These Regulations have the aim of providing agency workers with appropriate treatment which achieves the Government’s twin objectives of flexibility for UK employers and fairness for workers. Equal treatment is defined as basic working and employment conditions that would apply to agency workers as if they had been recruited directly by the user undertaking “the hirer” to occupy the same job. This is achieved by implementing EU Directive 2008/104/EC on temporary agency work, which ensures that agency workers receive equal treatment on basic working and employment conditions after 12 weeks in a given job.
The aim of the Regulation is to ensure the protection of temporary agency workers by applying the principle of equal treatment. This provides that the basic working and employment conditions (duration of working time, overtime, breaks, rest periods, night work, holidays, public holidays and pay) of temporary agency workers should be, for the duration of their assignment at a hirer, at least those that would apply if they had been recruited directly by that hirer to occupy the same job.
Furthermore, the Regulation allows for a qualifying period before this equal treatment is applicable on the basis of an agreement between social partners at national level, and for other derogations and flexibilities such as for agency workers on permanent contracts of employment who are paid between assignments.
