Hi folks ive been with the ssme agency for almost a year now.
Ive been working for large superstore chain with paid breaks and 12% holiday pay on top but sadly the agency lost the contact.
They have got me in another place now same hours Mon to Fri got my first wage slip and noticed no paid breaks but also they have paid me 2 quid less a hour than advertised rate but have given me the money back as holiday pay is this a rip off.
Ps I always asked for my accrued holiday pay to be paid weekly and im also PAYE.
When I was on agency many years ago pay varied depending where I worked.all with same agency was only usually couple pence and hour not £2 as in your case
As agency had contracts with various company’s each one was changed a different rate.
All a mine field being on agency these days with PAYE umbrella self employed etc.
Kind sounds like you’ve.been had over if honest
I intend to take it up with them but would lije to know if anyone has any info on my situation.
Firstly, if the agency you are with loses a contract, I’m pretty sure you can jump ship to any new agency that takes up the contract (without penalty).
Secondly, agencies can be at it (and quite often are), but it may not be the case.
Many times these days pay parity is offered from day one. That means that often you get the same hourly rate and paid breaks as permanent staff.
Generally known as “rolled up holiday pay”. Agencies are NOT supposed to be doing that these days, but the world of agencies is still frequently lawless.
No one has a right to paid breaks, and for agency work the hourly rate “is what it is” I’m afraid, and “giving it back to you as holiday pay” sounds like some kind of bending of the rules, that they probably shouldn’t be doing. I don’t think this is a rip-off, but it also doesn’t sound as legit as it should be (Agencies, lawless, see above)
You may very well find that work dries up for you if you get into a disagreement with your agency, so just be aware they do not have to guarantee you work
Well, apart from the Agency Worker Regulations 2010 specifying that after a qualifying period, the right is pay parity and that includes getting paid for breaks (if that is what the permanent staff get). What isn’t covered is any guaranteed hours.
I think rolled up holiday pay is now legal…
For leave years that started on or after 1 April 2024, employers can choose to use rolled-up holiday pay. This applies to irregular hours workers and part-year workers only.
Employers using rolled-up holiday pay must:
calculate it at a rate of at least 12.07% of the worker’s total pay in a ‘pay period’ – a pay period is how often someone gets paid, for example weekly or monthly
pay it at the same time they pay for the work the worker has done in that pay period
show it as a separate payment on the worker’s payslip
Rolled-up holiday pay - Irregular hours and part-year workers - Acas.
With rolled up holiday pay it is difficult to avoid paying more NI than you would taking the holidays. You don’t pay on the first £123 you earn, so you are not using that allowance in weeks where you are off work and not getting paid.
What I was getting at is if OP is on one job at one rate, then he moves to another job, he shouldn’t automatically expect the rate from Job A when doing Job B if A was higher than B in the first place. Parity with Job A is not necessarily equal to parity with Job B, OP seemed to think he was getting short-changed.
I don’t have enough information, but in any case I don’t see why the worker would be prevented from signing up with the new agency and staying at the same client. The original agency doesn’t own the worker.
Thanks for replys guys.
If i started with new agency i would have lost my equal rights 12 weeks rule id have been on a lower rate a lot lower.
My question is can a agency tie holiday pay into your hourly rate without declaring this or should i expect 12% holiday pay equal to my weekly wage.
Exactly what is written down?
If they do not mention that the hourly rate includes holiday pay, IMHO they are in the wrong.
If talking (strongly) with them achieves little than try ACAS.
I do not know how effective they are but they might be better than nowt.
Actually not the case. If you haven’t been away for 6 clear weeks, you could potentially still go back on parity rates.
Where I work is shifts 5 on 3 off.
One fella has had enough wants Mon to Fri work weekends off.
He’s leaving soon and has joined an agency.
.
he said he had choice of acquire holidays or have 12.5. % extra hourly pay rate.
Which he took as he said he never takes .much time off or holidays
It’s possible the original client are no longer using agency, the TC expects companies to only use agency workers as a temporary measure for transient increases in workload, companies using long-term agency workers as if they were permanent employees can face censure by the TC
Already answered that: They’re NOT supposed to be doing it.
That certainly was true, but seems to have changed this year for some workers.
Rolled-up holiday pay
For regular-hours workers (full- or part- time), an employer cannot include an amount for holiday pay in the hourly rate (known as ‘rolled-up holiday pay’).
Employers can use rolled-up holiday pay for irregular-hours and part-year workers, unless their leave year began on or before 31 March 2024.
So since @darrenfraser has started recently, and if he is not on fixed hours, it appears to be legal now.
Of course you should be getting your hourly rate and then holiday pay on top of that.
If what you are getting including holiday is any less than £12.82, that works out less than minimum wage.
The point here is getting paid it at all seemingly, not whether rolled up holiday pay is legal (which apparently it is).
Called agency today they admitted advert was misleading and will change it accordingly.
The 18.50 a hour will be changed to £16.25 a hour with 12% holiday pay on top of this.