If you work for employers on a temporary basis via an agency, your contract is usually with the agency that books you. You’re not classified as an employee, and you’re not self-employed. In law, you’re what’s called a ‘worker’.
As a worker, you have certain rights. These include the right:
- to be paid the national living wage
- to be paid for annual leave
- to work in a safe environment
- to have rest breaks and limits on your working time
- to have the same access as any other employee to ‘collective facilities and amenities’ such as the canteen, childcare, transport service and other facilities
These rights apply from the first day you start work at any new client company.
As with many legal matters, things are not completely straightforward, and there are a few exceptions. You are not protected if you are genuinely self-employed, on a managed service contract, or working under your own personal service company.
Have you been working at the same place continuously for 12 weeks?
If you’ve doing the same job at the same company for 12 weeks continuously (even if you’re temping there for only one day a week), you are entitled to exactly the same treatment as a comparable permanent employee. That means you should get the same working conditions and same employment conditions.
Does your agency contract include pay between assignments?
If your agency pays you during the waiting period between two jobs, you are likely to be recognised as an employee of the agency (not a worker).
Note that you will probably not receive the same pay as other employees at the company where you are temping, even if you’ve been there for 12 weeks or more.
What if things go wrong…
Workers have the same rights as employees when it comes to being protected against discrimination or deductions from wages.
Have any of these situations happened to you?
- You were discriminated against on the grounds of your disability, gender, age, race, religion / belief, or sexual orientation
- Money was unlawfully deducted from your wages
If any of these regulations have been breached, first have a chat with the agency or the hiring company. If that doesn’t work, you’ll need to seek professional legal advice from a specialist employment lawyer like us, because you may be entitled to make a claim to an employment tribunal.
Need help?
For a FREE assessment of your claim, call
We have already helped thousands of people to win millions of pounds in compensation.
You have a choice of ways to pay, including ‘no win, no fee’.