11/09/2026
Before you take a shift from any agency, ask what the rate is once holiday pay is stripped out. If they have to think about it, you have your answer.
Three things worth checking before you say yes to anybody, us included.
1. What am I actually paid an hour, and is holiday pay on top or rolled into it. Both are legal. They are not the same number. A rolled up rate looks bigger on the phone and is not bigger in the bank.
2. Who employs me and how am I paid. PAYE, an umbrella company, or your own limited company. The rules on umbrellas changed in April and the tax risk moved up the chain. If nobody can tell you straight away which one you are on, find out before you start rather than after.
3. Is the shift confirmed in writing. Site, start time, finish time, rate. A text message counts. A verbal "yeah you're on" does not.
None of that is cheeky and any decent agency answers all three in about thirty seconds. The ones that go quiet are telling you something.
For what it is worth, we are PAYE only, we pay parity with the client's own staff from day one, and the rate we quote is the rate.
Send this to somebody starting with an agency next week.
