Work activity agreement

What it means

A work activity agreement covers recurring work of up to 10 hours a week. That distinguishes it from a work performance agreement, which aims at a single result.

The fee may not fall below the minimum wage per hour. Full contributions apply unless the worker is a pensioner with the exemption claimed.

The agreement is not a scaled-down employment contract. It carries no right to annual leave and is easier to end, yet on health and safety, equal treatment or working time the worker is largely covered by the same rules as an employee.

How it works in practice

It fits small, regular help: cleaning, looking after a website, occasional admin. It is made in writing for at most twelve months and then renewed.

Even here attendance records are kept and payment falls no later than the normal payday. The payroll work is therefore much the same as for a contracted employee.

A company’s own employee cannot be taken on under such an agreement for the same kind of work as in their employment contract. If the firm needs its office assistant to work more hours, that is handled through overtime or a change of hours, not a second contract alongside the first.

What to watch out for

The ten-hour limit is judged on average across the whole agreement. Systematic breaches let an inspection reclassify the relationship as employment, with contributions and compensation payable in arrears.

When the agreed term runs out and nobody renews the agreement in writing, the person often keeps working with no valid document, although the Labour Code requires written form. The labour inspectorate can treat it as illegal employment, and the fines are painful for a small firm.