Agency Worker Rights & Written Statement (UK)

Agency worker rights include a day-one written statement of particulars under Section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, issued in most cases by the employment business rather than the hirer, plus equal treatment rights under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 after 12 weeks in the same role. Build a compliant written statement below, then read the full guide underneath.

✓ Updated July 2026

Employment Rights Act 1996, s.1

Agency Workers Regs 2010

UK-wide

✓ Required from an agency worker's first day✓ 12-week equal treatment rule explained✓ Free wizard, paid clean PDF

Hiring apprentices, part-time, or zero hours staff instead? See Written Statement for Apprentices, Part-Time Employees or Zero Hours Contracts.

Agency Worker Written Statement Builder

Fill in employment business, agency worker, assignment, and pay details on the left, and watch the statement build on the right. Free download with watermark, or £9.99 for a clean copy. Confirm your worker's status and who is responsible for issuing this document before you finalise it — see the section below.

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Do Agency Workers Receive a Written Statement?

In most cases, yes. An agency worker engaged through an employment business as an employee or a worker is entitled to a written statement of particulars under Section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, from their first day on assignment. This is the same day-one right that applies to any other worker, in force since 6 April 2020.

The party responsible for issuing it is usually the employment business, not the hirer, because the employment business is normally the one that pays the agency worker and is treated as the employer for this purpose. The hirer, sometimes called the end client or end user, directs the day-to-day work but is not usually the employer in the Section 1 sense.

📌 The short answer

If you run an employment business supplying agency workers, issue a written statement covering pay, hours, holiday, and the assignment details, on or before the worker's first day. Name the hirer as the site of work, not as the employer, and track the 12-week qualifying period separately for equal treatment purposes.

Employee vs Worker vs Agency Worker

These three categories carry different rights. Getting the classification right determines who owes the agency worker a written statement, and what else they are entitled to.

Factor	Employee	Worker	Agency Worker
Who they contract with	The employer directly	Whoever they personally perform work for	The employment business, not the hirer
Mutuality of obligation	Full — ongoing duty to offer and accept work	Limited or none, depending on the contract	Limited — tied to each assignment
Written statement entitlement	Yes, from day one	Yes, from day one	Yes, from day one, usually from the employment business
Right to claim unfair dismissal	Yes, subject to a qualifying period	No, in most cases	No, in most cases, absent an employment relationship with the hirer
Statutory holiday and NMW	Yes	Yes	Yes
Covered by Agency Workers Regulations 2010	Not applicable	Not applicable	Yes, once the 12-week qualifying period is met

Source: Section 230, Employment Rights Act 1996 ↗ · GOV.UK — employment status ↗

Agency Worker Rights Under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010

The Agency Workers Regulations 2010 sit alongside the written statement requirement and give agency workers two layers of protection.

1. Day-one rights

From the first day of an assignment, an agency worker is entitled to access the same collective facilities as a comparable directly recruited employee, such as a staff canteen, workplace crèche, or transport services, and to be informed of relevant vacant posts with the hirer.

2. Equal treatment after 12 weeks

After 12 continuous calendar weeks in the same role with the same hirer, an agency worker is entitled to the same basic working and employment conditions as a comparable directly recruited employee, including pay, working time, night work, rest periods, and rest breaks.

Source: Agency Workers Regulations 2010 ↗ · GOV.UK — agency workers, your rights ↗

Required Employment Particulars

These are the particulars required under Section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, as amended in 2018, adapted to reflect the three-party nature of an agency assignment.

Clause	Why it's needed	Status
Employment business name	Identifies the party the agency worker is engaged by, usually the employer for Section 1 purposes.	Required
Agency worker name	Identifies who the statement covers.	Required
Job title or brief description of the work	Section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 requires one or the other.	Required
Assignment start date	Fixes when the current assignment begins and starts the 12-week qualifying period clock.	Required
Name of the hirer or client site	Confirms where and for whom the work is carried out, distinct from who employs the worker.	Required
Pay rate and how it is calculated	Must state the rate and how it is calculated, matching the figure given in the Key Information Document.	Required
How often pay is made	Weekly, fortnightly, or monthly, so the worker knows when to expect payment.	Required
Hours of work for the assignment	States the expected pattern, or that hours vary by assignment.	Required
Place of work	Confirms the hirer's site or sites where the work is carried out.	Required
Holiday entitlement and how it is calculated	Agency workers accrue paid holiday from the first day of an assignment.	Required
Sickness absence and sick pay	Must reference the sick pay terms, or where the worker can find them.	Required
Notice periods on either side	Sets out the minimum notice to end the assignment, where one is agreed.	Required
Pension and pension schemes	Auto-enrolment duties apply to agency workers once eligibility thresholds are met.	Required
How the 12-week qualifying period will be tracked	Not a statutory particular itself, but good practice given the equal treatment rights that follow.	Good practice
Disciplinary and grievance procedure, or where to find it	Can be given by reference to the employment business's own procedure.	Required

Source: Section 1, Employment Rights Act 1996 ↗ · GOV.UK — written statement of employment particulars ↗

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Example Written Statement Content for an Agency Worker

A written statement for an agency worker follows the same structure as any other worker's statement, with the employer field naming the employment business rather than the hirer, and a separate field for the hirer's site as the place of work. For example, an agency worker placed with a manufacturing hirer might have the employment business recorded as employer, the manufacturing site recorded as place of work, an hourly rate matching the Key Information Document issued at registration, and a note confirming the assignment start date for tracking the 12-week qualifying period under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010.

Agency Worker Written Statement Examples by Sector

The mandatory particulars stay the same across sectors. What changes is how the assignment length, place of work, and 12-week tracking are described.

Example 1 — Warehouse agency worker

A logistics employment business places a warehouse operative with a distribution hirer in Birmingham. The written statement names the employment business as employer, records the hirer's site as the place of work, states an hourly rate matching the Key Information Document, and notes that equal treatment rights under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 apply from the assignment's 13th week.

Example 2 — Temporary office administrator

A recruitment agency supplies an administrator for a six-week cover assignment at a professional services firm in Leeds. The statement records the fixed six-week period, weekly pay, and confirms that since the assignment is expected to end before 12 weeks, the equal treatment provisions of the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 are not expected to apply, subject to the assignment not being extended.

Example 3 — Agency nurse

A healthcare staffing agency places a registered nurse across several hospital sites on a series of short shifts. The statement records that the place of work varies by shift, sets out the shift-based pay rate, and references the agency's own sick pay and grievance procedures rather than any policy of the individual hospital sites.

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Common Agency Mistakes

1. Assuming the hirer is responsible for the written statement

The written statement duty normally sits with the employment business, since it is usually the party paying the agency worker. Hirers sometimes wrongly assume this is their responsibility, or that no one is responsible at all.

2. Confusing the Key Information Document with the written statement

The Key Information Document is given before terms are agreed and covers pay and deductions in a standard format. It does not replace the fuller written statement of particulars required once the assignment begins.

3. Not tracking the 12-week qualifying period accurately

Missing the correct start date, or resetting the clock incorrectly when an assignment is only briefly interrupted, can lead to equal treatment rights under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 being applied late or not at all.

4. Treating every agency worker as automatically self-employed

Many agency workers are workers or even employees of the employment business. Labelling someone self-employed without checking the reality of the arrangement is a common and risky assumption.

5. Issuing the statement after the assignment has already started

Where the day-one right applies, giving the statement weeks into the assignment does not meet the requirement, even if the content is otherwise correct.

6. Leaving out which entity the agency worker should raise a grievance with

Because three parties are often involved, agency workers can be unsure whether to raise a complaint with the employment business or the hirer. The written statement should make this clear.

Agency Compliance Checklist

Confirmed whether the agency worker is an employee, worker, or genuinely self-employed

Confirmed which party, employment business or hirer, is responsible for the written statement

Issued the Key Information Document before terms were agreed

Issued the written statement of particulars on or before the assignment's first day

Recorded the assignment start date to track the 12-week qualifying period

Confirmed pay, holiday, sick pay, notice, and pension particulars

Made clear which entity handles grievances, and where the disciplinary procedure sits

Set a reminder to review pay and conditions once the 12-week qualifying period is reached

Set a reminder to reissue documents if the assignment, hirer, or pay rate changes

How to Issue a Compliant Agency Worker Written Statement — Step by Step

Confirm employment status

Establish whether the agency worker is an employee, worker, or genuinely self-employed, since this determines whether a written statement is owed at all.

Confirm who the employer is

In most agency arrangements, the employment business is the employer for Section 1 purposes, not the hirer.

Check the Key Information Document was issued

This should already have been given before the worker agreed terms, and its pay figures should match the written statement.

Gather the mandatory particulars

Employment business and worker names, job title, assignment start date, pay rate, pay frequency, and place of work.

Record the assignment and 12-week tracking details

Note the hirer's site and the date from which the 12-week qualifying period under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 will run.

Issue the statement on or before the first day

Give the agency worker the principal statement no later than the assignment's start date, and keep a dated record that it was given.

Legislative Timeline

1996Employment Rights Act 1996 enacted

Section 1 sets out the written statement of particulars requirement that applies to agency workers with worker or employee status.

2003Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003

Set baseline conduct requirements for agencies and employment businesses, including information to be given to work-seekers.

2010Agency Workers Regulations 2010 come into force

Give agency workers the right to equal basic working and employment conditions with a comparable directly recruited employee after a 12-week qualifying period.

April 2020Written statement becomes a day-one right for workers

The Employment Rights (Employment Particulars and Paid Annual Leave) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 extended the written statement right to workers, including most agency workers, from day one.

April 2020Key Information Document requirement begins

Amendments to the 2003 Conduct Regulations require employment businesses to give work-seekers a Key Information Document before agreeing terms.

18 December 2025Employment Rights Act 2025 receives Royal Assent

Introduces wider day-one employment rights reforms and provisions affecting umbrella companies and agency labour supply chains.

2026 onwardUmbrella company regulation phased in

Measures bringing umbrella companies within the regulatory remit of the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate were being phased in as of July 2026, relevant to agency workers paid through an umbrella arrangement.

Source: Agency Workers Regulations 2010 ↗ · GOV.UK — employment agencies and employment businesses guidance ↗

About This Guide

🔄

Updated July 2026

Reflects Section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, the Agency Workers Regulations 2010, and the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 as amended, in force as of this date.

🇬🇧

UK-wide

The written statement requirement and the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 apply across Great Britain. Northern Ireland has separate, broadly similar legislation.

⚠️

Not legal advice

This guide gives general legal information and a working example. For an unusual three-party arrangement, or a dispute already in progress, get advice from a qualified employment solicitor.

OfficeDraft Legal Team

This guide was built by cross-referencing Section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 against the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 and current GOV.UK guidance for employment agencies and businesses, so the guide and the generator stay in sync as further provisions affecting agency labour supply chains come into force. Reviewed July 2026.

About OfficeDraft →

External references: Employment Rights Act 1996, Section 1 — legislation.gov.uk · Employment Rights Act 1996, Section 230 — legislation.gov.uk · Agency Workers Regulations 2010 — legislation.gov.uk · GOV.UK — agency workers, your rights · ACAS — agency workers guidance · Find an employment solicitor — Law Society

Last updated: July 2026 · Editorial review: July 2026 · Author: OfficeDraft Legal Team

Frequently Asked Questions

Do agency workers receive a written statement?▾

In most cases, yes. An agency worker with employee or worker status is entitled to a written statement under Section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, from their first day.

Who is responsible for issuing the written statement, the agency or the end hirer?▾

Normally the employment business, since it usually pays the agency worker and is treated as the employer for this purpose. The hirer usually does not carry this duty.

What is the difference between an employee, a worker, and an agency worker?▾

An employee has a full contract of employment with mutual obligations. A worker has a more limited contract to personally perform work. An agency worker is supplied by an employment business and is usually a worker of that business rather than an employee of the hirer.

What are the Agency Workers Regulations 2010?▾

They give agency workers day-one access to collective facilities and information about vacancies, plus the right to equal basic working and employment conditions with a comparable directly recruited employee after 12 continuous weeks in the same role with the same hirer.

What is a Key Information Document and is it the same as a written statement?▾

No. The Key Information Document is given before the worker agrees terms and sets out pay and deductions in a standard format. The written statement is a separate, later document covering the full particulars of the engagement.

When does the 12-week qualifying period start?▾

From the first day the agency worker starts working in a given role with a given hirer, counting complete calendar weeks in that same role.

Do agency workers get holiday pay?▾

Yes, from their first day of an assignment, calculated in line with hours actually worked where there is no fixed pattern.

What happens if an employment business doesn't provide a written statement?▾

The agency worker can bring a tribunal claim, usually alongside another claim such as unlawful deductions, and the tribunal can award two or four weeks' pay for the missing statement.

Sources

Employment Rights Act 1996, Part I and Section 230 — legislation.gov.uk
Agency Workers Regulations 2010 — legislation.gov.uk
Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, as amended
Employment Rights (Employment Particulars and Paid Annual Leave) (Amendment) Regulations 2018
GOV.UK guidance: Agency workers, your rights
GOV.UK guidance: Employment agencies and employment businesses
Acas guidance: Agency workers

Related Guides & Tools

Methodology

This guide was built by mapping the statutory particulars in Section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 against the specific rights created by the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 and the information duties in the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, then checking both against current GOV.UK guidance for agencies and employment businesses. Worked examples reflect typical agency placements in logistics, office administration, and healthcare and are illustrative rather than drawn from a specific employment business.

⚠ Legal disclaimer

OfficeDraft's agency worker written statement generator helps employment businesses produce a statement covering the core particulars required under Section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. It does not replace the Key Information Document required under the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, and does not determine employment status. This page and the generator provide general legal information and do not constitute independent legal advice. Names, figures, and scenarios above are illustrative. If you are unsure how a specific assignment should be classified, seek advice from a qualified employment solicitor. A directory of solicitors is available at solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk.

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