Engage and manage agency workers

The Agency Workers Regulations 2010 (AWR) give agency workers rights to equal treatment. As a hirer (the business using the workers), you share responsibility with the employment agency for compliance.

Who is an agency worker?

Someone is an agency worker if they:

Have a contract with a temporary work agency
Work temporarily for and under your supervision
Are not directly employed by you

This includes temp workers, seasonal staff supplied by agencies, and workers placed through recruitment agencies for temporary assignments.

Day-1 rights (no qualifying period)

From their first day, agency workers have rights to:

Agency worker day-1 rights

Rights agency workers have from their first day of an assignment, without any qualifying period.

Day-1 facilities access: Equal access to canteen, parking, childcare, rest areas, transport
Vacancy information: Right to be told about permanent job vacancies with hirer
Ante-natal appointments: Pregnant workers entitled to paid time off
Detriment protection: Cannot be penalised for asserting AWR rights

These rights apply from the first day of an assignment - no qualifying period required. Hirers can only treat agency workers less favourably regarding facilities if there is an objective justification.

Providing vacancy information: A general announcement in a suitable place (notice board, intranet) is sufficient - no individual notification required.

The 12-week qualifying period

After 12 continuous calendar weeks in the same role with your business, agency workers gain additional rights to equal treatment.

Agency worker 12-week qualifying period

Rules on the 12-week qualifying period before agency workers gain equal treatment rights.

Qualifying period: 12 continuous calendar weeks in same role with same hirer
Clock starts: First day at work with the hirer
Count method: Calendar weeks (not working weeks)

Breaks that PAUSE the clock (continuity preserved):

Any break of 6 weeks or less
Sickness/injury: up to 28 weeks with medical evidence
Pregnancy/maternity: entire period from pregnancy to 26 weeks post-birth
Jury service: up to 28 weeks
Pre-planned shutdowns (e.g., factory closures)

Breaks that RESET the clock (start again from zero):

Moving to a different hirer (different legal entity)
Break exceeding 6 weeks between assignments
Moving to a "substantively different role" (written notice from agency required)

Agency workers - qualifying period

Equal treatment after 12 weeks

Once qualified, agency workers must receive the same basic working and employment conditions as if you had recruited them directly.

Agency worker equal treatment entitlements

What agency workers are entitled to after completing the 12-week qualifying period.

Pay: Basic pay, overtime, shift allowances, commission, holiday pay
Working hours: Duration of working time (same limits as comparable worker)
Night work: Same night work limits
Rest periods: Daily and weekly rest
Rest breaks: In-work breaks (e.g., 20 mins per 6 hours)
Annual leave: Same entitlement as comparable worker (may exceed 5.6 weeks)

After 12 weeks, agency workers must receive the same basic working and employment conditions as if they had been directly recruited by the hirer. This is compared to a "comparable worker" doing the same or similar work.

NOT included: Occupational sick pay, pension contributions, maternity/paternity pay above statutory, redundancy pay, share schemes, loyalty bonuses.

What counts as pay?

Understanding what's included in "pay" is crucial for compliance.

Your obligations as a hirer

Hirer obligations under AWR 2010

What businesses using agency workers must do to comply with the Agency Workers Regulations.

Provide facilities access from day 1 – Grant agency workers equal access to canteen, parking, childcare, rest areas, transport services on same terms as permanent staff.
Inform about vacancies – Notify agency workers of permanent job vacancies - a notice board or intranet announcement is sufficient.
Provide information to agency – Tell the agency what a comparable worker in the same role would be paid and receive, so the agency can ensure equal treatment after 12 weeks.
Allow ante-natal time off – Permit pregnant agency workers time off for ante-natal appointments.
Avoid structuring assignments to defeat rights – Do not deliberately end assignments before 12 weeks to avoid equal treatment obligations.
Respond to information requests – If an agency worker requests information about comparable worker terms, respond within 28 days.

Liability: Hirers are solely liable for breaches of facilities access (Reg 12) and vacancy information (Reg 13). For equal treatment breaches (Reg 5), both hirer and agency may be liable, depending on who was responsible.

Anti-avoidance rules

You cannot structure assignments to deliberately prevent agency workers from completing the 12-week qualifying period.

AWR anti-avoidance provisions

Rules preventing hirers and agencies from structuring assignments to avoid AWR obligations.

Anti-avoidance trigger: 2+ assignments with same hirer, or assignments with connected hirers
Test: Most likely explanation for assignment structure is to prevent rights
Penalty: Up to £5,000 additional compensation
Remedy: Tribunal can deem worker to have completed qualifying period

Tribunals consider: length of each assignment, number of assignments, role changes, whether roles were genuinely different, and length of breaks between assignments.

Warning signs: Routinely ending assignments at week 11, moving workers between connected companies, frequent "substantively different role" notifications with minimal actual change.

Enforcement and penalties

Agency workers can bring employment tribunal claims against both you (the hirer) and the agency.

Agency worker tribunal claims and compensation

How agency workers can enforce AWR rights and the compensation available.

Time limit: 3 months from date of alleged breach
Pre-claim step: Must notify ACAS for early conciliation first
Minimum compensation: 2 weeks' pay (£1,502 at April 2026 cap)
Maximum compensation: No upper limit for actual losses
Weekly pay cap (2026/27): £751 per week
Anti-avoidance penalty: Up to £5,000 additional award

Remedies available:

Declaration of worker's rights
Compensation (unlimited for actual financial losses)
Recommendations for corrective action

Note: Unlike discrimination claims, AWR claims cannot include compensation for injury to feelings.

Tribunal compensation limits

Key Information Document

Agencies must provide workers with pay transparency information before assignments begin.

Key Information Document requirements for agency workers

What agencies must include in the mandatory Key Information Document given to agency workers.

Since April 2020, agencies must provide a Key Information Document (KID) before a worker agrees to terms. The KID must include:

Worker's name and contract type
Start date and working hours
Identity of the employment business
Who will pay wages
Description of statutory deductions (tax, NI)
Any fees for goods or services (amounts or calculation method)
Other employee benefits
Contact details for Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate

If an umbrella company is used: Additional information required about the business connection, expected assignment rate, and all deductions.

Maximum length: 2 pages of A4
Record retention: 12 months after last work-finding services
Signature required: No - email evidence of provision is sufficient

Key Information Document guidance

Swedish derogation (no longer available)

Before April 2020, agencies could avoid pay parity obligations through specific contract arrangements. This is no longer possible.

Swedish derogation (abolished April 2020)

Historical context on the Swedish derogation that allowed agencies to avoid pay parity, and its abolition.

Abolition date: 6 April 2020
Workers affected: Approximately 130,000 (8-10% of agency workers)
Common sectors: Retail, manufacturing, warehousing

What it was: The Swedish derogation (Regulations 10 and 11 of AWR 2010) allowed agencies to avoid pay parity after 12 weeks by employing workers on permanent contracts and paying them between assignments.

Why abolished: The Taylor Review found the arrangement was used to pay agency workers less than permanent staff, rather than to provide genuine employment security. The derogation was repealed as part of the Good Work Plan.

Current position: All agency workers qualifying under AWR 2010 are now entitled to pay parity after 12 weeks, regardless of their contract type with the agency.

Agency workers - guidance for hirers

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Engage and manage agency workers

Who is an agency worker?

Day-1 rights (no qualifying period)

The 12-week qualifying period

Equal treatment after 12 weeks

What counts as pay?

Your obligations as a hirer

Anti-avoidance rules

Enforcement and penalties

Key Information Document

Swedish derogation (no longer available)

Compliance Assistant

🚧 UNDER CONSTRUCTION

◉ Content Graph

Who is an agency worker?

Day-1 rights (no qualifying period)

The 12-week qualifying period

Equal treatment after 12 weeks

What counts as pay?

Your obligations as a hirer

Anti-avoidance rules

Enforcement and penalties

Key Information Document

Swedish derogation (no longer available)

Related guides in Employment & HR

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