The Agency Workers Regulations came into force on the 1st of October 2011. The Agency Workers Regulations originate from the Agency Workers Directive. The aim of the legislation is for agency workers to be provided with equal treatment in the workplace.

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Upon completion of a 12 week qualifying period in the same job with the same hirer, agency workers will be entitled to the same basic working and payment conditions that they would have received if they had been recruited by the hirer directly.

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Under the regulations there are also ‘day one rights’, which apply from the first day of the assignment. These rights include access to onsite collective amenities (such as car parking and canteen), as well as access to information about permanent job vacancies. It is possible that the hirer may decline to offer certain facilities provided they can show good justification for doing so.

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After you have worked in the same temporary job for the same hirer for 12 weeks, you may well qualify for equal treatment in respect of basic working and employment conditions, including pay. You can accumulate these weeks even if you only work a few days each week; however you must work within 12 separate weeks in order to qualify for equal treatment. Any gap of more than six weeks will mean your qualifying period will start again.

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Staff Solutions will ask for details of your work history, including work done through other agencies to help establish when you will be (or if you are already) entitled to equal treatment. You will need to disclose to your Staff Solutions consultant any periods of time during which you worked for the hirer or a group company of the hirer in the preceding months. Failure to do so may mean that you delay the opportunity to receive equal treatment until you have completed a further period of 12 weeks service with the hirer.

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For further information about the Agency Workers Regulations speak to your Staff Solutions Consultant or visit the gov website.