agency worker, as long as they’re not employed by you.

It’s a criminal offence to use an agency to replace employees or workers on strike.
Additional rights after 12 weeks

After 12 weeks in the same job, agency workers are entitled to the same terms and conditions as employees doing the same or similar work. This includes:

    pay
    working time, rest periods and breaks
    night work
    annual leave
    time off for antenatal appointments for pregnant workers

For more details, see the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) guidance on agency worker regulations.

inf. source:www.gov.uk/using-a-recruitment-agency-to-find-staff

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