After you have worked for 12 calendar weeks in the same role with the same hirer you will be entitled to equal treatment irrespective of your working pattern (e.g. full time or part time) and irrespective of which or how many agencies supplied you to do the same role at the hirer. Any time worked [...]
The qualifying period will be paused (rather than stopped) if you take: a break (for any reason) of 6 weeks or less and then return to the same role with the same hirer certified sick leave for no more than 28 weeks time off during periods where the hirer does not require you to work [...]
The Regulations are not retrospective. Therefore any time spent on an assignment up to and including 30 September 2011 will not count towards your qualifying clock. The earliest date you can qualify for equal treatment is 25 December 2011 subject to any breaks you take.
Your agency may ask you to give them details of previous assignments that you have completed. If they do so, you are not under a statutory obligation to provide them with such information, but if you do not, they will not be able to ensure that they provide you with equal treatment rights. Also, please [...]
This would mean that you will have two qualifying clocks running at the same time and you will qualify for equal treatment with each of the hirers after working 12 calendar weeks for them (this is only the case if the two roles are different).
The Regulations require that as an agency worker you are treated as if you had been recruited directly by the hirer to do the same job. On a practical level, this means that equal treatment will need to be established in respect of the basic terms and conditions that apply to a comparable worker or [...]
The Regulations contain anti-avoidance measures to prevent agencies and hirers from structuring assignments in a way so as to prevent you from reaching your 12 week qualifying period. This includes – supplying you to connected hirers, rotating you and other agency workers, or repeatedly terminating and recommencing assignments where the most likely explanation is to [...]
The Regulations contain an exemption from equal treatment after 12 weeks in respect of pay only if you are employed by the agency on a particular contract of employment. In order to make use of the exemption that contract must meet certain conditions. In particular, the agency will be required to pay you a minimum [...]
If you have completed the 12 week qualifying period and if you believe that you are not receiving the equal treatment that you feel you should be getting, we suggest that you make an informal enquiry to the agency to find out if this has happened and if so why it has happened. It may [...]
There will be no independent body tasked with policing and enforcing the Regulations. Instead you will be able to pursue a claim in an Employment Tribunal in order to enforce your rights. Such claims can either be brought against the hirer the agency or both depending on the particular breach in question. The Employment Tribunal [...]