Temporary &
Contract Work

Common Agency Worker FAQs

• What is emergency tax?

  Your tax code is issued by the Inland Revenue and is used to calculate the amount of tax to deduct from your pay. Emergency tax means that you only get the basic personal allowance. This often happens when you first start a new job but will be altered when you submit the P45 you received from your previous employment. For queries relating to tax codes please contact our payroll team.

• I don’t have my P45 yet – what do I do?

  Advise our payroll team that you don’t have a P45 yet. They will issue you with a Starter Checklist. When your P45 finally arrives, it is important that you send Parts 2 and 3 to our payroll team.
  
  You must submit these documents to ensure you don’t spend too long on an emergency tax basis.

• I finish this role on Friday, and start my new job on Monday, can you send my P45 in advance?

  Your P45 cannot be sent in advance, it must be processed with your final timesheet. If your next job is still through us then this is considered continuous employment and we will retain your P45.

• How do I submit my timesheet?

  Email your completed and authorised timesheet to payroll by 6pm each Monday. Remember to check for overtime, sick days or holidays as appropriate and that these have been entered correctly eg ‘paid holidays’ or ‘unpaid holiday’, ‘off sick’.

• When do I get paid?

  Payment is made every Friday, for the work undertaken during the previous week. Payment is by BACS direct to your bank account. Payslips are emailed to you. If pay dates land on a statutory holiday you will be paid the day before.
  
  Expenses are also processed on a Tuesday, same deadline as timesheets, and paid on a Friday. However, this is made as a separate payment therefore will not show on the payslip. We need to have copies of receipts and authorisation from our client in order to pay expenses.

• How many days holidays am I entitled to?

  Under the European Working Time Directive, agency workers are entitled to 28 days annual leave, inclusive of statutory, bank and local holidays, which accrue as you work.
  
  All holidays (including 25th, 26th Dec and 1st, 2nd January) must be accrued in advance of the request. Provided you are working full weeks, 2.33 holiday days accumulate per month.

• The office was closed on a statutory holiday so I couldn’t work – do I lose a day’s holiday?

  Statutory holidays are included within your 28 day holiday allowance. You can either take it as paid if you wish or unpaid if you choose to save it up for a future date.

• I’m sick, what happens now?

  Call your line manager directly as early as you can. If you are unable to contact your line manager, it is important that you call your TMM Recruitment consultant who will contact the client on your behalf. Remember to keep your line manager informed on the progress of your sickness, it would be appreciated if you would keep your consultant up to date too.

• I’m pregnant, what happens now?

  To qualify for maternity leave, you must notify your recruitment consultant by the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth:
  
  - That you are pregnant
  
  - The expected week of childbirth, by means of a maternity certificate
  
  - The date you intend to start maternity leave. This can normally be any date which is no earlier than the beginning of the 11th week before the expected week of childbirth up to the birth.
  
  Your recruitment consultant will then advise you on providing notice of when you want to start your maternity leave and statutory maternity pay.