“Amid all the dire predictions about the cost of the new rules and recruitment agencies’ rumoured attempts to get around them, there is a danger that the people most directly impacted will be left scratching their heads – and seeking legal advice.”

That’s according to Miriam Bascombe, legal expert at the find a solicitor service Contact Law. She added: “In terms of who will be affected by the new rules, the clue is in the title – the Agency Workers Directive. Around 1.4 million agency workers will be covered, but there are some notable exceptions. If you are a temp employed directly by the company where you work, or if you’re employed through an employment agency but don’t have a contract, the new AWD will not apply to you.

In order to ensure that temporary workers, whether agency or not, understand both their status and their rights, agencies and employers must explain these changes to them, and make clear what they are entitled to under employment law. The new AWD confers a duty on temporary worker agencies to ask hirers for up-to-date information on their pay and basic working conditions, so they can ensure that temporary workers on assignment are being treated equally. Hirers should supply this information when requested to ensure they are complying with the AWD. In terms of who will be affected by the new rules, the clue is in the title – the Agency Workers Directive. Around 1.4 million agency workers will be covered, but there are some notable exceptions.

If you are a temp employed directly by the company where you work, or if you’re employed through an employment agency but don’t have a contract, the new AWD will not apply to you. “In order to ensure that temporary workers, whether agency or not, understand both their status and their rights, agencies and employers must explain these changes to them, and make clear what they are entitled to under employment law. The new AWD confers a duty on temporary worker agencies to ask hirers for up-to-date information on their pay and basic working conditions, so they can ensure that temporary workers on assignment are being treated equally. Hirers should supply this information when requested to ensure they are complying with the AWD.”