Zero-Hours Contract Changes 2026: What Agency Workers Need to Know

Zero-hours work in the UK is heading for its biggest shake-up in a generation. The Employment Rights Act 2025 became law on 18 December 2025, and it includes a package of new rights for zero-hours and low-hours workers: the right to be offered a contract with guaranteed hours, the right to reasonable notice of shifts, and compensation when shifts are cancelled or cut short at the last minute. Agency workers are explicitly included.

Here is the part that matters most if you work through an agency today: none of those zero-hours measures is in force yet. They are expected to take effect in 2027, once the government finishes consulting on the detail and makes the regulations. A government consultation on exactly how the rules should work — including how they apply to agency workers — closes on 25 August 2026. So as of August 2026, your day-to-day rights have not changed, but the direction of travel is now clear. This guide covers what has been decided, what is still open, and the rights and pay you already have right now.

What is actually changing

The Employment Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025. Rather than starting all at once, it is being switched on in stages. Some parts are already live. Since April 2026:

• Statutory Sick Pay is paid from the first day you are off sick — the old waiting days have gone
• The lower earnings limit for Statutory Sick Pay has been removed, so low earners are no longer excluded; those on the lowest earnings receive 80% of their average weekly earnings where that is less than the standard rate
• Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave are available from the first day of a job
• A new enforcement body, the Fair Work Agency, has been established to enforce workers' rights

The zero-hours package — guaranteed hours, shift notice and cancellation pay — is the next major stage. It has been passed by Parliament as part of the Act, but the detailed rules sit in regulations that have not yet been made. The government has said it expects these measures to commence in 2027.

Guaranteed hours: a contract that reflects the hours you actually work

The headline change is the right to guaranteed hours. Once in force, employers will have to offer qualifying zero-hours and low-hours workers a contract that guarantees at least the hours they have actually been working, measured over a reference period. The government has said it expects that reference period to be 12 weeks. So if you have averaged 30 hours a week over the reference period, you should be offered a contract guaranteeing hours that reflect that — not a contract that guarantees nothing.

Two important details. First, it is a right to be offered guaranteed hours, not an obligation to accept them. If zero-hours flexibility genuinely suits you — many agency workers value it — you can turn the offer down and carry on as you are. Second, the current consultation is considering whether the right should only apply above a minimum number of weekly hours, with the government indicating a preference for a threshold somewhere between 8 and 20 hours per week. That detail is not settled.

Reasonable notice of shifts

The Act also creates a right to reasonable notice of shifts — when they are scheduled, when they change, and when they are cancelled. What counts as "reasonable" will be defined in regulations, which is one of the things being consulted on now. The aim is to end the situation where workers keep whole days free for shifts that are confirmed, moved or dropped with almost no warning.

Pay when shifts are cancelled at short notice

Alongside notice, the Act provides for compensation when a shift is cancelled, moved or cut short at short notice. The payment is expected to be proportionate to the hours lost, with the definitions of "short notice" and the amounts to be set in regulations. In plain terms: if you have set aside the time and the work disappears at the last minute, you should no longer simply absorb the cost.

How this applies to agency workers

Agency workers are deliberately included in the zero-hours package. Parliament extended the new rights to agency workers so that hiring through an agency could not become a way around them. For guaranteed hours, the current proposal is that the responsibility to make the offer would sit with the end hirer — the business where you actually work — while responsibility for notice of shifts and cancellation pay is expected to involve the agency, reflecting who controls what in practice.

Exactly how those responsibilities are divided is a core question in the government consultation on zero-hours and similar contracts (opens in a new tab), which opened on 2 June 2026 and closes on 25 August 2026. Agencies, employers and workers can all respond. The final shape of the agency rules will only be fixed when the regulations are made after the consultation.

When does it all take effect?

• 18 December 2025 — the Employment Rights Act 2025 became law
• April 2026 — day-one Statutory Sick Pay, day-one paternity and parental leave, and the Fair Work Agency came into effect
• 2 June to 25 August 2026 — government consultation on the detail of the zero-hours measures, including agency workers
• 2027 (expected) — guaranteed hours, reasonable notice of shifts and cancellation pay commence through regulations

Your rights and pay right now (August 2026)

While the zero-hours package is still on its way, agency workers already have meaningful rights today. If you are on an agency's books now, this is your baseline:

• National Living Wage of £12.71 per hour if you are 21 or over (since 1 April 2026)
• National Minimum Wage of £10.85 per hour for 18 to 20 year olds, and £8.00 for 16 to 17 year olds and apprentices
• 5.6 weeks of paid holiday per year, built up in proportion to the hours you work
• Equal treatment on pay and basic conditions with directly employed staff doing the same job, after 12 weeks in the same role, under the Agency Workers Regulations
• An itemised payslip showing your pay and any deductions
• Statutory Sick Pay from the first day of sickness, with no lower earnings limit

A practical checklist for agency workers

You do not need to do anything to "claim" the new rights — when they commence, they will apply automatically. But a few habits now will put you in a strong position:

• Keep your own record of the shifts you are offered, work, and have cancelled — under a 12-week reference period, your hours history is what a guaranteed-hours offer would be built on
• Check your payslips against the April 2026 minimum wage rates, and query anything that looks wrong
• Note the date each assignment starts, so you know when you reach the 12-week equal-treatment point under the Agency Workers Regulations
• Ask your agency how they plan to handle guaranteed-hours offers and shift notice — good agencies are preparing already
• Keep your contact details and availability up to date with your agency, so you are matched to work that fits

If you are new to agency work, our guide on what to prepare before registering with an agency covers the documents, details and availability questions to have ready.

Work in construction? Construction roles are handled by our specialist division — register with Trade Force Construction (opens in a new tab) instead.

Frequently asked questions

Are zero-hours contracts being banned?

No. The Employment Rights Act 2025 does not ban zero-hours contracts. It gives qualifying workers the right to be offered a guaranteed-hours contract that reflects the hours they actually work. Workers who prefer zero-hours flexibility can decline the offer and stay on their existing arrangement.

When do the new zero-hours rules start?

The government expects the guaranteed hours, shift notice and cancellation pay measures to commence in 2027. As of August 2026 they are not in force, and the detailed rules are still being consulted on — the consultation closes on 25 August 2026.

Do the new rules cover agency workers?

Yes. Agency workers are explicitly included in the zero-hours package, so working through an agency will not put you outside the new rights. The consultation is settling how responsibilities split between the agency and the end hirer — the current proposal is that the hirer would make the guaranteed-hours offer.

Will I be forced onto fixed hours?

No. The new right is a right to be offered guaranteed hours, not a requirement to accept them. If the flexibility of zero-hours work suits you, you can turn the offer down and continue as now.

My shift was cancelled at short notice — am I owed compensation today?

Not under the new Act, because the cancellation pay right is not yet in force. Today it depends on your contract and any agreement with your agency, so check your terms and raise it with your consultant. Once the new rules commence — expected in 2027 — short-notice cancellation compensation will become a statutory right.

What should I be paid right now?

Since 1 April 2026 the National Living Wage is £12.71 per hour for workers aged 21 and over, £10.85 for 18 to 20 year olds, and £8.00 for 16 to 17 year olds and apprentices. After 12 weeks in the same role you are also entitled to equal pay with directly employed staff doing the same job under the Agency Workers Regulations.