GUIDE — AGENCY PAY
Agency worker pay after 12 weeks
The 12-week rule is not a general promise of equal pay from the first day. It is a specific right under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010: after 12 weeks in the same role with the same hirer, an agency worker is entitled to the same pay and some of the same conditions as a comparable direct employee.
Last updated 22 October 2026. Official sources checked 22 October 2026.
What changes after 12 weeks?
From day one, an agency worker has the basic protections of a worker: the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage for every hour worked (even hours not put on a timesheet), paid holiday, rest breaks, health and safety protection, and protection from discrimination.
After the 12-week qualifying period, the right to equal treatment adds:
- the same pay as a direct employee doing the same job;
- the same holiday and holiday pay as direct employees, including holiday above the legal minimum;
- the same working patterns and rest breaks, including longer lunch breaks or other breaks that direct employees get;
- paid time off for antenatal appointments and adoption appointments, in the cases the law covers.
These are the rights described by ACAS and GOV.UK. Pension auto-enrolment is separate: the agency must enrol eligible workers into its pension scheme, but the right to equal treatment does not give you the hirer's company pension scheme.
What “same pay” includes
The comparison is with a direct employee of the hirer doing the same job. The pay package is looked at element by element, not just the hourly rate.
| Usually included | Usually not included |
|---|---|
| Basic pay | Bonuses linked only to company performance or long service |
| Overtime pay | Expenses |
| Shift, night and unsocial-hours allowances | Enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental or sick pay |
| Commission | The hirer's company pension scheme |
| Individual performance-related bonuses | Redundancy pay, guarantee payments, season ticket loans |
| Holiday pay above the statutory minimum | Paid time off for trade union duties |
The exact list is in the Agency Workers Regulations and in ACAS's guidance. If your pay has several elements, compare each one — a correct basic rate can sit next to a missing shift allowance.
How the 12 weeks are counted
A week is any 7 days in which you work, counted from the day the assignment began. You do not have to work 12 calendar weeks in a row. For example, an assignment that starts on a Wednesday and includes the next Tuesday can count as a week.
The qualifying period pauses — the weeks do not count, but the clock is not reset — for:
- a break of 6 weeks or less between periods of work;
- sickness or injury for up to 28 weeks;
- holiday you are entitled to take;
- a workplace closure, for example at Christmas, or industrial action;
- jury service for up to 28 weeks.
Pregnancy, maternity, adoption, paternity and neonatal care are treated differently: time off for those can count towards the 12 weeks. The rules are detailed and depend on the type and length of leave; GOV.UK says that if the leave is more than 12 weeks, you qualify for equal treatment when you return to work.
The clock starts again if you:
- start a new assignment with a different hirer;
- stay with the same hirer but move to a substantively different role — different skills or training, pay rate, location or working hours, for example;
- return after a break of more than 6 weeks, unless the break is for one of the protected reasons above;
- return after more than 28 weeks of sickness or jury service.
Agencies are not allowed to arrange a pattern of short assignments specifically to stop you reaching the 12-week point.
The “Swedish derogation” is gone
Before 6 April 2020, some agencies used a “pay between assignments” contract to avoid equal pay after 12 weeks. That route was closed by the Agency Workers (Amendment) Regulations 2019. An agency can still offer a permanent contract and pay you between assignments, but it no longer removes the right to equal treatment after 12 weeks.
What to check on your payslip
Start with the rate, then check that each element of the comparable employee's pay appears as its own line:
- Basic rate: does the hourly rate match the direct employee's rate for the same job?
- Overtime: is the overtime rate and threshold the same, and are the overtime hours shown?
- Shift or unsocial-hours allowance: is there a separate allowance, at the same rate?
- Commission or individual bonus: is it included at the same level?
- Holiday: is holiday pay at the same rate, and is extra holiday above the legal minimum paid or given in the way the direct employees get it?
The gross pay can match while a single line is wrong. Check the hours and the rate behind each line, not just the total. The line-by-line payslip check walks through the method, and the free payslip hours checker compares the hours printed on a payslip with the shifts you actually worked.
Equal pay is not the same as equal take-home pay. A different tax code, pension contribution, student loan plan or other deduction can change the net figure even when the pay rate is right.
If the pay looks wrong
Ask the agency in writing how your pay has been worked out and which pay elements it has compared. Keep your payslips, timesheets and the assignment details. If that does not resolve it, ACAS can explain the options, and an employment tribunal can hear a claim under the Agency Workers Regulations. There are time limits, so do not sit on it for months.
This page explains the rule in general terms, not your contract or your individual case. What you are owed depends on the assignment and the comparable employee. For advice, contact ACAS.
Keep your own record
Shift Tracker UK logs each shift, the hours, the rate and any enhancements, then estimates take-home pay and compares the result with a payslip. It is free, works in any browser, and needs no install. If you are on an agency assignment, it gives you a week-by-week record to take to the agency if the pay does not add up.
Questions
Do agency workers get equal pay from day one?
Not in general. From day one you are entitled to the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage for all hours worked, paid holiday, rest breaks and protection from discrimination. The right to the same pay as a comparable direct employee starts after the 12-week qualifying period.
Does a week off reset the 12 weeks?
Usually not. A break of 6 weeks or less pauses the qualifying period rather than resetting it, and the weeks of the break do not count. A break of more than 6 weeks normally starts the 12 weeks again. Sickness or jury service of up to 28 weeks pauses the clock; longer than that usually resets it.
Does equal pay mean the same take-home pay?
No. The right is to the same pay rate and the pay elements listed in the Agency Workers Regulations. Take-home pay can still differ because of tax codes, pension contributions, student loan repayments or other deductions.
Can the agency avoid the 12-week rule by changing my assignment?
The law prevents agencies from arranging assignments in a pattern that stops you reaching the 12-week qualifying period. A genuinely new role with a different hirer, or a substantively different role with the same hirer, does start the clock again.