Agency worker contract UK: your rights and what to check
Agency workers occupy a specific position in UK employment law. You work for a hirer — the business where you actually do the work — but your contract is with the agency that placed you. This triangular relationship creates rights and obligations that many agency workers are not aware of.
Your legal rights as an agency worker
The Agency Workers Regulations 2010 give agency workers rights that apply from day one and additional rights that apply after twelve weeks in the same role with the same hirer.
From day one: access to the hirer's facilities and amenities — canteen, car parking, childcare facilities. Access to information about job vacancies at the hirer. These rights cannot be contracted away.
After twelve weeks: the right to the same basic working and employment conditions as comparable permanent employees at the hirer. This means the same pay rate, the same working time arrangements (though not necessarily the same total working time), the same rest breaks, and the same annual leave as a comparable worker employed directly.
The twelve-week qualifying period resets if you take a break of six weeks or more, change roles at the hirer substantially, or move to a completely new hirer.
The Swedish derogation — check whether it applies to you
Before 2020, agencies could use a model called the "Swedish derogation" — placing agency workers on a permanent contract with the agency and paying them between assignments — to avoid the equal pay element of the twelve-week rights. This model was abolished in April 2020.
If your contract was written before 2020 and still references Swedish derogation or pay between assignments in exchange for opting out of equal pay, this is no longer valid and you may have been underpaid.
What to check in your agency worker contract
Check who your employer is — the agency or the hirer. Your contract should be with the agency, and your day-to-day work direction comes from the hirer. If the contract is unclear about this, it may affect your employment status and rights.
Check the pay rate and whether it is reviewed at twelve weeks. Your contract should either specify the equal pay rate that will apply after twelve weeks, or the agency's process for calculating and implementing it.
Check the notice period — both what you must give and what the agency must give you. Agency worker contracts often have very short notice periods, which gives you flexibility but also vulnerability.
Check the holiday arrangements — how holiday is calculated, when it can be taken, and whether rolled-up holiday pay is used. The use of rolled-up holiday pay is discouraged by ACAS, and you should ensure your holiday entitlement is being correctly calculated.
Getting your agency worker contract reviewed
PaperSafe reviews agency worker agreements in plain English, identifying whether your rights under the Agency Workers Regulations are reflected and whether the pay and holiday provisions are correctly structured. Upload your PDF and receive a complete review in under 2 minutes for £49.
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