Temporary Agency Contract Template for England and Wales

It's an agreement between an employment business and a client organisation that sets out the terms under which the agency will supply temporary workers. It covers fee rates, assignment duration, compliance responsibilities, and the obligations of each party under English employment law.

The 2003 Regulations require the contract to specify the type of work the worker will perform, the likely duration of the assignment, the minimum pay rate, and any expenses or benefits. The hirer must also receive notice of any particular requirements the agency has already notified to the worker.

Liability can fall on the hirer, the agency, or both, depending on the facts. The hirer typically controls the day-to-day work environment and owes a duty of care under health and safety legislation. The contract should clearly allocate responsibility for health and safety induction, equipment, and supervision.

Outright restrictions are not permitted under the 2003 Regulations. Instead, the agency may charge a transfer fee or offer an extended hire period as the alternative. This protects the agency's commercial interest without entirely preventing the worker from moving to direct employment.

Under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010, once a worker has been in the same role with the same hirer for 12 weeks, the hirer must provide equal pay, working time conditions, and access to collective facilities on the same basis as comparable permanent employees. This applies regardless of what the agency contract says.

The contract will usually specify a minimum notice period for ending the supply arrangement. Outside of serious misconduct by the worker, the agency must give reasonable notice before withdrawing a placed worker. The hirer similarly needs to give notice before terminating an ongoing assignment early.

The hirer may face secondary liability in some circumstances, particularly if they have not paid the agency. The contract should include warranties from the agency that it will meet all wage payment obligations and indemnify the hirer against claims arising from non-payment.

The contract should comply with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. It should state what worker data the agency will share with the hirer, for what purpose, and how it will be stored and deleted. Both parties may be data controllers in respect of different aspects of the worker's information.