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Browse frequently asked questions and answers on key HR issues. Navigate by topic or key word search. View latest additions or suggest a question to the XpertHR editorial team.
Why do organisations that are not employment agencies need to consider the Agency Workers Regulations 2010? Who is an "agency worker" for the purposes of the Agency Workers Regulations 2010? What rights do agency workers have under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 from the first day of their assignment? Under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010, who is responsible for ensuring that agency workers have access to collective facilities and job vacancies from day one of the assignment? What rights do agency workers have under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 after the 12-week qualifying period? Under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010, who is responsible for ensuring that agency workers have the same basic terms and conditions as a comparable direct recruit? Do self-employed people have rights under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010? Are workers who are supplied by an in-house staff bank covered by the Agency Workers Regulations 2010? In what way are agency workers' maternity rights enhanced by the Agency Workers Regulations 2010? How is the 12-week qualifying period under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 calculated?
Under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010, an agency worker who works in the same role with the same hirer for 12 calendar weeks will qualify for equal basic terms and conditions of employment as a directly recruited employee in the same job. For the purposes of calculating the 12-week qualifying period, any week during which the agency worker works on the assignment is counted as a calendar week. For example, if an agency worker works for one day a week on an assignment, after 12 weeks he or she will have completed the qualifying period.
A calendar week is any period of seven days, with the qualification period starting on the first day of the assignment.
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