Employment Rights Act 2025

4 Agency workers: guaranteed hours and rights relating to shifts E+W+S

(1) After section 27BU of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (inserted by section 3) insert—

“Chapter 5 E+W+S Agency workers: guaranteed hours and rights relating to shifts

27BV Agency workers

(1) In this Part, “agency worker” means an individual—

(a) who has a worker’s contract or an arrangement with a work-finding agency by virtue of which the individual is (or is to be) supplied to work for and under the supervision and direction of another person,

(b) who does not do (or is not to do) the work under a worker’s contract with the other person, and

(c) who is not (or is not to be) a party to a contract under which the individual undertakes to do the work for another party to the contract whose status is, by virtue of the contract, that of a client or customer of any profession or business undertaking carried on by the individual.

(2) In this Part—

(a) references to an agency worker include, where the context requires, a former agency worker, and

(b) where that is the case, references in relation to the agency worker to a work-finding agency, and references (however expressed) to a person for and under the supervision and direction of whom the agency worker works, are to be read accordingly.

(3) An individual is an “agency worker” for the purposes of this Part—

(a) whether the individual is (or is to be) supplied to work for and under the supervision and direction of another person—

(i) by the work-finding agency referred to in subsection (1)(a), or

(ii) by a person other than the work-finding agency;

(b) whether the individual is (or is to be) paid, for work done for and under the supervision and direction of another person—

(i) by the work-finding agency referred to in subsection (1)(a), or

(ii) by a person other than the work-finding agency.

(4) In this Part, “work-finding agency” means a person carrying on the business (whether or not with a view to profit and whether or not in conjunction with any other business) of finding, or seeking to find, work for individuals to do for and under the supervision and direction of other persons (but not in the employment of those other persons).

(5) Part 1 of Schedule A1 contains provision about guaranteed hours and agency workers.

(6) Part 2 of Schedule A1 contains provision about rights of agency workers to reasonable notice in relation to shifts.

(7) Part 3 of Schedule A1 contains provision about rights of agency workers to payment for shifts that are cancelled, moved or curtailed at short notice.”

(2) Schedule 1 inserts Schedule A1 into the Employment Rights Act 1996.

Commencement Information

I1 S. 4 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 159(3)

I2 S. 4 in force at 6.1.2026 for specified purposes by S.I. 2026/3, reg. 2(2)(d)