The legal rights of agency workers
[ch 7: pages 54-55]The statutory rights of agency workers derive from several different legal sources:
Rights as “workers”
Agency workers qualify for all the basic statutory rights of “workers” (see page 73). These include:
• statutory paid holiday under the Working Time Regulations;
• statutory rest breaks and limits on working time;
• no unlawful deduction from wages;
• the National Minimum Wage;
• statutory sick pay;
• statutory maternity, adoption or paternity pay, if they meet the earnings, service and notice qualifications (but not maternity, adoption or paternity leave);
• protection from discrimination by the agency and the hirer;
• protection from victimisation on grounds of trade union membership;
• pensions auto-enrolment for agency workers meeting the earnings threshold (see Chapter 10);
• the right to be accompanied; and
• protection under health and safety laws.