Hiring and recruitment UK-wide

Engage and manage agency workers

Your legal obligations when using agency workers, including day-1 rights, the 12-week qualifying period, and equal treatment requirements.

Guide summary

Give agency workers equal access to facilities and job vacancies from their first day. After 12 continuous weeks in the same role, you must also give them equal pay and working conditions. You share responsibility with the employment agency. Breaking the rules can lead to tribunal claims and compensation of at least £1,502, with no upper limit for actual losses.

  • Give day-1 rights: facilities, vacancy info, ante-natal time off
  • Track 12-week qualifying period (calendar weeks, not working weeks)
  • Pause the clock for breaks of 6 weeks or less, sickness up to 28 weeks
  • Reset the clock if break exceeds 6 weeks or role is substantially different
  • After 12 weeks: equal pay, hours, rest breaks, holiday pay
  • Do not end assignments at week 11 to avoid giving rights
  • Penalty up to £5,000 for anti-avoidance behaviour
  • Workers can claim at tribunal within 3 months of breach
  • Minimum compensation 2 weeks' pay (£1,502 from April 2026)
  • Agencies must give workers a Key Information Document before start
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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:

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.

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.

What counts as pay?

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

Your obligations as a hirer

Anti-avoidance rules

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

Enforcement and penalties

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

Key Information Document

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

Swedish derogation (no longer available)

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

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