Do agency workers get holiday pay?
Yes. Agency workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday a year, capped at 28 days, and the agency or business that pays them is treated as their employer for holiday. Temps with irregular hours build it up at 12.07% of hours worked. After 12 weeks with the same hirer, they also get the hirer's holiday terms if better.
Last checked 26 October 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice.
The entitlement
Almost all workers, agency workers included, are entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday a year, with statutory paid holiday capped at 28 days (GOV.UK). Government guidance for agencies says they must make sure their workers are paid holiday (GOV.UK), and the agency must set out the holiday entitlement and holiday pay in the worker's terms before finding them work (GOV.UK).
Who pays: the agency, usually
Regulation 36 of the Working Time Regulations treats whichever of the agency or the client is responsible for paying the agency worker, or if neither, whichever actually pays, as the employer for the regulations (reg 36). In nearly every temp arrangement that is the agency. If the agency uses an umbrella company, the umbrella acts as the worker's employer (Acas).
How much holiday a temp builds up
| Worker | How holiday builds up | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Irregular hours (hours vary each pay period) | 12.07% of hours worked in each pay period, up to 28 days a year | WTR reg 15B |
| Part-year (unpaid weeks off under the contract) | 12.07% of hours worked in each pay period | WTR reg 15B |
| Regular hours | 5.6 weeks a year; in the first year, one twelfth a month | GOV.UK guidance |
How holiday is paid
- When taken. At the worker's normal pay. For variable pay, use the average over the last 52 weeks in which they were paid, looking back no more than 104 weeks (GOV.UK). Regular overtime and commission count towards normal pay for four of the 5.6 weeks (GOV.UK).
- Rolled up. For irregular-hours and part-year workers only, at least 12.07% of pay added to each pay period and shown separately on the payslip (reg 16A).
- When they leave. Holiday cannot be swapped for money except when the employment ends, when untaken leave is paid in lieu (reg 15B).
After 12 weeks with the same hirer
Once an agency worker has done 12 continuous calendar weeks in the same role with the same hirer, the Agency Workers Regulations entitle them to the same basic conditions as a direct recruit, and annual leave is one of those conditions (AWR reg 6). If the client gives its own staff more holiday than the statutory minimum, the agency worker gets that too, and holiday pay above the minimum is part of equal pay (Acas). Ask each client what its holiday terms are before week 13.
From April 2026, employers must also keep adequate holiday pay records for 6 years, and the new Fair Work Agency has a role in enforcing workers' rights (business.gov.uk).
Questions people ask
Does the agency or the client pay holiday pay?
Usually the agency. Under regulation 36 of the Working Time Regulations, whoever is responsible for paying the agency worker is treated as the employer for holiday and working time. That is almost always the agency, or an umbrella company if the agency uses one. The client pays the agency, which then pays the worker.
Can an agency worker take holiday between assignments?
Yes. Holiday they have built up can be taken when they are not on an assignment, subject to the agency's notice rules. For irregular-hours workers on rolled-up pay, the holiday pay has already been paid with their wages, so taking time off brings no extra pay.
Is holiday pay paid when a temp leaves the agency?
Yes. Statutory holiday cannot normally be replaced by a payment, but when the employment ends the worker must be paid for leave they have built up and not taken. If holiday was paid as rolled-up pay throughout, there is usually nothing further to pay at the end.
Does a temp get more holiday after 12 weeks?
Possibly. After 12 weeks in the same role with the same hirer, annual leave is one of the conditions that must match a direct recruit under the Agency Workers Regulations. If the client gives its own staff more than the statutory 5.6 weeks, the agency worker becomes entitled to the same from that point.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Holiday entitlement (5.6 weeks, 28 day cap)
- GOV.UK: Employment agencies and businesses
- GOV.UK: Employment agencies, terms and conditions with work-seekers
- Working Time Regulations 1998, regulation 36 (agency workers)
- Working Time Regulations 1998, regulation 15B (12.07% accrual)
- Working Time Regulations 1998, regulation 16A (rolled-up holiday pay)
- GOV.UK: Holiday pay and entitlement reforms from 1 January 2024
- GOV.UK: Holiday entitlement, holiday pay (52 week average, rolled-up pay limits)
- Agency Workers Regulations 2010, regulation 6 (relevant terms and what pay excludes)
- Acas: Agency workers, your rights after 12 weeks
- Acas: Agency workers
- Business.gov.uk: New employment rights, changes by date (April 2026 SSP, holiday pay records, Fair Work Agency)
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