AGENCY WORKERS REGULATIONS – Summary for Agency Workers

The ‘Agency Workers Regulations 2010’ (AWR) come into force on 1st October 2011.  This far reaching and very positive piece of legislation will give Agency Workers new equal treatment rights. 

The BIS (Business Innovations and Skills) Guidance is 52 pages long, and the REC (Recruitment and Employment Confederation) Agency Workers/Candidates Briefing paper is 7 pages long (available on our website).  On this document we will give you a very brief summary and the ‘links’ to further information.  Most importantly, please feel that you can phone the White Knight Office for any information or if you have any concerns concerning AWR (or anything else for that matter!).  We will try our best to answer your questions and if we can’t then we will contact the REC Legal team for advice.

As an Agency Worker supplied to work for the agency’s client (the hirer) you will be entitled to work under the same basic employment rights that would have applied if the hirer took you on directly.  These new rights will apply when you have worked for the same hirer in the same role for 12 weeks.  From the first day of every assignment you will also have what is referred to as ‘Day One Rights’. 

Day One Rights   
Access to job boards/intranet and notification of vacancies  
Use of collective onsite facilities such as
• Creche facilities
• Childcare facilities
• Car Parking
• Canteen facilities
• Transport services

Equal Treatment on completion of 12 week qualifying period in same role with same hirer 
in respect of basic working and employment conditions relating to:
• pay (basic salary, individual performance bonus, overtime, shift premia, luncheon vouchers)
• duration of working time
• rest periods and rest breaks
• annual leave

We will be putting lots of new policies and procedures into place over the coming weeks including issuing all our Agency Workers (temps) with new Terms of Engagement.  We would appreciate you taking time to return and acknowledge our emails speedily in order that we remain compliant and ultimately that we protect your and our interests.  Thank you.

http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/employment-matters/strategies/awd
www.rec.uk.com