The Agency Worker Regulations 2010 come into effect on 1 October 2011 and they give agency workers some significant new rights:
From day 1 of an assignment all agency workers must be given access to the hirer’s facilities (such as canteen, childcare facilities, etc) and information on job vacancies.
After 12 weeks in the same job with the same hirer all agency workers will be entitled to be treated equally in relation to basic working conditions. This includes basic pay, the duration of working time, the length of night work, rest periods, rest breaks, time off for ante-natal appointments and annual leave. Thankfully basic pay does not include things like contractual sick pay, maternity paternity and adoption pay, redundancy payments, profit sharing and share option schemes so these will not have to be offered.
The Regulations are not retrospective, so for those agency workers already on assignment, the 12 week qualifying period will only start from 1 October 2011.
To help businesses through the new regulations the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has issued the following guidance.
See: