AWR was introduced in 2011 and applies to “workers with a contract of employment or employment relationship with a temporary work agency who are assigned to user undertakings to work temporarily under their supervision and direction.”

AWR gives agency workers the right to the same basic working and employment conditions they would receive if they were engaged directly by an end user client to do the same job. Such rights are granted after the agency worker completes a 12-week qualifying period in the same role.

“Basic working and employment conditions” – as defined in the regulations (via the Temporary Agency Workers Directive), includes: pay, duration of working time, length of night work, rest periods, rest breaks, annual leave and paid time off for ante-natal appointments.

The following are excluded from AWR, including:

• Non-statutory parental pay entitlements
• Non-statutory sick pay
• Redundancy pay
• Participation in share offerings, profit-share schemes and long-term monetary or non-monetary incentives
• Non-performance related bonuses