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Restrictions on employment agencies and businesses

The rules governing employment agencies apply if:

• they are trying to find you temporary work
• you are a jobseeker looking for permanent employment with a new employer

There are differences in the rules that apply, depending on whether you are looking for temporary or permanent work.

• Using employment agencies

• Agency worker employment rights

Responsibilities of agencies

If you are an agency worker using an agency, your agency must give you written terms of employment before looking for work for you. This should include:

• whether you are employed under a contract for services or a contract of employment
• your notice period
• your pay details
• your holiday entitlement

You agency must also:

• pay you for work you have done, even if the employment agency hasn’t been paid by the hiring company
• state the truth when placing advertisements (this also applies to jobseekers using an employment agency to find a job)

If a new job is offered to you, your agency must give you the full written details of any new job within three days. This should include:

• who you will be working for
• your start date
• likely duration of the work
• type of work
• location
• your hours
• health and safety risks and steps the hirer has taken to control such risks
• experience, training or qualifications needed for the role
• any expenses payable
• your rate of pay

Restrictions on agencies

If you are an agency worker using an agency, your agency can't:

• change your terms of employment with them without your permission
• withhold your pay because you haven't given them a signed timesheet (however, the employment agency can make sure that you have actually worked)
• penalise you for ending an assignment (this only applies if you are employed under a contract of employment)
• stop you from taking a permanent job with a company you worked with (although in certain circumstances, the agency can require a fee from the hiring company)
• prevent you from registering with other agencies (also applies to jobseekers)
• give information about you to any third parties (other than for legal purposes or to any professional body of which you are a member) or to a current employer without your permission (also applies to jobseekers)
• enter into a contract with a hirer on your behalf or sign you up to a contract on behalf of a hirer (also applies to jobseekers)
• make a provision of finding a job conditional upon you using other services that the agency is allowed to charge a fee for charge a fee for finding you work (see further below)
• supply you to a hirer to perform the work usually performed by their own employees who are involved in a strike or other industrial action

Fees and payments for services offered by the employment agency

Your employment agency can’t charge you a fee for finding or trying to find you work. They can charge you for additional non-work-finding services (eg CV writing) but they cannot make you use these services as a condition for finding you work.

If your employment agency provides services that are charged for, you must be given full written details of the services. This should include your right to cancel or withdraw from the services and the length of the notice period you must give.

You can cancel any paid services without suffering any penalty, including any services for accommodation, transport or training. You must give a minimum of ten working days written notice to the agency to cancel living accommodation and a minimum of five working days notice for all other services.

If your employment agency sets out a longer notice period, then it is breaking the law and you should make a complaint about the agency. This applies equally to agency workers and jobseekers using an employment agency to find a new job.

Working abroad

If you are offered work abroad, your agency must check that the hiring company has business premises in the UK. If they don’t, your agency must ask the hiring company for a written statement to say that the proposed work will not be detrimental to your interests.

If your agency has provided you with free travel to the job, the agency must also pay for your return fare:

• when your job ends
• if the job does not start
• if they have a written agreement with your hiring company to pay
• if your hiring company doesn’t pay for the return fare when they should

If you are accepting a job abroad, check the written statement provided by your agency carefully. Make sure you are clear about the terms and conditions of the employment before you leave.

Workers under the age of 18

If you are under 18-years-old there are additional protections for you. If you are expected to work during school hours, your agency must check that you have received vocational guidance from the local careers service. If the agency is arranging a job abroad, it must have written consent from your parent or guardian.

Differences in the entertainment and modelling industries

If you use employment agencies to find you work in the entertainment or modelling industries then some slightly different rules apply to those agencies.

• Entertainment and modelling work

Fees payable by the hiring business

There are different fees that agencies and employers sometimes pay to each other. You should not be charged for any of the following fees.

Temp-to-perm fees

If your hiring company wants to take you on permanently they may have to pay your employment agency a ‘temp-to-perm’ fee.

Temp-to-temp fees

If your hiring company changes the agency they use but wants you to keep working for them as a temp, then they might request that you change or register with another agency. Your old agency could charge your hiring company a ‘temp-to-temp’ fee for your transfer to another agency.

Temp-to-third party fees

If your hiring company introduces you to another business that employs you directly your agency could charge the second business a ‘temp-to-third party’ fee.

Where to get help

If the agency has breached your contract you can take action yourself through the courts. If the agency makes an unlawful deduction from your pay you can complain to an Employment Tribunal.

The Pay and Work Rights Helpline can give you support or advice on your rights as an agency worker. If you have a general enquiry about your employment rights as an agency worker, you can call the helpline or use their online form.

If you would like to make a complaint about an employment agency, you should complete the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS) online complaint form.

• Pay and Work Rights Helpline

• Complain about an agency to the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS) Opens new window