Agency worker rights after twelve weeks

Short answer

Yes, broadly. Under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010, once you have completed a 12-week qualifying period in the same role with the same hirer, you become entitled to the same basic working and employment conditions as if you had been recruited directly. This is known as “equal treatment”, and it does include equal pay and equal holiday entitlement. However, “the same pay and holiday as permanent staff” is a slightly loose way of putting it, and there are important limits and conditions explained below.

What equal treatment actually covers

The equal treatment right relates to the basic terms that would apply if you had been recruited directly by the hirer to the same job. The main elements are:

Pay. You are entitled to the same basic pay as a comparable directly recruited employee doing the same job. “Pay” here means the amounts you would ordinarily receive for doing the work, including basic salary or hourly rate, overtime, shift allowances, unsocial hours premiums, and certain bonuses or commission that are directly linked to the amount or quality of the work you personally do.

Holiday. You are entitled to the same amount of paid annual leave as a comparable direct employee, including any contractual leave the hirer gives above the statutory minimum of 5.6 weeks. Where the hirer gives leave above the statutory minimum, that extra leave can be handled in different ways, for example added to your leave, rolled up into your pay rate and itemised on your payslip, or paid as a lump sum at the end of the assignment.

Other day-one and 12-week rights. Some rights apply from day one, such as access to shared facilities like a canteen or car park, and information about permanent vacancies. The 12-week rights also include the same working time and rest break arrangements.

What equal treatment does not cover

Equal treatment is not the same as being made a permanent employee, and several things are specifically excluded:

Occupational sick pay, redundancy pay, and most other contractual benefits tied to the permanent employment relationship are not covered. You keep your statutory rights such as Statutory Sick Pay, but you are not entitled to the hirer’s occupational sick pay scheme under these Regulations.

Occupational pension schemes are excluded, although you should be auto-enrolled into a pension by whoever is your employer for pension purposes once you meet the auto-enrolment criteria.

Benefits that depend on company loyalty or length of service with that specific employer, and financial participation schemes such as share options, are generally excluded.

Payments or rewards that are not “pay” in the ordinary sense, such as certain non-contractual bonuses, are also outside the definition.

How the 12-week qualifying period works

The clock runs from your first day in a particular role with a particular hirer. A few points commonly cause confusion:

Same role, same hirer. The 12 weeks must be in the same role with the same hirer. Any week in which you work, even for one hour, counts as a full week.

Breaks. A break of six weeks or less between assignments in the same role usually pauses the clock rather than resetting it, so you keep the weeks already accrued. A break of more than six weeks generally resets the clock. Some breaks pause but do not reset the clock at all, for example sickness of up to 28 weeks, jury service, annual leave, or a shutdown by the hirer, and pregnancy, maternity, adoption and paternity-related absence is protected.

Anti-avoidance. There are anti-avoidance rules to stop hirers repeatedly moving you between roles or ending assignments just before week 12 to defeat the right. If there is a structured pattern of assignments designed to prevent you qualifying, you may be treated as having qualified and may be entitled to compensation.

The “comparator” point

Your equal pay comparison is against a hypothetical or actual employee recruited directly by the hirer to do the same job. If there is genuinely no comparable directly recruited employee, the comparison can be difficult, and the practical benchmark tends to be what the hirer would have paid a direct recruit for that role. This is a common point of dispute, so it helps to identify a real comparator if you can.

The “Swedish derogation” no longer applies

You should be aware of a change that removed a former loophole. There used to be an exemption, sometimes called the Swedish derogation or pay-between-assignments contracts, under which an agency could avoid the equal pay right by keeping you on a permanent contract and paying you between assignments. This was abolished, so agencies can no longer use that route to deny you equal pay after 12 weeks. If your contract still refers to pay between assignments as a reason you are not getting equal pay, that is no longer lawful.

Who is responsible

Responsibility is split. Your agency (the temporary work agency) is primarily responsible for ensuring you receive equal pay and holiday, because it pays you. The hirer is responsible for the day-one facilities and vacancy information rights, and for the working time and rest break arrangements. If there is a shortfall in pay or holiday, the agency is usually the correct first target, though liability can fall on whoever is responsible for the particular breach.

Practical next steps

1. Confirm your dates. Work out your actual start date in the role and any breaks, so you can show you have completed 12 qualifying weeks.

2. Gather evidence of the comparator. Try to identify what a directly employed person doing the same job is paid and what holiday they receive. Job adverts, colleagues, or the hirer’s published rates can help.

3. Check your payslips and contract. Look at your current pay rate, how holiday is being handled, and whether any outdated pay-between-assignments clause is being relied on.

4. Raise it in writing first. Ask your agency in writing to confirm your equal treatment entitlement from week 12 and to correct any shortfall. You have a specific statutory right to request a written statement of the relevant basic conditions. If you ask your agency, it must respond within 28 days, and if that does not resolve matters you can ask the hirer for information about a comparator.

5. Escalate if needed. If the agency does not put things right, you can consider a complaint to the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, and ultimately a claim in the employment tribunal for breach of the Regulations. There is normally a strict three-month time limit for a tribunal claim, running from the date of the alleged breach, so do not delay if pay is being withheld. Acas early conciliation is a required step before issuing most tribunal claims and is a useful, lower-cost way to try to resolve the dispute.

Key missing facts

The precise answer depends on your exact start date and any gaps in the assignment, whether there is a genuine comparable direct employee, what elements make up the disputed pay, and how your contract deals with holiday. If you can set out those details, the position on any specific shortfall can be pinned down more precisely.