FAQ Item

I am considering making redundancies in my company. I have one employee who has been in post for more than five years but is hired through an employment agency. Is he entitled to redundancy pay?

It depends whether this person is regarded as a memeber of staff or not. If he is always thought of and treated as an agency worker then you will not be responsible for any redundancy payments. If he has worked only for you through the agency for the whole of the five years then he may try to claim that he is an employee and not an agency worker and make a case to recieve a redundancy payment.

Look carefully at his contract. If the agency has been careful about its terms and you haven't "treated" him as an employee (for example, giving him access to employee benefits etc) then he would be regarded as an agency worker and does not have any rights to a redundancy payment.