By David Healey  |  March 2026

Imagine you’ve been placed on a temporary contract by an agency. You’ve been at the site for three weeks. Then something goes wrong — a machine isn’t properly guarded, a floor is left wet, a system of work is unsafe — and you’re injured. Your first thought isn’t “I need to call a solicitor.” Your first thought is: this probably doesn’t apply to me. I’m only agency.

It does apply to you. It’s a remarkably common assumption — that because you’re not on the employer’s payroll, you’re not covered by the same rules. That assumption costs people their right to claim — not because the law fails them, but because no one tells them clearly what the law actually says.

This post sets that straight. Here’s what the law says, who can be liable, and what you should do if you’ve been hurt at work as an agency worker, temp, or contractor.

Does the Health and Safety at Work Act apply to agency workers?

Yes — without any qualification. Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 requires employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of all their employees. But the Act goes further than that. Section 3 extends those duties to anyone on the premises who is not an employee — including agency workers, temps, contractors, and visitors.

That distinction is important. It means the host employer — the business where you are actually working — cannot treat your safety as someone else’s problem simply because you arrived through an agency. The legal duty to keep you safe follows you onto the site, regardless of how you got there.

In practice, this means the host employer must assess the risks you face, provide appropriate training, ensure equipment is safe, and operate a proper system of work. If they fail in any of those areas and you are injured as a result, they can be held liable.

Who is liable if I’m injured — the agency or the employer I’m working for?

Potentially both. This is one of the less obvious aspects of agency worker claims — and it can actually work in your favour.

The agency that placed you has its own duty of care. It is responsible for ensuring you are suitable for the role, that you have received any required training before placement, and that it has not placed you into an environment it knows to be unsafe. If the agency failed in any of those respects, it can carry liability alongside the host employer.

The host employer carries the heavier burden in most cases. Courts apply what is known as the “control test” when determining liability — whoever directs and controls the way you actually carry out your work is the party most likely to be found responsible for a safety failure. In the vast majority of agency worker situations, it is the host employer who controls the working environment, the equipment, the pace of work, and the safety procedures. That is where liability tends to sit.

Having two potential defendants is not unusual in these claims. A solicitor will identify which party — or which combination of parties — bears responsibility for what happened to you, and pursue accordingly.

Does it matter how long I’d been working there?

No. There is no qualifying period for a personal injury claim. You do not need to have worked somewhere for a week, a month, or any set period before the health and safety duty applies. The Health and Safety at Work Act applies from the moment you set foot on the premises in a working capacity.

This is a point that surprises many agency workers. There is a separate piece of legislation — the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 — which gives temps the right to equal treatment on pay and working conditions after 12 weeks in the same role. But that 12-week rule has nothing to do with personal injury claims. The two are entirely separate. Your right to claim compensation for an injury exists from day one.

Whether you had been there for a single shift or several months when the accident happened makes no difference to whether you can claim. What matters is whether a duty of care was owed to you, whether it was breached, and whether that breach caused your injury. The length of your placement does not alter any of those questions.

What if I’m self-employed or working as a contractor rather than through an agency?

The position is broadly similar, though the specifics can depend on the nature of the arrangement. Self-employed individuals and independent contractors often assume they stand alone when it comes to workplace safety — that they have accepted the risk by agreeing to work on their own account. That assumption is frequently wrong.

Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act places duties on businesses in relation to anyone who may be affected by how their undertaking is conducted — including self-employed workers engaged on a contract. If a business engaged you to carry out work on their premises or under their direction, and the way they ran that site contributed to your injury, they can be liable even if your contract says “self-employed”.

Courts look at substance rather than labels. A contract that calls you self-employed does not change the physical reality of whether the host business controlled how you worked. If they directed your tasks, set your hours, provided your tools, and dictated your working methods, the relationship may attract the same duties as an employment relationship for the purposes of a personal injury claim.

Each case turns on its own facts. If you were injured while working for a business in any capacity other than as a permanent employee, it is always worth taking advice on whether a claim is possible — rather than assuming it isn’t.

How does an agency worker claim actually work in practice?

It works in exactly the same way as any other workplace injury claim. You instruct a solicitor on a No Win No Fee basis. Your solicitor identifies the responsible parties — the host employer, the agency, or both — and notifies their insurers. Evidence is gathered: the accident book, witness accounts, site records, medical reports. A formal letter of claim is sent and the insurer responds. The vast majority of cases settle without ever going near a court.

The No Win No Fee arrangement means you pay nothing unless your claim succeeds. There is no financial risk in finding out whether you have a case.

One point worth noting: agency workers sometimes worry that making a claim will affect their relationship with the agency or mean they don’t get future placements. That concern is understandable, but it is worth knowing that it is unlawful for an agency to treat you less favourably because you have made a legitimate personal injury claim. If you experienced any adverse treatment as a result of pursuing your rights, that could give rise to further legal action.

The claim itself is between your solicitor and the insurer. In practice, most employers and agencies are barely involved once the matter is handed to their insurers. This is not a process designed to damage the business — it is a process designed to compensate you for an injury that should not have happened.

What should I do if I’ve been hurt at work as an agency worker?