Many people don’t realise that since 6 April 2012 new employees have to work continuously for two years before they acquire full employment rights. Who Does OSHA Cover Private Sector Workers Most employees in the nation come under OSHA’s jurisdiction. A common-law employee is eligible for the same benefits as those received by permanent employees, including job protection. Agency workers who are becoming or already are parents have the right to: If you do not have employee status, you’re not entitled to maternity, paternity or adoption leave  or Shared Parental Leave, but can still stop working to care for your child. Rights after two years' service Once you have been working for two full years, you can claim unfair dismissal in the employment tribunal. If you're not receiving at least National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage, you should try to resolve the issue with your agency first. The three eligible reasons are: ... For agency workers, the employer for the purposes of unfair dismissal is the user company - not the employment agency. In Liam’s case, a contractor wh… Colloquially, these are referred to as ‘day one claims’. If not, you should tell them as soon as possible the reason and how long you're likely to be off sick for. The Covid-19 vaccination programme is now very much underway, with immediate focus being given to…, Now that the UK has left the European Union (the EU) and the Brexit transition…, January 13, 2021 Find out more about disciplinary procedures. Umbrella company contractors are considered to be in the scope of AWR, but limited company contractors can be either in or out of scope depending on the nature of the relationship with their end client. Remember that for discrimination and whistleblowing claims, unlike with unfair dismissal claims (where the compensatory award is capped at the lesser of 52 weeks’ gross pay or £88,519 (at the time of writing), compensation is uncapped. If you think an agency is doing this, you can report them to the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS) on GOV.UK. Agency workers are not entitled to the same amount of sick pay as direct employees of the hiring organisation at any point. report them to the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS) on GOV.UK, National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage, Find out more about asking for and taking holiday, Find out more about pension schemes and rules from The Pensions Regulator, Find out more about rules on working hours and rest breaks, Find out more about pay for parents caring for a new child, Find out more about discrimination and the law, Find out more about disciplinary procedures, Your employment rights as an agency worker, a minimum of 5.6 weeks' holiday entitlement, access to permanent job vacancies at the hiring organisation, maternity leave that you take during pregnancy and up to 26 weeks after the birth, the total break you have between 2 periods of work is no more than 6 weeks, you're absent due to sickness or jury service for 28 weeks or less, the workplace shuts down, for example for Christmas or industrial action, go back to the same assignment after a break of 6 weeks or more that's not due to any of the reasons in the lists above, go back to the same role after 28 weeks' absence due to sickness or jury service, start a new assignment with a new hiring organisation, be paid at least the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage, not have any deductions from your pay that are not legal, you agree to your pay rate before an assignment begins, you're not going to get less than the rate agreed in your terms and conditions or contract, holiday pay that's more than the legal minimum, allowances for working shifts or unsociable hours, bonuses linked solely to company performance or to reward long-term loyalty, enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay and Shared Parental Pay, sick pay that's more than Statutory Sick Pay, the agency worker may still make a complaint about such a contract, even if it was before 6 April, the agency may still offer an agency worker a permanent employment contract and pay  between assignments, but the agency worker will be entitled to equal treatment to pay after 12 weeks, carry over holiday you've not taken to a new assignment, get paid for any holiday you've not taken if you leave the agency, get paid for it on top of your hourly or daily pay rate and clearly itemised on each payslip, get paid for it in one go at the end of your assignment and clearly itemised on your final payslip, get Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), if you're eligible for it, work no more than an average of 48 hours a week, choose to work more by 'opting out' of the 48-hour week, a minimum 20-minute rest break if you work more than 6 hours, 11 hours' solid rest in any 24-hour period, not be treated unfairly because of pregnancy or maternity, paid time off for pregnancy ('antenatal') appointments when pregnant, after reaching the 12-week qualifying period, unpaid time off to attend antenatal appointments with a partner who's pregnant, pay you for at least the expected length of the original assignment, you're an employee of the agency and have been employed for at least 1 month. too severe a sanction) or both. 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