Agency Workers Regulations - breaks that pause the 12-week qualifying period

Under reg.5(1) of the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/93), agency workers who have worked in the same role with the same hirer for 12 continuous weeks have the right to receive the same basic terms and conditions as if they had been recruited directly by the hirer. Regulation 7(5) provides that, in certain circumstances, the 12-week qualifying period is paused where there is a break between or during assignments, and continues to accrue when the agency worker returns to the same role with the same hirer.