Rights in agency, zero-hours and gig work

Many newcomers to the UK start their working life in temporary roles — agency work, zero-hours contracts, gig platforms, or through umbrella companies. The good news is that even in these flexible arrangements, you have core employment rights from day one, and many extra ones kick in after a short period. This guide explains what you are entitled to and what to watch out for.

Agency Workers: The 12-Week Rule

As an agency worker in the UK, you have rights immediately. From the first day of your assignment, your hirer must give you access to the same shared facilities (canteen, rest areas, parking) as directly employed staff. However, the most valuable protections arrive after 12 continuous calendar weeks in the same role with the same employer.

After 12 weeks, you become entitled to equal pay and conditions with permanent employees doing the same work. This means you must receive the same hourly or daily rate, including overtime, bonuses linked to performance, and holiday pay — calculated as if you had been hired directly. You are also entitled to the same working hours, rest breaks, and access to training and facilities.

The 12-week period is cumulative, not necessarily consecutive. If you take a break of up to six weeks between assignments with the same hirer, the clock does not reset — your weeks carry forward. Longer breaks for sick leave, annual leave, or maternity leave also pause the clock rather than resetting it, so you do not lose your progress.

One important limitation: agency workers are not entitled to the same enhanced sick pay as permanent employees, even after 12 weeks. You are entitled only to statutory Statutory Sick Pay if applicable. However, your agency may choose to offer more.

Zero-Hours Contracts: Your Right to Work Elsewhere

A zero-hours contract offers no guaranteed minimum hours, giving employers flexibility and you flexibility. However, many employers have tried to use exclusivity clauses — contractual terms that prevent you from working for anyone else — to lock workers into one employer despite offering no guaranteed pay.

Since May 2015, exclusivity clauses in zero-hours contracts have been unenforceable in the UK. This means your employer cannot stop you from working elsewhere, even if your contract says they can. If you earn less than the Lower Earnings Limit (currently £123 per week), the ban was extended further in December 2022 to cover all low-income workers on zero-hours contracts or contracts that do not guarantee a minimum income.

If your contract includes an exclusivity clause, you can legally disregard it and seek work with other employers without permission. Zero-hours workers have the same wage, discrimination, and health and safety protections as other staff, though your rights are conditional on your employment status — usually 'worker' rather than employee.

Like all workers, those on zero-hours contracts are entitled to the National Minimum Wage for all hours worked and to 5.6 weeks (28 days) of paid annual leave, calculated in proportion to every hour you work.

Gig Platform Work: When You Become a 'Worker'

Gig platforms — Uber, Bolt, Deliveroo, Hermes (Evri), and others — often classify people as self-employed contractors to avoid providing employment rights. However, a landmark 2021 Supreme Court ruling confirmed that Uber drivers are 'workers', not self-employed, because the company controlled pricing, ratings, and working conditions. More recent tribunal decisions in 2024 and 2025 have applied the same logic to drivers on Bolt and Addison Lee, and couriers on other platforms.

Your legal status depends on the reality of your working relationship, not the label in your contract. If a platform controls the work, sets rates, removes or blocks your account, or prevents you from choosing when or whether to accept work, you are likely a 'worker' rather than self-employed. The key test is whether you have genuine control over your work and the freedom to build an independent business.

What 'Worker' Status Means

If classified as a worker on a gig platform, you are entitled to: the National Minimum Wage for all hours worked (including time spent waiting for jobs or logged into the app); 5.6 weeks of paid annual holiday, calculated as 12.07% of your total earnings; automatic enrolment into a workplace pension; statutory sick pay from your first day of work (from April 2026); and protection against discrimination and whistleblowing.

If the platform has misclassified you as self-employed when you are actually a worker, you may be able to claim backdated wages, holiday pay, and pension contributions. However, claims must be made within two years from the date of underpayment, so act quickly if you believe you are owed money.

Challenging Your Employment Status

If you believe a platform has wrongly classified you, you can challenge this internally through the platform's procedures or by bringing a claim to an Employment Tribunal. The burden is not on you to prove your status — the tribunal will look at how you actually work, not what your contract says. Free advice is available from ACAS or through Citizens Advice.

Umbrella Companies: Watch Your Deductions

An umbrella company is a payroll intermediary that sits between you and your actual employer or client. Rather than being paid directly by an agency or client, you are employed by the umbrella company, which handles your National Insurance, tax, and holiday pay. Many people working in construction, education, cleaning, and other sectors are engaged this way.

Umbrella workers are entitled to full employment rights, including the National Minimum Wage, paid annual leave, pension auto-enrolment, and statutory sick pay. However, umbrella companies deduct their operating costs from your pay before you receive it, and these deductions can be substantial and unclear.

How Umbrella Deductions Work

The typical chain is: the agency agrees an assignment rate with a client (for example, £20 per hour); the umbrella company receives this rate; it deducts employer National Insurance, pension contributions, its own margin (often 5–15%), and other fees; the remainder is your gross pay. You then pay employee income tax and National Insurance from your gross pay, leaving your net pay.

This means your take-home pay can be significantly lower than the advertised rate. For example, if the assignment rate is £20 per hour but the umbrella takes £4 in fees and employer contributions, your gross pay is only £16, from which you then pay tax and National Insurance.

Spotting Bad Practice

Some umbrella companies engage in questionable or illegal practices. Watch for: deductions that are poorly labelled or hidden (such as a flat 'employment costs' fee that masks multiple charges); payslips that are confusing or do not break down deductions clearly; promised pay rates that bear no resemblance to your actual pay after deductions; umbrella companies that do not pay you holiday pay as promised, or that hold back money for holiday without clear agreement; and fees or deductions that vary between pay periods without explanation.

Some umbrella companies have also been involved in tax avoidance schemes. If an umbrella tells you that PAYE tax will not be deducted, or suggests unusual payment routing or offshore payments, this is a red flag. You — not the umbrella — remain liable to HMRC for any unpaid tax or National Insurance, even if the umbrella promised it was compliant.

Your Rights and Protections

• Check every payslip carefully. Deductions should be itemised and labelled clearly (employer National Insurance, pension, umbrella margin, etc.).
• Ask the umbrella company for a written explanation of how your pay is calculated before you start work.
• Do not sign a contract that includes vague or hidden deductions. If you cannot understand the deductions, do not proceed.
• Report concerns to HMRC if you suspect the umbrella company is not paying over the correct tax or National Insurance.
• Use HMRC's online pay check tool to verify that your deductions are being handled properly.
• If you believe you have been underpaid or overcharged, contact Citizens Advice or a union for support.

From April 2026, new regulations will come into force to strengthen enforcement against non-compliant umbrella companies and recover unpaid PAYE and National Insurance. This is a signal that the government is taking umbrella-company abuse seriously.

Key Rights Across All Flexible Work

Regardless of whether you are agency, zero-hours, gig, or umbrella, you have the right to: be paid at least the National Minimum Wage (if you are a worker or employee); receive itemised payslips showing gross pay, deductions, and net pay; work in a safe environment; be protected against discrimination on grounds of age, gender, race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or other protected characteristics; raise concerns about safety or pay without fear of dismissal (whistleblowing protection); and have the same access to training and facilities as permanent staff (agency workers only, after 12 weeks).

Getting Help and Advice

If you are unsure of your rights or believe you have been treated unfairly, free advice is available from: ACAS (Acas.org.uk), which offers detailed guidance on employment status, pay, and rights; Citizens Advice (citizensadvice.org.uk), which can help with pay disputes and contract issues; and your trade union, if you are a member. You can also contact HMRC if you suspect tax or National Insurance fraud.

If you decide to make a claim, you must do so within the time limit — usually two years from the date of underpayment for wage and holiday pay claims. It is worth acting sooner rather than later to preserve evidence and ensure you do not miss the deadline.