The Agency Worker Regulations 2010 set out the rights of people who work through an agency such as ST HECS. If you pick up shifts as a healthcare assistant, support worker or nurse through an agency, these rules decide what you are entitled to from your first day and what changes once you have worked in the same role for 12 weeks. They matter to care homes and supported living providers too, because the hirer has responsibilities as well as the agency. This guide explains the agency worker regulations in plain terms, using the official GOV.UK guidance.
Who counts as an agency worker
You are an agency worker if you have a contract with an agency but work temporarily for a hirer, such as a care home, a supported living service or a hospital, under that hirer’s direction. You are not an agency worker if you are genuinely self-employed and running your own business, or if the agency finds you a permanent job directly with the employer.
Agency workers’ rights from day one
GOV.UK sets out the rights that apply from your first day on an assignment. You have the employment rights of a worker, and you can use the same shared facilities and services as the hirer’s permanent staff. For a care setting, that includes things like:
- The staff room, canteen or drinks facilities
- Staff car parking or transport arrangements
- Any workplace creche or facilities for new mothers
Hirers also have to give agency workers information about relevant job vacancies, so you have the same chance to apply as their own staff. These rights apply whatever the length of the assignment.
The 12 week rule in the agency worker regulations
The most important part of the agency worker regulations is the 12 week rule. Once you have worked in the same role with the same hirer for 12 calendar weeks, you are entitled to the same basic working and employment conditions as if the hirer had recruited you directly. According to GOV.UK’s guide to agency workers’ rights, that includes:
- Equal pay with a comparable permanent colleague doing the same job
- Automatic enrolment in a workplace pension
- Paid annual leave
The 12 weeks start on your first day of the assignment and do not have to be in one unbroken run. Weeks are counted as calendar weeks, and the number of hours you work in each week does not matter.
What pauses the 12 week clock
Some breaks pause the count rather than reset it. When you return to the same role, you pick up where you left off. GOV.UK lists these as:
- Breaks of six weeks or less
- Sickness or injury of up to 28 weeks
- Annual leave you are entitled to
- Times the workplace closes, such as Christmas or industrial action
- Jury service of up to 28 weeks
Pregnancy and maternity related absence keeps the clock running, and so can adoption and paternity leave if you are entitled to it.
What resets it to zero
The count starts again from the beginning if:
- You start a new assignment with a different hirer
- There is a gap of more than six weeks between assignments with the same hirer
- You move to a role that is substantively different, meaning it needs different skills or training, or has a different pay rate, location or working hours
For healthcare staff, this last point matters. Moving from a healthcare assistant shift to a senior carer role with a different pay rate, for example, is likely to count as a new role.
What equal treatment covers, and what it does not
After 12 weeks, equal treatment covers basic pay and working conditions such as rest breaks, night work limits and annual leave. It does not give you every benefit a permanent employee has. Rights linked to employee status, such as statutory redundancy pay or protection from unfair dismissal, depend on whether you are an employee, not on the agency worker regulations.
If you think you are not getting what you are owed, the official guidance for recruiters explains how the agency and the hirer share responsibility. Ask your agency first, in writing, for the pay and conditions information you are entitled to.
What care providers need to know
If you book agency carers or nurses, you share responsibility for meeting the regulations. In practice, providers need to:
- Give agency staff access to shared facilities from the first day
- Share information about relevant permanent vacancies
- Keep track of how long each agency worker has been in the same role
- Give the agency accurate pay and conditions information for comparable permanent roles before the 12 weeks are up
A good agency will ask for this information early, so there is no surprise in week 12. Our guide to recruiting healthcare staff in Luton covers what else to expect when you work with an agency.
Agency work for care and healthcare staff in Luton and Bedfordshire
Most agency care and healthcare staff we work with live in Luton, Dunstable, Houghton Regis or Bedford and take shifts in care homes, supported living services and healthcare settings across Bedfordshire, Milton Keynes and Hertfordshire. The Agency Workers Regulations apply wherever you work in England, but in practice the questions we get most often are about how the 12-week qualifying period counts when you work across several local settings.
If you work with ST HECS and want to check where you stand, ask us. We will go through your assignments and explain how the rules apply to you.
Working with ST HECS
ST HECS supplies healthcare assistants, support workers and nurses to care homes and supported living services across Luton and Bedfordshire. If you are looking for work, see our healthcare recruitment page. If you need staff, contact our team to talk through your shifts.
Leave a Reply