Labour Research (September 2011)

Law Queries

Agency workers

Q. Our member is an agency worker who is interested in securing a permanent post. The employer is not letting him know about vacancies, so he is missing out on opportunities as they arise. Is there anything that can be done?

A. As of 1 October 2011 there will be. Under regulation 13 of the Agency Worker Regulations 2010 (AWR), hirers will be required to inform agency workers of any relevant vacant posts they have. The hirer is under an obligation to ensure that agency workers have the same opportunity as other workers to secure a permanent post with the hirer.

The relevant comparator (the person against whom the agency worker should compare his or her treatment) is a worker being supervised and directed by the hirer, who carries out the same of broadly similar work to the agency worker, and who works at the same establishment (regulation 13(2) of the AWR). (An individual who no longer works for the hirer cannot be an agency worker’s comparator: regulation 13(3) of the AWR).

Hirers can meet this requirement by simply pinning a notice to a communal noticeboard or publicising vacancies on a website or intranet (regulation 13(4) of the AWR). However, the agency worker needs to know how to access vacancy information.

While employers have an obligation to inform agency workers of vacancies, the AWR does not prevent an employer stipulating, for example, that all applicants must have relevant experience.


This information is copyright to the Labour Research Department (LRD) and may not be reproduced without the permission of the LRD.