There are a lot of temporary workers or agency workers who do not understand what their employment rights are. It is important that you know what these rights are to ensure that you are properly protected and treated fairly.
Many of these rights will be the same as those of full-time employees but if you’re unsure contact one of our employment law solicitors for additional advice.
Pay Rights
As a temporary worker, you are entitled to many of the same pay rights as an employee. This will include receiving the national minimum wage and the national living wage as well as having no unlawful deductions from your pay. You are also eligible for payment of wages on time and by an agreed method.
There are some differences in pay rights that you need to know about. If you use timesheets, if they cannot be provided, you must still be paid as the agency is responsible for establishing hours worked. It would help if you also were paid even when the agency has trouble getting payment from the employer.
Holiday Rights
As with pay rights, temporary workers will have similar holiday rights as employees including a minimum statutory 5.6 weeks of paid leave. This paid leave will start building from the date of the first assignment.
While leave requests can be refused by the agency you work through, you are entitled to the total amount of paid leave in the leave year.
If you leave the temporary assignment you are currently working on, you are entitled to carry over your leave to a new assignment. If this is not a viable option for you, you are entitled to be paid for the leave you did not take. This payment will need to be clearly itemised on your payslip.
Sick Leave
As a temporary worker, you do not have to work on an assignment if you are too ill. You also need to have a contact within the agency and the hiring organisation who you can contact regarding your absence.
It would help if you also had guidelines regarding the time when you need to notify the agency and the employer. It is important to note that as a temporary worker, you will not be entitled to the same amount of sick leave as a full-time employee.
Pension Rights
The agency you work with must enrol you in their pension scheme automatically. This must be done within 3 months of the start of your contract. If you do not want to be enrolled in this scheme, you need to contact the agency and pension provider to opt out.
Disclaimer: The contents of this article are for information purposes only and should not be relied upon as formal legal advice. We cannot accept responsibility for any loss as a result of acts or omissions taken in respect of this article. Specific legal advice should be sort tailored to the individual circumstances in all cases.
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