The split of responsibilities: hirer vs agency
The most important thing to understand about managing agency workers is that two separate parties have legal responsibility for different aspects of the arrangement.
The agency is responsible for: paying the worker (including NMW compliance), operating PAYE and National Insurance, paying statutory sick pay, administering holiday pay, and most formal employment obligations. If a worker has a pay dispute or an employment tribunal claim, it is directed at the agency, not at you.
You as the hirer are responsible for: health and safety on your premises, rest breaks during the working day, equal treatment under the Agency Workers Regulations once the 12-week threshold is reached, and since February 2026, jointly with the agency providing reasonable notice of shifts. You also direct the work itself — what the worker does, where, and how.
The practical implication is that you manage the day-to-day work without managing the employment relationship. That distinction matters whenever something goes wrong.
The 12-week AWR rule
Under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010, an agency worker who has been in the same role at your site for 12 continuous weeks acquires the right to the same basic pay and core working conditions as a comparable direct employee doing the same work.
A break of fewer than six weeks does not reset the clock. Re-booking the same worker shortly after a gap does not restart their entitlement.
In practice this means: if your comparable permanent staff in the same role are paid more than the agency worker, you must equalise from week 13. The agency will pass this cost on to you in the form of a higher charge. The solution is not to rotate workers artificially to avoid the threshold — that is unlawful under AWR. The solution is to know when each worker is approaching week 12, plan ahead, and decide whether to accept the rate increase or consider converting the worker to a direct casual.
ERA 2025: new obligations that sit with the hirer
The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduced obligations that apply directly to you as a hirer, not just to the agency.
Reasonable shift notice (from February 2026)
You and your agency jointly must provide agency workers with reasonable notice of shifts, changes, and cancellations. This is already in force. If your operation still books agency workers the morning of a shift, or cancels bookings at short notice without compensation, you are operating outside the current legal standard.
Review your agency contract. Many were written before this change took effect. If your contract still describes short-notice booking as standard practice, it needs updating. Raise this with your agency — it is in their interest too.
Guaranteed hours records (needed from 2027)
From 2027, agency workers who regularly work at your site are expected to gain the right to be offered a contract reflecting their actual hours. The agency will handle the employment side — but you will need your own records of how many hours each agency worker worked at your site, per reference period, to manage the process.
Start recording this now. A scheduling system that logs actual start and end times per worker per shift gives you this data automatically.
Check your agency contract now: Many agency contracts predate February 2026 and still describe same-day notice as standard. A contract that conflicts with your current legal obligations is a risk. Raise it with your agency proactively rather than waiting for a dispute to surface it.
Day-to-day management on site
Induction every time for new workers
Every agency worker arriving at your site for the first time needs a site induction — fire evacuation routes, equipment they will handle, hygiene or safety rules relevant to your operation. This is a health and safety legal obligation. Document it. A worker who was not inducted and suffers an injury creates significant liability exposure.
Managing performance during a shift
You can redirect, correct, and coach an agency worker during a shift — you direct the work. What you cannot do is take formal disciplinary action. If a worker is not performing adequately, manage the immediate situation on the day, then report your concerns to the agency after the shift. Request the worker is not redeployed to your site if necessary. Keep a record of what you reported and when.
Track who worked, when, for how long
Know which agency workers were on your premises, on which dates, and for how many actual hours. You need this for AWR tracking, ERA 2025 compliance, operational records, and incident management. A scheduling system that records actual clock-in and clock-out times per worker covers all of these simultaneously.
Cultivating your most reliable agency workers
Some agency workers will stand out — they know your operation, arrive prepared, perform well, and come back consistently. These workers are worth more to your business than a random rotation of new faces each week.
Request them by name when booking. Assign them your better shifts. Treat them as you would a reliable direct casual. Workers who feel valued come back. Workers who are treated like interchangeable units do not.
If you find yourself significantly dependent on particular agency workers for regular shifts, that dependence is worth examining. There may be a cost and compliance case for converting those relationships to direct casual employment — particularly given the ERA 2025 changes ahead.
Track agency workers alongside your direct team
FlexiWork puts your whole workforce — permanent, casual, and agency — in one rota. Actual hours logged per worker per shift. ERA 2025 records built automatically.
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