The Shift Started. But Who Is Responsible for What?

It is 8:30am on a Tuesday at a care home in Bristol. A temporary care worker has arrived for the first shift of a short-term assignment. The agency arranged the placement, the worker has relevant experience, and the care home has confirmed the booking. During the morning, however, the worker has a question about a workplace procedure and asks a senior member of staff for clarification. The response is, "You'd better check with your agency."

The worker contacts the agency, only to be told that the procedure is specific to the care home and that the supervisor on site should be able to explain it. The supervisor is busy and assumes that the agency has already covered everything the worker needs to know. Nobody is necessarily trying to avoid responsibility, but the worker is now caught between three parties, each assuming that somebody else should provide the answer.

This is one of the less visible challenges of temporary staffing. The agency, hirer and worker each have different responsibilities, but those responsibilities do not exist in completely separate compartments. They connect throughout the assignment. When those connections are clear, the arrangement can work smoothly. When they are not, even a simple question can become a problem that moves from one person to another without being resolved. Good temporary staffing depends not only on knowing who is involved, but on knowing who is responsible for what.

Temporary Staffing Is a Shared Arrangement

An agency worker may be supplied by an employment business, but once they are working on assignment, the hirer has an important role in directing and supervising the work. The current GOV.UK guidance on the Agency Workers Regulations states that an agency worker supplied to a hirer is subject to the supervision and direction of that hirer while working on assignment, and identifies the hirer as responsible for supervising and directing the agency worker while they undertake the assignment.

That distinction matters because the organisation controlling the workplace is in the best position to deal with many of the practical issues that arise during a shift. The agency may have arranged the assignment and may remain responsible for important aspects of the worker's employment relationship, but it cannot physically supervise what happens inside the hirer's workplace.

At the same time, the agency does not simply disappear once the worker arrives. The staffing relationship continues, and there are responsibilities that remain with the agency. This is why temporary staffing works best when the three parties understand their respective roles rather than assuming that one party is responsible for everything. The worker needs to know who directs their day-to-day work, the hirer needs to know what information and support the agency is responsible for providing, and the agency needs to know when an issue arising at the workplace requires its involvement.

The Agency's Responsibility Starts Before the Worker Arrives

An agency's role is not simply to find a person who is available and send their details to a hirer. Before supplying a worker, an employment business must obtain sufficient information about the assignment from the hirer. GOV.UK guidance identifies information including the type of work, location, working hours, known health and safety risks and controls, and relevant experience, training, qualifications and authorisations. This information provides the foundation for identifying a worker who is appropriate for the assignment and ensuring that the worker receives the information they need about the job.

There are also requirements around suitability. Where an employment business discovers that a work-seeker may be unsuitable for a position, it has obligations to make appropriate enquiries and, in relevant circumstances, inform the hirer and stop supplying the worker. This means the agency's responsibility is not simply to respond to the hirer's request as quickly as possible. It also involves understanding what the assignment requires and taking reasonable steps to ensure that the worker supplied is suitable. We explore this further in The Right Worker Can Still Be the Wrong Match.

The agency also has responsibilities towards the worker once the placement has been made. Pay is one obvious example, alongside the terms on which the worker is engaged. The Conduct Regulations guidance includes requirements concerning terms of engagement, payment and restrictions on withholding payment in certain circumstances.

Consequently, if a temporary worker has a question about wages or an issue with their employment terms, directing them back to the agency may be appropriate. But if that same worker wants to know where the fire assembly point is or how a particular piece of equipment should be used, the answer is likely to sit with the hirer because it concerns the workplace in which the worker is operating.

The Hirer's Responsibility Begins With the Workplace

Once the temporary worker arrives, the hirer becomes central to their day-to-day experience because the hirer controls the workplace and directs the work. The current Agency Workers Regulations guidance states that the hirer is responsible for supervising and directing the agency worker during the assignment. HSE guidance also explains that employers have responsibilities for agency workers and that workers need appropriate information, instruction, training and supervision to work safely. This means a temporary worker should not be expected to understand a workplace simply because an agency placed them there.

The hirer knows the physical site, the people working there, the local procedures, the specific hazards and the practical way work is carried out. Those are things that cannot always be communicated effectively by someone who is not present at the workplace. If a temporary worker needs to know who supervises their shift, how to report a hazard, where emergency information is located or how a workplace-specific process operates, there should be a clear answer within the hirer's organisation. The worker's temporary status does not remove the hirer's responsibility for managing the workplace in which that person is working.

This distinction becomes particularly important when the assignment involves risk. HSE guidance on training and new starters recognises the need for workers to receive suitable information, instruction, training and supervision, while its guidance on agency workers explains the respective roles of suppliers and end-user businesses. The workplace therefore needs to take account of the fact that an agency worker may be unfamiliar with its particular environment, even if they have performed similar work elsewhere. Previous experience can help, but it does not replace workplace-specific responsibilities. For more on this, see They Started the Shift. But Were They Ready for the Job?

The Temporary Worker Has Responsibilities Too

Shared responsibility does not mean that the temporary worker has no obligations. A worker is still expected to carry out their assignment professionally, follow reasonable workplace instructions, comply with relevant procedures and communicate honestly about their experience and capabilities. If a worker has never operated a particular piece of equipment, for example, pretending otherwise can create unnecessary risk. If they do not understand an instruction, asking for clarification is generally preferable to guessing. If they notice something that appears unsafe or inconsistent with the instructions they have been given, they should know how and where to raise the concern.

This is where a healthy staffing relationship matters. Temporary workers can sometimes feel that because they are new to a workplace, they should avoid asking questions or challenging something they do not understand. But uncertainty does not disappear simply because someone is on a temporary contract. If anything, a worker who is unfamiliar with a particular site may need to ask more questions than someone who has worked there for years. The responsibility of the worker is therefore not to know everything before they arrive. It is to be honest, attentive and willing to seek clarification when necessary. (Workers can read more in what to expect on your first temporary shift.)

Where Responsibilities Overlap, Communication Matters Most

Some situations do not belong neatly to one party. Imagine that a temporary worker's duties change during an assignment. The agency needs accurate information about what the new duties involve. The hirer needs to consider whether the worker has the necessary experience, training or authorisation and whether additional workplace instruction is required. The worker needs to communicate honestly about what they can and cannot do. If the change is significant, the appropriate information may need to move between all three parties. (See The Assignment Changed. Did Your Temporary Workers Know?)

The current Agency Workers Regulations guidance explains that agency workers are supplied to work under the supervision and direction of the hirer and sets out responsibilities applying to both hirers and temporary work agencies. Separately, the Conduct Regulations guidance requires agencies and employment businesses to obtain relevant assignment information from hirers and provide relevant information to work-seekers. This demonstrates why the agency and hirer cannot operate as completely separate parts of the staffing process. Information held by one party can affect what another party needs to do.

The same principle applies when there is a problem with performance, attendance, working arrangements or the continuation of an assignment. A supervisor may identify an issue at the workplace, but that does not necessarily mean the supervisor should make assumptions about the worker's employment relationship with the agency. Similarly, an agency may need to address an employment issue, but it cannot necessarily resolve a workplace-management issue from outside the site. Knowing when to involve the other party is therefore just as important as knowing what each party is responsible for.

Many Staffing Problems Begin With a Simple Assumption

"I thought the agency had told them."
"I thought the supervisor would explain it."
"I thought the worker already knew."
"I thought someone else was dealing with payroll."
"I thought temporary workers were covered by the same process."

These assumptions may sound harmless, but they can create confusion when nobody checks whether the assumption is actually correct.

The solution is not necessarily more paperwork or another layer of administration. Often, it is simply greater clarity. Before an assignment begins, the agency and hirer should understand the requirements of the role and the information that needs to reach the worker. When the worker arrives, the hirer should make clear who directs their work and where workplace questions should go. During the assignment, changes should be communicated to the appropriate people. If an issue concerns the worker's employment relationship, pay or contractual arrangements, the agency should be involved where appropriate. If the issue concerns the physical workplace or the day-to-day direction of work, the hirer's role becomes central.

A Better Question to Ask

Instead of asking only, "Who supplied this worker?", it is worth asking, "Who is responsible for what now that the worker is here?" That question can clarify a surprising amount:

Who supervises the worker?
Who provides workplace-specific instructions?
Who manages health and safety at the site?
Who handles pay?
Who should be contacted if the assignment changes?
Who needs to know if the worker's suitability becomes a concern?
Who communicates changes to the worker?
Who is responsible for ensuring that the worker has the information they need to perform the assignment safely and effectively?

The answers may involve different people, but they should not be unclear. A temporary worker should not have to navigate three separate organisations simply to find out who can answer a basic question. The agency, hirer and worker have different roles, but the assignment connects them. When those roles are understood, the arrangement becomes easier to manage. The agency can supply more appropriately, the hirer can supervise more effectively, and the worker can understand what is expected of them.

Responsible Staffing Is Connected Staffing

Temporary staffing is sometimes described as a simple transaction: a hirer needs a worker, an agency supplies someone, and the worker starts the shift. In reality, the relationship continues long after the placement has been made. Information needs to move between the parties, responsibilities need to remain clear, and issues need to reach the person who can actually resolve them.

The strongest staffing relationships are therefore not built on everyone doing everything. They are built on everyone knowing what they are responsible for, understanding where their responsibility ends and knowing when another party needs to become involved. That clarity benefits everyone. It gives the hirer greater control over its workplace, gives the agency a clearer understanding of its role, and gives the temporary worker confidence that they know where to turn when they need help. Our guide to creating an effective agency partnership looks at how to build that kind of relationship.

At Meet Resources

At Meet Resources, we believe responsible staffing works best when the agency, hirer and temporary worker understand their respective roles and remain connected throughout the assignment. Staffing is not simply about who supplies the worker. It is about how everyone works together once that worker arrives.

Clear roles. Clear communication. Better staffing.

References

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