Under the UK Agency Workers Regulations, agency workers get some rights from day one, such as access to shared facilities, and after 12 weeks in the same job they qualify for equal treatment: the same pay as a comparable permanent colleague, paid annual leave and automatic pension enrolment.
You're an agency worker if you have a contract with an agency but work temporarily for a hirer. Using an agency to find a permanent or fixed-term job doesn't make you one. These rules come from GOV.UK's guide for agency workers, read in October 2026, and they matter to small businesses that hire temps as much as to the temps themselves.
Day-one rights
- A worker's employment rights from the first day.
- The same access as permanent staff to shared facilities and services, such as a canteen or drinks machines, a workplace creche or mother and baby room, and car parking or transport between sites.
- The National Minimum Wage for every hour worked, even hours not recorded on a timesheet.
- Protection from pregnancy and maternity discrimination, for example being refused a placement or offered only short jobs.
Rights after 12 weeks
After 12 weeks in the job, an agency worker qualifies for the same rights as someone employed directly. GOV.UK calls this equal treatment, and it includes equal pay with a permanent colleague doing the same job, automatic pension enrolment and paid annual leave. Pregnant agency workers also get employee pregnancy rights at 12 weeks, including paid time off for antenatal care that can't be arranged outside working hours, plus paid travel time.
How the 12 weeks are counted
The clock starts on the first day at work, and the weeks don't have to run back to back. That's the insight most hirers get wrong: a short break or a spell of sickness doesn't reset the count, it only pauses it. GOV.UK sets out three different outcomes:
| What happens | Effect on the 12 weeks |
|---|---|
| A break of 6 weeks or less | Clock pauses, then carries on |
| Sickness or injury leave of up to 28 weeks | Clock pauses |
| Annual leave the worker is entitled to | Clock pauses |
| The workplace closes, for example at Christmas or during industrial action | Clock pauses |
| Jury service of up to 28 weeks | Clock pauses |
| Pregnancy and up to 26 weeks after childbirth, adoption or paternity leave | Clock keeps running |
| A new job at a different workplace | Starts again from zero |
| A break of more than 6 weeks between jobs at the same workplace | Starts again from zero |
| A substantively different role at the same workplace | Starts again from zero |
A substantively different role means completely new work: different skills or training, a different pay rate, location or working hours. Moving someone to a slightly different desk doesn't count.
What the agency must give you
- Before looking for work for you, a key information document explaining how you'll be paid, the minimum rate you can expect, a sample payslip estimating take-home pay, who pays you, any fees and any benefits.
- Written terms of engagement covering whether you're employed under a contract for services or a contract of employment, your notice period, pay and holiday entitlement.
- When you're offered a job, a written statement with the start date, likely length, type of work, location, hours, expenses, health and safety risks and any experience or qualifications needed.
Workers who agreed terms with an agency before 6 April 2020 don't have to get a key information document. And an agency can't change terms without telling you, or pass your details to a hirer without your permission.
Fees agencies can and can't charge
A recruitment agency can't charge you a fee for finding you work, or for trying to. It can charge for extra services such as CV writing, training or transport, but only with full written details first, and it can't make you buy them to get work. You can cancel without penalty by giving 10 working days' written notice for living accommodation, or 5 working days' notice for other services. Entertainment and modelling agencies follow different rules and can take a commission.
Pay problems
An agency can delay pay while it gets proof of hours, but only for a reasonable time, and it can't refuse to pay you because the hirer's unhappy with your work. That's a contract issue between the agency and the hirer. If an agency still won't pay, you can claim at an employment tribunal, and Acas can advise first.
If you're weighing up other flexible arrangements, my guides to zero-hours contracts, holiday entitlement and workplace pensions cover the rights that sit alongside these.
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
Pregnancy and health risks
If there's a risk to a pregnant agency worker's health, the hirer should make reasonable adjustments so she can keep working. If that isn't possible, the agency must find her alternative work or pay her at the same rate for the expected length of the contract. Agency workers may be able to get Statutory Maternity Pay, but they can't get Statutory Maternity Leave, which is an employee right. Discrimination includes an agency refusing to keep someone on its books, or a hirer refusing to take her back after maternity leave.
My verdict
For hirers, the Agency Workers Regulations are mostly about the 12-week mark. Track each temp's start date, note any pauses, and budget for equal pay and paid leave from week 13. For agency workers, ask for your key information document before you start, and keep your own record of the weeks: it's your evidence if pay doesn't change when it should.
Frequently asked questions
What is the 12-week rule for agency workers?
After 12 weeks in the same job, an agency worker qualifies for equal treatment, including the same pay as a permanent colleague doing the same job, paid annual leave and automatic pension enrolment.
Does sick leave reset the 12 weeks?
No. Sickness or injury leave of up to 28 weeks pauses the qualifying period rather than resetting it.
Can an agency charge me for finding work?
No. GOV.UK says recruitment agencies can't charge a fee for finding or trying to find you work, though they can charge for optional services you agree to in writing.
What resets the agency worker 12-week clock?
A new job at a different workplace, a break of more than 6 weeks between jobs at the same workplace, or a substantively different role at the same workplace.
Do agency workers get holiday pay?
Yes. Paid annual leave is part of equal treatment after 12 weeks, and GOV.UK's guide lists holiday entitlement among the terms the agency must set out in writing.
