Agency workers' rights

As an agency worker you have some rights from your first day with a hirer, and more once you have done 12 weeks in the same role with the same hirer. After 12 weeks you are entitled to the same basic pay and conditions as if you had been recruited directly. These rules come from the Agency Workers Regulations 2010, and they apply to supply teachers, NHS agency nurses, agency social workers and temporary council staff placed through an agency.

Rights from day one

From the first day of an assignment, the hirer (the school, trust or council where you work) must give you:

• access to shared facilities, such as the staff room, canteen, car park, childcare facilities and transport services, on the same terms as directly employed staff unless there is an objective reason not to
• information about job vacancies, so you have the same chance as staff to apply for permanent posts

You also have the basic rights every worker has from day one. Those include the National Living Wage (£12.71 an hour from 1 April 2026 for those aged 21 and over), paid holiday, rest breaks, protection from discrimination, a written statement of terms from the agency, and an itemised payslip.

The 12-week qualifying period

After 12 calendar weeks in the same role with the same hirer, you get equal treatment on basic working and employment conditions. A week counts if you work any part of it, so even one shift in a week counts.

The clock is reset (back to zero) if:

• you start a new assignment with a different hirer
• you stay with the same hirer but the role is substantively different, and the agency tells you in writing what the new role is
• there is a long enough break between assignments with the same hirer (the gov.uk page gives the exact limit)

The clock is paused (it stops but does not reset) for some breaks, including:

• shorter breaks for any reason
• sickness or jury service, up to a limit
• annual leave
• a planned shutdown such as the school summer holiday or Christmas closure
• strikes at the hirer

Pregnancy, maternity, adoption and paternity leave count as if you had worked during them.

The regulations also have anti-avoidance rules. If a hirer or agency structures assignments to stop you ever reaching 12 weeks, for example by rotating you between roles just before the 12th week, that can be challenged.

What equal treatment covers

After 12 weeks you get the same:

• pay, including overtime, shift allowances, unsocial hours payments and holiday pay
• working time, rest breaks and night work protection
• annual leave entitlement

In the NHS, that means pay matching the band and point a directly employed person would get in the same role. For a supply teacher placed in a maintained school, it means pay in line with what the school would pay a teacher it employed directly in that role.

Equal treatment does not cover occupational sick pay, pension schemes, redundancy pay, maternity pay above the statutory level, or most bonuses not directly linked to your own work. You will usually still be enrolled in a workplace pension by the agency, but not in the NHS, Teachers’ or Local Government schemes.

Pay between assignments and umbrella companies

Some agencies pay you through an umbrella company, which becomes your employer for payroll. Check every payslip. The deductions should show income tax, employee National Insurance and pension, not hidden fees or employer costs taken from your pay. The Employment Rights Act 2025 includes regulation of umbrella companies; the government lists this for 2027 with no date set.

Supply teachers

Supply teaching is the most common agency arrangement in schools. A school pays the agency a day rate, and the agency pays you a lower day rate. In the first 12 weeks, the agency can pay you any rate at or above the National Living Wage. After 12 weeks in the same role at the same school, you are entitled to the pay you would get as a directly employed teacher for that role.

Long-term cover often goes past 12 weeks, so keep your own record of the days you worked. The supply teaching guide has more on how this works in practice, and the agency vs bank guide compares agency work with NHS bank shifts.

If you are not getting what you are owed

Start by asking the agency in writing for the pay and terms you think you should get. You have the right to ask for information about the basic conditions of comparable directly employed staff. The agency must reply in writing within a set period. If the agency does not answer, you can ask the hirer.

If that does not solve it, you can bring a tribunal claim against the agency, the hirer or both, depending on who is responsible. You must contact ACAS for early conciliation first. The Fair Work Agency, set up on 7 April 2026, is the government’s new employment rights enforcement body, and the gov.uk page on agency workers’ rights says how to report a problem. A union such as UNISON, the NEU or the RCN can advise members working through agencies.