Making Work Pay: the application of zero hours contracts measures to agency workers

The Government believes that agency workers should have the right to guaranteed hours which reflect the hours they work. The Government’s intention is also that agency workers should receive payment for shifts that are cancelled or curtailed at short notice. The unique tripartite relationship between agency workers, employment agencies and hirers, makes the application of these measures to the recruitment sector particularly complex. The zero hours contract measures create new responsibilities for employers. For agency workers we need to decide whether these responsibilities sit with the employment agency, the end hirer, or both.