The main purpose of the Agency Worker Directive (AWD) is to ensure the appropriate protection of temporary agency workers through the application of the principle of equal treatment and to address unnecessary restrictions and prohibitions on the use of agency work. The AWD follows similar directives on fixed-term and part-time work (which were based on European social partner agreements). Under the Directive 'equal treatment' relates only to basic working and employment conditions of temporary agency workers (e.g. pay, working time). The Directive does not affect the employment status of temporary workers.
The Directive allows the UK to implement the agreement reached on the 20 May 2008 between the CBI and the TUC, which means that after 12 weeks in a given job, an agency worker will be entitled to equal treatment (at least the basic working and employment conditions that would apply to the worker concerned if s/he had been recruited directly by that undertaking to occupy the same job).
Day 1 rights for all agency workers
If you hire agency workers, you must ensure that they have or they can access your facilities (such as canteen, childcare facilities, etc.) and can access information on your job vacancies from the first day of their assignment.
After 12 weeks in the same job
The equal treatment entitlements relate to pay and other basic working conditions (annual leave, rest breaks etc.) and come into effect after an agency worker completes a 12 week qualifying period in the same job with the same hirer. After completing the qualifying period, pregnant agency workers will now be allowed to take paid time off for ante-natal appointments during an assignment.
It is not retrospective and for those agency workers already on assignment, the 12 week qualifying period will start from 1 October 2011.
What this means for you if you are a hirer of agency workers
If you are an employer and hire temporary agency workers through a temporary work agency, you should provide your agency with up to date information on your terms and conditions of employment so that they can ensure that an agency worker receives the correct equal treatment, as if they had been recruited directly, after 12 weeks in the same job. You are responsible for ensuring that all agency workers can access your facilities and are able to view information on your job vacancies from the first day of their assignment with you.
If you are a ‘temp’ agency worker
From 1 October 2011, after you have worked in the same job for 12 weeks, you will qualify for equal treatment in respect of pay and basic working conditions. You can accumulate these weeks even if you only work a few hours a week. Your temporary work agency is likely to ask for details of your work history to help establish when you are entitled to equal treatment.
If you are a temporary work agency
If you are involved in the supply of temporary agency workers, you need to ask the hirer for information about pay and basic working conditions (when it is clear that the agency worker will be in the same job with the same hirer for more than 12 weeks) so that they are treated as if they had been directly recruited to the job.
