Agency Workers: additional rights from 5 December 2011

Agency workers are now entitled to new employment rights. When on an assignment you will get some of these rights from day one, and some others after 12 weeks in the same job.

When did the law change?

The Agency Workers Regulations came into operation in Northern Ireland on 5 December 2011. They give you an entitlement to the same basic employment and working conditions:

as if you had been recruited directly
after you complete a qualifying period of 12 weeks in the same job

What is an agency worker?

The new rights apply to individuals who work as temporary agency workers - often referred to as ‘temps’.

To find out if you are classified as an agency worker, read the section 'Agency workers: an introduction'.

Agency workers: an introduction

What the new regulations mean for me

From day one of your assignment you are entitled to access to facilities and information on job vacancies where you are working temporarily.

After 12 weeks in the same job with the same hirer, you are entitled to equal treatment in relation to elements of:

pay
holidays
night work
rest periods/breaks
duration of working time
Agency workers: entitlement to equal treatment after 12 weeks
Agency workers: qualifying for equal treatment after 12 weeks
Agency workers: pay between assignments

After completing the 12 week qualifying period, pregnant agency workers are allowed paid time off for ante-natal appointments during an assignment.

Agency workers: pregnant workers and new mothers

What the new regulations do not mean?

The 12 week qualifying period is not backdated to before 5 December 2011. Any time spent on an assignment before 5 December 2011 will not count towards the 12 week qualifying period.

Are you covered by the new rights?

You are covered by the new rights if you have a contract with a temporary work agency (often just called an agency). The agency will find you a job or assignment with a 'hirer'.

You are not prevented from being covered by these rights simply because you find work via an agency and work through another company with whom you have a contract.

A hirer is someone who needs additional staff on a temporary basis. The hirer can be in the public or private sector, a charity or social enterprise.

While working for the hirer, you are under their supervision and direction. The hirer will tell you what job you are doing, how to do it and provide any necessary training to do the job.

You are likely to be covered by the new rights if:

you often work on a variety of different assignments with different hirers – but can be on one long assignment
your time sheets are sent to the agency to process
you are paid by the agency based on time sheets
your sick leave is paid by the agency if you are eligible
the agency pays you when you are on annual leave

You are unlikely to be covered by the new rights if:

your agency finds you a permanent job and you are employed and paid by your new employer
you find work through an agency but you are genuinely in business on your own account, and the hirer is a client or customer where you have a business-to-business relationship

You are also unlikely to be covered if you work for any agency:

that provides a specific service to a client
where someone from the agency supervises and directs you on a day-to-day basis
that provides any necessary training and determines how and when you work

Just having someone from the agency on-site who helps with queries would not exclude you from the new rights. You cannot opt out of these rights if you are covered by them.

Examples

A company has a staff canteen managed by an in-house catering manager. One of the company’s catering staff is away and you are sent to work in the canteen. During the assignment, you are given instructions by the hirer’s catering manager. You are covered by the new rights.

An organisation contracts out the management of its canteen. The contractor manages the entire operation and is responsible for employing the catering staff. If you work for the contractor and have a contract with the contractor, you will not be covered by the new rights.