Warehouse and logistics worker rights: agency pay, targets and nights

The warehouse sets your pick rate. The agency sends your rota. An umbrella pays your wages. When money goes missing, each can point elsewhere. You should not have to untangle their contracts to get paid. Here is who owes you what.

Agency or warehouse: who owes you what

Check the legal name on your contract and payslip. A direct hire works for the warehouse operator. An agency supplies temps to that operator, called the hirer. An umbrella normally employs and pays you while the agency arranges assignments. Each has legal duties.

Employees and other workers have pay and holiday rights, but ordinary unfair dismissal protection needs employee status. Losing an agency assignment is not automatically dismissal by the agency. Genuinely self-employed owner-drivers have different rights; the contract’s label does not settle your status. Under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010, facilities and vacancy-information rights start on day one. Equal treatment on basic conditions follows the qualifying period.

Count 12 weeks from your first assignment day. Any work in a qualifying week counts. Breaks of six weeks or less normally pause the clock. Sickness and jury service can pause it for up to 28 weeks; annual leave, shutdowns and industrial action also preserve counted weeks. Pregnancy-related absence and maternity, adoption and paternity leave have special rules that can keep the clock running.

A new hirer, a substantively different role or a longer unprotected break can restart the count. A role change must meet the legal test, including written information from the agency about the new work. Changing agency alone does not restart it. Artificial patterns designed to avoid equal treatment can lead to the tribunal treating the period as completed and awarding up to £5,000 extra compensation. Challenge any restart using the qualifying-period guidance.

Equal treatment covers the basic terms you would have received if recruited directly, including basic pay, overtime, shift and night premiums, and bonuses for the quantity or quality of work. It does not give you the hirer’s pension scheme, occupational sick pay or enhanced redundancy package. Facilities rights can have objectively justified exceptions. Our agency worker contracts guide covers the detailed rules.

Umbrella deductions and missing holiday

An umbrella’s assignment rate includes employment costs before your gross wages are calculated. These can include employer National Insurance, any applicable apprenticeship levy and the umbrella’s margin. They must not then be deducted again from agreed gross wages. Compare the assignment-rate reconciliation, payslip and Key Information Document, which the agency should provide before you agree terms.

Agencies cannot charge for finding work. Uniform, tools or administration charges can also cause minimum wage underpayment. The floor for workers aged 21 and over is £12.71 an hour from 1 April 2026. Younger workers have different rates. Our umbrella company guide explains each pay figure.

Statutory holiday is normally 5.6 weeks a year. For qualifying irregular-hours and part-year workers, rolled-up holiday pay is permitted for leave years beginning on or after 1 April 2024. It must be at least 12.07% of total pay, added to normal pay and separately identified. For example, 500 hours at £12.71 gives £6,355 normal pay and £767.05 rolled-up holiday pay. You still get time off, but have already received its pay.

Unused leave does not automatically become cash at year end. Statutory leave generally cannot be bought out while employment continues. Carry-over rights can apply if the employer prevents paid leave; accrued untaken leave is normally payable when employment ends. Keep rejected requests. See Acas on carry-over and our blocked holiday guide.

Induction, safety training and pre-shift checks

Compulsory induction, safety training, forklift familiarisation and pre-shift defect checks count towards minimum wage hours. Required waiting and security searches can count too, depending on the circumstances. Record the full required activity, even if the clock-in system excludes it. A genuine recruitment assessment is not automatically paid work. Calling productive work a “trial” does not settle the question.

You can report minimum wage underpayment without a tribunal claim. HMRC delivers enforcement under contract for the Fair Work Agency until the April 2027 transfer. Contractual pay can also be owed where the average stays above minimum wage. See our unpaid training guide.

Fixed rota changed and shifts cancelled

Your employer cannot simply ignore fixed contractual days. Moving a Monday-to-Friday picker onto weekends depends on agreement and any valid flexibility clause, including its use. Save the old rota before the app replaces it. Our fixed workdays guide explains the challenge.

A 6am cancellation text does not yet trigger the new statutory payment. Contractual guaranteed hours or cancellation terms may still entitle you to pay. Hours already worked remain payable. If shifts disappear after a protected complaint, seek advice about retaliation too.

Pick rates, pressure and bullying

Targets are not automatically unlawful. A rate that pushes you to run beside trucks, skip breaks or lift unsafely is a safety problem. We would not call shouting at exhausted staff “performance management”. Bullying alone is not a standalone tribunal claim.

Unwanted conduct related to race, sex or disability can be unlawful harassment. Sexual harassment is also unlawful. Safety-related retaliation and qualifying whistleblowing can give protection without waiting for ordinary unfair dismissal rights, including detriment protection for agency workers. Not every complaint qualifies. Record what you reported, who received it and what changed afterwards.

As at 1 October 2026, employers must take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. Stronger Employment Rights Act 2025 duties, including third-party harassment provisions, are not yet in force. Report harassment by contractors or visiting drivers now. Do not wait for reform.

Ask for the target policy and your scores. Keep witnesses, dates and messages; raise a grievance with your rep. Seek medical help for injuries. Take advice before resigning. Constructive dismissal requires employee status and a serious contractual breach; ordinary unfair dismissal eligibility still matters.

Nights, rest and the 48-hour average

The usual adult warehouse entitlements under the Working Time Regulations 1998 are 11 consecutive hours’ daily rest, 24 hours’ weekly rest or 48 over 14 days, and an uninterrupted 20-minute break when daily work exceeds six hours. Breaks are not automatically paid. The weekly limit normally averages 48 hours over 17 weeks unless you freely agree a written opt-out. That does not waive rest rights or night limits.

Night workers normally have an eight-hour average limit per 24 hours and must be offered free health assessments before starting nights and regularly afterwards. Work identified as involving special hazards or heavy physical or mental strain normally has an eight-hour actual limit in any 24 hours containing night work. Exceptions exist, with compensatory-rest safeguards. Ask which provision applies and when you get equivalent rest. Under-18s have stricter rules.

For pressure to sign an opt-out and health problems on nights, see night work health and safety and our working time guide.

Distribution drivers have a different rulebook

Most HGV drivers fall under the Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations 2005. Coverage depends on the assimilated or AETR drivers’ hours rules, not simply driving for work. Limits include 60 working hours in any week and a 48-hour average, with no individual opt-out. Night work normally has a 10-hour limit per 24 hours, variable by collective or workforce agreement.

Do not work more than six consecutive hours without a break. Working six to nine hours requires 30 minutes of breaks; over nine requires 45 minutes, in blocks of at least 15 minutes. Driving, loading, defect checks and waiting of unknown length count. Qualifying periods of availability do not. Separate driving-time and rest rules also apply. Use the DVSA goods-vehicle rules, not a warehouse opt-out form. DVSA enforces them.

Lifting, forklifts and kit

There is no universal legal weight limit. Your employer must avoid hazardous manual handling where reasonably practicable, assess unavoidable handling and reduce risk. “It is under 25kg” is not a risk assessment. Repetition, reach, twisting and your circumstances matter. Ask for the task’s handling assessment.

There is no statutory “forklift licence”, but adequate training is compulsory. A certificate is not permission to put you on an unfamiliar truck without suitable training and authorisation. The HSE lift-truck code covers refresher needs. Traffic routes must be safe, separating pedestrians from trucks where needed.

Required PPE must be suitable and free, including boots and hi-vis where the risk assessment requires them. Ordinary uniform is different. This duty extended to qualifying workers beyond employees from 6 April 2022. Agency and hirer should agree supply before you start. Their contractual gap cannot justify unprotected work. See HSE guidance and our PPE guide.

Sick, injured or no payslip

From 6 April 2026, eligible workers get SSP from the first qualifying sick day, without the old earnings threshold. It pays £123.25 a week or 80% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower, for up to 28 weeks. For a full qualifying week, average earnings of £400 give £123.25 SSP; £120 gives £96. See the 2026/27 rates.

Umbrella employees normally claim through the umbrella. Agency workers can also qualify; “you are agency” is not a sufficient refusal. Genuinely self-employed drivers cannot. Follow sickness-reporting rules, ask for written reasons and challenge unresolved refusals through HMRC’s Statutory Payment Disputes Team.

After an injury, get medical help. Ask for an accident-book entry, save witness details and request CCTV preservation in writing. Take photos only if safe. RIDDOR covers reportable injuries, not every accident. Ask who is making any required report. Speak to your union about compensation, fault and the correct defendant.

Workers must get an itemised payslip, showing hours where pay varies with time worked. An umbrella’s assignment-rate reconciliation may be separate. Compare gross wages, deductions and net pay with your hours; lawfully rolled-up holiday pay needs a separate line. Request missing statements in writing. See our payslip guide.

What to do next: union, report, claim

Join the union organising your site. Unite, GMB and Usdaw organise warehouse and distribution workers; URTU covers road transport. Legal support depends on membership rules and may exclude pre-existing disputes. Acas, Citizens Advice and law centres are other advice routes.

1. Save records outside the work app. Keep contracts, the Key Information Document, pay records and rotas. Record actual hours, training, checks, assignment dates and breaks.
2. Write down the problem. Tell payroll which dates, hours and amounts are wrong, copying the agency. Tell the site manager and safety rep about dangers. Keep replies.
3. Use the right route. Report minimum wage underpayment and work-finding fees through the government complaint service. For holiday-pay disputes, use Acas and tribunal advice now. The FWA plan prepares for a holiday-pay remit from April 2027, with enforcement expected during 2027. Ask HSE which safety regulator covers your site. Report road transport working-time breaches to DVSA.
4. Protect the tribunal deadline separately. Grievances and regulator investigations do not stop it. Usually you must notify Acas before claiming. Timely notification pauses time during early conciliation, not a fresh six months afterwards. Check tribunal time limits.

The deadline changed on 1 October 2026

Most GB tribunal claims about events from 1 October 2026 have six months less one day. Earlier events usually retain three months less one day. For an underpayment on 1 October, the basic deadline is 31 March 2027, before early-conciliation adjustment. Scottish tribunal breach-of-contract limits do not change until 9 November 2026. Repeated deductions and continuing discrimination need individual advice. Notify Acas early.

Questions people ask

When do we get the same pay as direct staff?

After 12 qualifying weeks in the same role with the same hirer, for the basic terms you would receive as a direct recruit. Relevant overtime and night premiums count; not every benefit does.

Can night shifts have only eight hours between them?

The usual adult entitlement is 11 consecutive hours. A lawful exception needs the relevant safeguards. A 48-hour opt-out does not remove daily rest rights. Drivers have separate rules.

Do we get paid for a shift cancelled by text?

Check guaranteed hours and cancellation terms. The new statutory cancellation scheme is not in force as at 1 October 2026. Existing contractual rights remain.

Does reporting the employer stop the tribunal clock?

No. Payroll complaints, grievances and regulator reports do not pause it. Timely Acas notification for early conciliation does. Check the deadline for your specific claim.

Sources

1. Agency Workers Regulations 2010, legislation.gov.uk, especially regulations 5 to 9 and 12 to 14.
2. Agency workers: equal treatment and the qualifying period, GOV.UK.
3. Agency Workers Regulations guidance, GOV.UK.
4. National Minimum Wage rates, GOV.UK, rates effective 1 April 2026.
5. Working Time Regulations 1998, legislation.gov.uk, including the exceptions and compensatory-rest provisions.
6. Drivers’ hours and working time: goods vehicles, DVSA.
7. Working through an umbrella company and Key Information Document guidance, GOV.UK.
8. Holiday entitlement and pay reforms, GOV.UK.
9. Carrying over holiday, Acas.
10. Rates and thresholds 2026/27 and Statutory Sick Pay: how to claim and dispute a decision, GOV.UK.
11. Manual handling guidance, PPE Regulations 2022 extension and Rider-operated lift trucks, L117, HSE.
12. Transportation and storage statistics, HSE, 2024/25 worker deaths and five-year annual average, cited in the safety reality check.
13. Payslips, Acas.
14. Employment Rights Act 2025, legislation.gov.uk. Enactment does not mean every provision is in force.
15. Equality Act 2010 and Employment Rights Act 1996, legislation.gov.uk.
16. Tribunal time-limit commencement, legislation.gov.uk, and Employment tribunal time limits, Acas, updated 1 October 2026.
17. Fair Work Agency delivery plan 2026 to 2027, GOV.UK, published August 2026.
18. Nearly 660 employers named for minimum wage underpayment, GOV.UK, September 2026, cited in the pay reality check.
19. Pay and work rights complaints, GOV.UK.