If you work through a recruitment or staffing agency — whether you are a care assistant, warehouse operative, delivery driver, hotel housekeeper, office temp, or factory hand — you have a specific set of agency worker rights that are separate from those of permanent employees and separate from the general rules around zero-hours contracts. These rights are largely set out in the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 (AWR), which implemented a European Directive into UK law and have remained on the statute book after the UK left the EU. Understanding what you are entitled to — and from when — can make a real difference to your pay, your working conditions, and your ability to plan your finances.

Disclaimer: This article is general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Agency work arrangements can be complex and vary in their detail. If you are unsure about your specific situation, speak to Acas, a Citizens Advice bureau, a trade union, or a qualified employment solicitor. Statutory figures (such as national minimum wage rates and holiday pay calculations) change regularly; always check GOV.UK for the current rates before relying on any number.

Agency Worker Rights in the UK: The 12-Week Rule Explained

Day-One Rights: What You Are Entitled to Immediately

From the very first day you start an assignment through a temporary work agency, you have certain rights that do not require any qualifying period. These are sometimes called "day-one rights" under the AWR:

• Access to collective facilities — you must be given the same access to on-site facilities as comparable employees of the hirer. This includes the staff canteen or break room, car parking, a crèche or childcare facilities, prayer rooms, a staff common room, and similar shared amenities. The hirer cannot reserve these for direct staff only.
• Information about job vacancies — the hirer must make you aware of any relevant permanent or fixed-term job vacancies at the organisation. This does not mean you automatically get the job, but you must have the same chance as any other worker to find out about and apply for roles. In practice this normally means ensuring you can see vacancy noticeboards, internal emails, or the intranet job listings that direct staff can see.

These rights apply regardless of how long you have been on an assignment and regardless of whether your agency has put you on a pay-between-assignments contract. They are enforceable from day one and cannot be contracted out of.

The 12-Week Qualifying Period: Equal Treatment Rights

The more significant set of protections kicks in once you have completed 12 calendar weeks in the same role with the same hirer. After this qualifying period, you are entitled to the same basic working and employment conditions as a comparable worker employed directly by the hirer. This principle is known as equal treatment.

What "equal treatment" covers after 12 weeks:

• Pay — you must receive the same basic pay as a comparable direct employee doing the same or broadly similar work. This includes your hourly rate or salary, any overtime pay, shift allowances, unsocial hours premiums, risk payments, and performance bonuses directly linked to your individual work (though discretionary bonuses based on company-wide performance are generally excluded).
• Working time — the same limits on working hours and rest breaks. If comparable direct employees have a right to a paid 30-minute break after six hours, you must receive the same.
• Rest breaks and rest periods — daily and weekly rest under the Working Time Regulations 1998.
• Annual leave — you must receive the same holiday entitlement as a comparable employee. The Working Time Regulations already give all workers a minimum of 5.6 weeks' paid holiday per year (pro-rated for part-timers and for the proportion of the year worked), but if the hirer gives direct staff more — say, 28 days excluding bank holidays — you become entitled to the same after 12 weeks. See our guide on holiday entitlement in the UK for a full breakdown of how annual leave is calculated and accrued.
• Night work — the same protections around night shifts and health assessments for night workers.
• Duration of working time — access to part-time working arrangements on the same basis as comparable employees, if relevant.

What equal treatment does not cover even after 12 weeks:

• Occupational sick pay (you retain your statutory sick pay entitlement — see our guide on statutory sick pay in the UK — but you do not automatically gain the hirer's enhanced sick pay scheme)
• Occupational maternity, paternity, or adoption pay beyond the statutory minimum
• Redundancy pay from the hirer (you are employed by or through the agency, not the hirer)
• Access to the hirer's occupational pension scheme (though you may be auto-enrolled in the agency's pension)
• Share schemes or share options
• Discretionary bonuses linked to overall business performance rather than individual work
• Benefits in kind such as staff discount cards or company cars (unless these are effectively a form of pay)

How the 12-Week Qualifying Clock Works

The 12-week clock is calculated in calendar weeks, not working days or hours. A week counts even if you only worked one hour in it. The clock runs from the first day you begin an assignment at a particular hirer in a particular role.

What continues the clock (does not break or reset it):

• Moving between agencies but remaining in the same role at the same hirer — the clock is tied to the role and hirer, not the agency
• Taking a break of up to six weeks between assignments (for any reason)
• Taking sick leave (including any continuous period of sick leave)
• Taking annual leave or bank holidays
• Being absent due to jury service
• Taking time off for pregnancy-related reasons or ante-natal appointments
• Maternity, paternity, or adoption leave — these pause the clock rather than breaking it
• Any temporary shutdown of the workplace (such as an annual factory shutdown or a temporary closure imposed by the employer)

What breaks and resets the clock to zero:

• A break of more than six weeks between assignments (for a reason other than those listed above)
• Starting an entirely different role at the same hirer (not just a variation in tasks within the same role)
• Moving to a completely new hirer in a different role
• Taking a deliberate structure designed to reset the clock — so-called "six-week gap" arrangements where a hirer regularly terminates and restarts assignments just under six weeks apart, specifically to prevent you from reaching 12 weeks. Such arrangements are unlawful if their sole or principal purpose is to avoid equal treatment rights, and Employment Tribunals have held employers liable for designing them in bad faith.

The rules around the clock can feel complicated in practice, especially if you move between multiple hirers or take breaks of varying lengths. If you are unsure whether your clock has reset, contact Acas.

The Swedish Derogation — Abolished Since 6 April 2020

Before April 2020, agencies could use a legal structure known as the "Swedish derogation" (or pay-between-assignments model) to exempt agency workers from the right to equal pay after 12 weeks. Under these contracts, the agency paid the worker a minimum amount of pay between assignments in return for giving up the equal pay entitlement. This loophole was widely criticised because it was frequently used to keep agency workers on lower pay than their permanent colleagues indefinitely.

The Swedish derogation was abolished on 6 April 2020 by the Agency Workers (Amendment) Regulations 2019. Any pay-between-assignments clause in a contract signed after that date is void. If you are on a contract that still contains such a clause, it has no legal effect and you are entitled to the full equal pay protections after your 12-week qualifying period, just like any other agency worker. If you were told otherwise by an agency after April 2020, you may have an underpayment claim. Check with Acas or an employment solicitor.

Note that pay-between-assignments contracts themselves are not illegal — agencies may still offer to pay workers between assignments as an optional benefit — but they cannot be used to strip away equal pay rights.

Umbrella Companies and How Pay Works

Many agency workers, particularly in construction, IT contracting, nursing banks, and other sectors, are paid not directly by the agency but through an umbrella company. Under an umbrella arrangement, the umbrella company acts as your employer. It invoices the agency or hirer, deducts its own margin, and then pays you as an employee — handling PAYE income tax and National Insurance contributions before your money arrives.

Key points for umbrella company workers:

• You are still covered by the AWR — umbrella company workers have the same 12-week equal treatment rights as workers placed directly by agencies
• The assignment rate (what the end-client pays) should be clearly communicated to you. Be wary of any arrangement where the umbrella's margin, employer's National Insurance, and holiday pay are all deducted from a single rate before you receive your pay — this is sometimes called the "rolled-up" or "composite" model and can significantly reduce what you actually take home
• Holiday pay should be paid on top of your basic rate, not rolled into it — "rolled-up" holiday pay (where holiday pay is built into your hourly rate rather than paid when you actually take leave) is a contested area; seek advice if you suspect your holiday pay is being absorbed into your rate rather than paid separately
• Umbrella companies must be registered with HMRC and operate PAYE correctly; avoid any umbrella that promises you can take most of your income as a loan, in cryptocurrency, through a trust, or through any scheme that claims not to be taxable income — HMRC actively pursues these as tax avoidance
• From 2026, regulations introduced under the Finance Act 2022 require umbrella companies to operate PAYE; check GOV.UK for the latest guidance on umbrella compliance requirements

How Agency Worker Rights Differ from Being a Direct Employee or on a Zero-Hours Contract

Agency work is a distinct employment category with its own rules. It is worth understanding how it compares to direct employment and to zero-hours working, since workers in sectors like hospitality, care, and retail often move between all three arrangements.

Agency worker vs. direct employee: A direct employee has a contract of employment with the company they work for. They generally get unfair dismissal rights after two years, occupational sick pay if the employer offers it, occupational pension, redundancy pay from the employer, and access to internal grievance procedures. Agency workers work for the hirer but are employed (in a loose sense) by or through the agency. After 12 weeks they get equal basic pay and conditions, but not the full suite of employment rights. See our guide on how to use temp agencies in the UK if you want a practical guide to finding and working with agencies.

Agency worker vs. zero-hours contract worker: A zero-hours contract worker is employed directly by the company (not through an agency) but has no guaranteed hours. They may have limited or full employee status depending on their contract. Agency workers have a triangular relationship — worker, agency, hirer — with specific AWR protections. Zero-hours workers have different protections: they cannot be required to work exclusively for one employer, and the Employment Rights Act 2025 introduced a right to request a guaranteed-hours contract after a qualifying period. See our guide on zero-hours contracts in the UK for detail on those rules.

Agency worker vs. fixed-term contract employee: A fixed-term employee is employed directly on a contract of a defined length. They have the right not to be treated less favourably than comparable permanent employees from day one. Agency workers have to wait 12 weeks for the equivalent equal treatment right. See our guide on fixed-term contracts in the UK for more on that.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the 12-week qualifying period for agency workers?

After 12 calendar weeks working in the same role at the same hirer, agency workers become entitled to equal treatment on basic pay, working time, rest breaks, and annual leave compared to what a comparable directly employed worker receives. The clock runs in calendar weeks (not working days), is tied to the specific role and hirer rather than the agency, and is not broken by short absences of up to six weeks, sick leave, annual leave, jury service, or maternity and paternity leave.

Does the 12-week qualifying period reset if I switch agencies?

No — not automatically. The qualifying clock is tied to the role and the hirer, not the agency supplying you. If you carry on doing the same job at the same company through a different agency, the weeks you have already accumulated count towards the 12 weeks. The clock only resets if you move to a substantially different role, move to a new hirer, or take a break of more than six weeks for a reason that is not one of the protected reasons (sick leave, annual leave, maternity leave, etc.).

Am I entitled to sick pay as an agency worker?

Yes — you are entitled to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) if you meet the qualifying conditions (earnings above the lower earnings limit and four or more consecutive sick days). The AWR's 12-week equal treatment right does not automatically give you the hirer's enhanced occupational sick pay scheme; equal treatment on pay covers your basic working pay, not benefit schemes like occupational sick pay. Check GOV.UK for current SSP rates. Our guide on statutory sick pay in the UK explains the full eligibility rules.

What happened to the Swedish derogation?

The Swedish derogation — a mechanism that allowed agencies to use "pay-between-assignments" contracts to opt agency workers out of equal pay rights after 12 weeks — was abolished on 6 April 2020. Any such clause in a contract is now void. If you are on an agency contract that still contains this clause, it has no legal effect and you are entitled to equal pay after 12 weeks regardless. If your agency told you otherwise after April 2020, you may have an underpayment claim and should contact Acas.

What can I do if I think my agency worker rights have been breached?

First, raise the issue informally with your agency — explain what you believe you are owed under the AWR and ask for an explanation of how your pay or conditions are calculated. If that does not resolve it, you can raise a formal grievance with the agency. If the matter is still not resolved, you can bring a claim to an Employment Tribunal; the time limit is generally three months less one day from the date of the breach, and you must go through Acas Early Conciliation first. Both the hirer and the agency can be respondents to an AWR claim depending on which right was breached.

Whether you are looking for your next temp assignment or hoping to move into a permanent role, Atlas helps workers across every sector — care, logistics, hospitality, admin, construction, and beyond — find, score, and apply for jobs that genuinely fit their experience. Create a free Atlas account and let Atlas search the market for you.