October 1: agency workers get new rights and minimum wage increases
On 1 October 2011, the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/93), which afford agency workers equal treatment to directly employed staff in relation to basic working and employment conditions, come into force. In addition, the national minimum wage increases, with the main rate going up from £5.93 to £6.08 from 1 October 2011.
The Agency Workers Regulations 2010, which come into force on 1 October 2011, give agency workers, from day one of an assignment, the right to be treated no less favourably than the hirer's comparable employees and workers in relation to collective facilities provided by the hirer, unless the hirer can objectively justify this. They give agency workers the right, from day one of the assignment, to be given the same information about relevant vacancies as the hirer's comparable employees and workers.
The Agency Workers Regulations 2010 also mean that, following the completion of a 12-week qualifying period, agency workers are entitled to the same basic working and employment conditions to which they would be entitled if they had been directly recruited by the hirer. This means that they are entitled to equal treatment in relation to pay, working time duration, night work, rest periods, rest breaks, or contractual annual leave.
On 1 October 2011, the main rate of the national minimum wage, for workers aged 21 or over, goes up to £6.08 an hour. The rate for workers aged at least 18 but under 21 rises to £4.98 per hour. The rate for workers under 18 who are no longer of compulsory school age rises to £3.68 per hour. The apprentice rate rises to £2.60 per hour.
Agency workers
- Policy on the use of agency workers Use this model policy to set out how your organisation uses agency workers, in light of the Agency Workers Regulations 2010, in force from 1 October 2011.
- Letter alerting managers to the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 Use this model letter to alert managers to the effects of the Agency Workers Regulations 2010, in force from 1 October 2011.
- FAQs: Agency Workers Regulations 2010 The HR & Compliance Centre FAQs section provides answers to frequently asked questions on the Agency Workers Regulations 2010.
- Agency Workers Regulations 2010 This article explains the effect of the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 and assesses their likely impact.
- Topic of the week: Agency Workers Regulations 2010 The HR & Compliance Centre topic of the week series on the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 provides:
National minimum wage
- Outlook video: National minimum wage HR & Compliance Centre's head of content Jo Stubbs and senior employment law editor Clio Springer discuss the national minimum wage.
- Letter providing national minimum wage statement Use this model letter to inform workers of the current rate of the national minimum wage. It can be sent to individual workers or placed on company noticeboards.
- National minimum wage The current minimum wage payable to adult workers, as well as the minimum level for young workers, from the HR & Compliance Centre quick reference section.
- National minimum wage 2011: increases in line with earnings growth The 2.5% increase in the national minimum wage from October 2011 is in line with the modest rises made to the pay floor seen over the past few years. The commission's 12th report sets out the evidence it considered in making this year's recommendations.
- In the employment tribunals Recent cases reports on employment tribunal decisions on HR & Compliance Centre involve:
