Agency temps and the canteen, car park and crèche: which rights start on day one, which wait for week 13, and what a Christmas closure does to five start dates

A client has a new temp starting on Monday and the site manager asks whether the temp can use the staff canteen and the car park. The desk half remembers "agency workers get equal treatment after 12 weeks" and says to wait. For facilities that answer is wrong. GOV.UK separates what applies from the first day from what arrives at the 12-week point, and this guide puts five start dates through that split, with a Christmas closure in the way.

What GOV.UK says

From day one, an agency worker has "a worker's employment rights" and the same rights as permanent colleagues to use shared facilities and services, such as:

• a canteen or food and drink machines
• a workplace crèche or mother and baby room
• car parking or transport services, such as a local pick-up service or transport between sites

After 12 weeks in the job the page lists equal pay with a permanent colleague doing the same job, automatic pension enrolment and paid annual leave.

The 12 weeks start on the first day and need not be consecutive. A break of 6 weeks or less, sick or injury leave up to 28 weeks, annual leave, a workplace closure such as Christmas or industrial action, and jury service up to 28 weeks pause the count without resetting it. Pregnancy leave (and up to 26 weeks after childbirth), adoption leave and paternity leave still count. A new workplace, a break of more than 6 weeks at the same workplace, or a substantively different role starts the count again.

Five start dates and one shut week

Take a client site that closes for the week of Monday 28 December 2026. Five temps start on Mondays. I count Monday-to-Sunday weeks, which is my simplification: I have not read how the Regulations treat a part week.

The sums, checked twice:

• 7 September: 12 weeks is 84 days, and 7 September + 84 days is 30 November (23 days left in September, 31 in October, 30 in November: 23 + 31 + 30 = 84). The 12th week ends before the shut week, so the closure changes nothing: 84 days.
• 5 October: 5 October to Sunday 27 December is 12 weeks (84 days; 5 October + 84 = 28 December). The 12th week completes on 27 December, and the next Monday, 28 December, is the shut week, when the temp does not work. The first working Monday after is 4 January 2027, which is 28 December + 7: 91 days from the start.
• 2 November: 2 November to 27 December is 8 weeks (56 days). The shut week pauses the count. Four more weeks run from 4 January to Sunday 31 January, so 8 + 4 = 12 and equal treatment begins Monday 1 February: 2 November + 91 days.
• 30 November: 4 weeks to 27 December, then 8 from 4 January to Sunday 28 February (8 weeks is 56 days, 4 January + 55 days = 28 February), so equal treatment from Monday 1 March: 4 + 8 = 12.
• 14 December: 2 weeks to 27 December, then 10 from 4 January to Sunday 14 March (70 days, 4 January + 69 = 14 March), so equal treatment from Monday 15 March: 2 + 10 = 12.

Four of the five start dates wait 91 days and one waits 84, so the shut week adds 7 days to four out of five. None of the five waits for the canteen, the car park or the crèche.

What this means on the desk

• Answer the site manager the same day. The temp can use the canteen, vending machines, crèche or mother and baby room, and car park from the first day, on the same terms as permanent colleagues. Put it in writing so the temp is not turned away at the barrier.
• Diary the 12-week date at the start, then move it. The date shifts with each pause. The 12-week rule calculator takes the breaks and shows which pause and which reset.
• A shut week is not a reset. Per GOV.UK, a workplace closure such as Christmas pauses the count, as does annual leave. A gap of more than 6 weeks at the same site does reset it, so watch the January return for anyone whose placement was ended before Christmas.
• Price the change in advance. When equal pay starts the rate may rise and the margin on the placement changes with it. Check it with the temp margin calculator, and plan pension enrolment with the auto-enrolment guide.

What the page does not say

It does not say how the Regulations treat a part week, so the Monday-to-Sunday weeks above are my assumption. It does not say what the hirer must tell the agency about facilities, and it says nothing on job vacancy information. I did not read the Regulations or the sub-page on what an agency must give a worker, so check them before you rely on a date.

Overlyft builds AI staff who join your placements team and, when a temp is booked, work out the equal-treatment date from the start date and the site's closures, draft the note to the client about day-one facilities and queue it for a person to check and send.

This is general information, not payroll or legal advice. Check GOV.UK and the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 before you rely on a date.