What is already in force
Since 18 February 2026, employment agencies and the businesses that hire their workers share a joint obligation to provide agency workers with reasonable notice of shifts, shift changes, and cancellations. This is already law — it is not a future change you can prepare for later.
What "reasonable notice" means in practice is not precisely defined in the legislation, and will likely be clarified through case law over time. The working assumption from ACAS guidance is that last-minute cancellations without pay, or calls the morning of a shift expecting someone to appear by lunchtime, are likely to fall short of the standard.
Practical implication: If you are currently booking agency workers with short notice, or cancelling bookings the morning of a shift, you and your agency are already potentially in breach of the February 2026 obligation. Review your agency contract and your booking practices now.
What is coming in 2027
The guaranteed hours right — which will require zero-hours and low-hours workers to be offered a contract reflecting their actual hours after a qualifying reference period — is expected to extend to agency workers in 2027.
The exact mechanics are still being developed through secondary legislation. The core question being worked through is how the obligation applies when there are two parties involved — the agency (who employs the worker) and the hirer (who uses them). The current direction of travel suggests the hirer will share in the obligation when workers have established a regular pattern at their site.
What to think about if you regularly use the same agency workers
Many businesses develop a pool of reliable agency workers they book repeatedly. In practice, these workers have a relationship with the hirer as well as the agency. ERA 2025 is beginning to formalise what that relationship means legally.
If you have agency workers who have been coming to your site regularly for six months or more — and you plan for them to continue — it is worth thinking now about whether the most practical long-term arrangement is to bring some of them on as directly-employed casuals. This gives you more control over the relationship, potentially reduces costs (agency markup vs direct employment), and puts you in a cleaner position for the 2027 obligations.
This is not a legal requirement — it is a business consideration. But ERA 2025 makes the calculus different to what it was before.
Agency worker rights: before and after ERA 2025
| Right | Before ERA 2025 | After ERA 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Shift notice | No formal obligation | Reasonable notice required (joint, since Feb 2026) |
| Guaranteed hours | No right | Expected 2027 — applies after qualifying period |
| SSP | Agency responsible (earnings threshold) | Agency responsible (no earnings threshold since April 2026) |
| Holiday pay | Agency responsible | Agency responsible (52-week average method) |
| Equal pay (AWR) | After 12 weeks at same hirer | Unchanged — AWR rules remain |
Track agency workers alongside your direct team
FlexiWork Agency lets you book verified workers directly, track their hours, and maintain the records ERA 2025 will require — at 15% vs the typical 25–35% agency markup.
Start free — 30 days